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Old Man EMU 2.5" YJ to CJ Suspension Install

605K views 1K replies 179 participants last post by  80cj 
#1 ·
Hey gang,

I'll be tackling this install on my 1981 CJ7 258, today, and would appreciate any tips I can get. I got it from 4WD.com

It appears the rear end is pretty simple....space the brake line and bolt everything on.

The fronts are more involved, since I have to do some grinding to install new shackle hangers, but I've got a fair handle on that.

I'm most concerned about drivability issues, afterwards. I went with the 2.5" package because I wanted to avoid castor and driveshaft problems. I know shimming to create the correct angles isn't difficult, but it seems kinda band-aid-ish to me.

Anyway, I'd love to hear from any of you with experience with this kit.

Matt
 

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#387 ·
Bob,

Thanks, I've put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the Ol' Girl over the last year. It's been satisfying doing all the work myself, including paint.

Yes, N95s all the way around with the heavy springs on all 4 corners, as well. It's a good combo, I'm sure you'll luv it.

Give the bed-liner thing a lot of thought. You'll get mixed opinions, but I chose to paint the interior, like factory, for the following reasons: I still haven't seen a bed-liner that cleans up well, especially if it gets a good mud bath. Yes, they look good when freshly installed, but not so much 2 years down the road. Also, the bed-liner makes possible future repairs a b!tch.

Just my $.02, and a pocket full of lint.

Matt
 

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#390 ·
OME CJ to YJ done - just need to replace shocks

Flex pics to come
 

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#392 ·
Some flex! Gotta wait until i get some extended brake lines installed up front before i take it out through some ruts to really get it twisted up-hopefully by next weekend.
These shots are with my floor jack maxed out and all tires other than the ones being lifted, are still on the ground.
 

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#397 ·
Yeah, I was limited by my floor jack, brake lines and the Rancho's. I have some brakelines coming, probably order the shocks in the next couple weeks-still on the fence about billys or the OME's. I don't want to have to get the extensions but Bilsteins are certainly tempting!
 
#399 ·
Well, my OEM shackle hanger broke while I was on the trail this weekend. Let's just say it was an interesting ride out.

Anyway, I read through many (not all) of the pages on this forum. Basically, I'm running 33" tires on my 85 CJ7. I think what I have on now is a 2" suspension lift with some monster lengthy shackles, getting me to about 4" of lift. I got Jim1611's YJ shackle hangers to do this conversion about a year ago, and I have done nothing with them as many projects keep getting in the way.

So, I was debating buying the 2.5" Old Man Emu lift kit and going to some home cut boomerang shackles. What do you guys think? WIll I need a body lift?

Any other YJ springs you guys recommend?
 
#400 ·
With the flex of the OME leafs, you will have rubbing issues with a 33 on the rear fender.....I have them and they are great. I can pretty much get the hub even with the bottom of the rocker in the rear, and it barely clears with a 32x11 tire. In this pic, it is nowhere near maxed out, but you get the idea.

 
#401 ·
85LaredoCJ7 said:
With the flex of the OME leafs, you will have rubbing issues with a 33 on the rear fender.....I have them and they are great. I can pretty much get the hub even with the bottom of the rocker in the rear, and it barely clears with a 32x11 tire. In this pic, it is nowhere near maxed out, but you get the idea.
I really wanted tongo with OME springs, but they dont make a 4" lift. What kind of YJ springs do you guys suggest for a 4" lift?
 
#405 ·
Hey mooncruiser, what kind of shackles are you using, they loog good! :)
Thx! Those are from Zone Offroad and are 1" longer than stock, so they give a 1/2" of lift.
I didn't know Jim Crabtree (Jim1611) at the time I bought those and if I were to buy them I get them again I'd get them from Jim. He also makes an excellent product, an active forum vendor and contributor here on the forum. I think he's listed under Crabtree Tool and Die - http://www.crabtreetool.com/
 
#404 ·
To run the Billsteins, do you need the extended front shock mounts if you have the 1982-up widetrack axles that have a longer OEM mount? I can see where you would need it for the earlier CJ's since the mount is only an inch above the top of the frame (although the lower mount is on the spring plate vs. the axle tube). Those extended mounts don't seem much taller than the OEM widetrack mounts.
 
#407 ·
My project is just a rolling chassis at this point so I don't know how it rides. Instructions were good and everything went as planned. I used the kit with the through the frame shackle hanger. I had to email them a few times and they were very helpful.

As for the Rocky Road shock mounts - I checked their website last night and it indicates the mounts are 2" longer than widetrack style mounts and 8-10" longer than the narrowtrack mounts. I wonder if those numbers take into account that the narrowtrack mount lower mount is on the u-bolt plate and not the axle tube?
 
#408 ·
Hopefully I didn't miss this somewhere along the build, but I am working on putting YJ spring on my CJ. The rear springs went on beautifully. I mean, I did have to get out the sawsall and grinder a bit to persuade things to come off, but the new rears pretty much just bolted on, using the YJ shackles. My question is on the fronts, I know that on the front of the CJ, I will have to move the front hanger forward to the rivet, but what about the REAR of the Front spring. The "spring hanger?" Is that wide enough to accommodate the 2.5" wide YJ springs or do I have to cut those off and weld new spring hangers?
 
#412 ·
Matt, 85LaredoCJ7 and anyone else who has swapped over to the Old Man Emu springs...

How has the lift been thus far? How has your drivelines been both front and back when you have been in 4WD and flexed? Any chatter or problems? No transfer case drop, correct? It is because of this thread that I am going to buy and install this very same setup you did Matt for my pal's "86. My only difference is I am going to use Crabtree shackles and shackle hangers as they are by far the best out there (I have them on my CJ). I have been speaking with Jim at OK4WD and he has been fantastic to speak with. Very knowledgable and willing to answer my questions. I will be ordering everything from him.
 
#421 ·
I did the exact OME lift as Matt and 85Laredo with the OME heavy rear springs all around, Crabtree hangers, 4" Zone Offroad shackles-(had already bought before I discovered Jim Crabtree's excellent stuff) or I would have definitely bought from Jim. My rear d-shaft angle was not good, so I did the tcase drop (just got some 1" spacers from Ace) and the angles are good now, no vibration-I'm thinking about ordering a driveshaft from Tom Woods and raising the t-case back up. Not crazy about the t-case drop.
 
#413 ·
mvigo,

I'm still convinced the OME YJ suspension is the best setup you can put on a CJ. As you know from following the thread, I'm running the stock shackle hangers, stock steering components, and stock driveshafts. No tranny, or t-case drop.

I've had zero problems with mine, and the Ol' Girl handles better than she did new.

I often have to bite my tongue when we get our weekly "What's the best lift..." threads, because opinions vary so much, but I honestly feel the OME springs are the best money can buy.

Matt
 
#414 ·
mvigo,

I'm still convinced the OME YJ suspension is the best setup you can put on a CJ. As you know from following the thread, I'm running the stock shackle hangers, stock steering components, and stock driveshafts. No tranny, or t-case drop.

I've had zero problems with mine, and the Ol' Girl handles better than she did new.

I often have to bite my tongue when we get our weekly "What's the best lift..." threads, because opinions vary so much, but I honestly feel the OME springs are the best money can buy.

Matt
I figured you would say as much. I was pretty convinced to go with BDS until I re-read this thread. Another thought process I am going to try at first is to leave off the steering stabilizer and see how it drives without it. Do you have an opinion? I am looking forward to installing this on my pal's CJ and, to be perfectly honest, I am now jealous of you all! Thanks for the reply...:thumbsup:
 
#416 ·
I agree with Matt on the OME set up and the stabilizer. I don't think there is a better lift out there for the CJ.

I did not use a t-case drop because I think they look terrible. My rear d-shaft is stock, my front is a Curtis Tatton 2" diameter. It could be a little longer than stock, but the stock shaft was fine while it was on the Jeep. I do not have any driveline vibrations that I can feel anyway. The crazy thing about the OME leafs is you will be hitting metal to metal somewhere before the leaf reaches its max flex.
 
#425 ·
Because of the detailed write up and information in this thread :thankyou:, I have purchased from OK4wd.com in NJ the Old Man Emu 2.5" lift for my pal's CJ. I went with the HD rear springs on all 4 corners pared with their "firmer" ride shocks that comes with the kit.

Here is a plug for OK4wd.com http://ok4wd.com/, please listen carefully: Jim Oosteyk is the owner and he helped me. I ended up talking with him for 2 hours about CJ's. He is very knowledgable, was patient with my questions, very willing to accomodate my requests and was price competitive. If you are reading this thread for the 1st time, I HIGHLY advise you to call him before you go anywhere else. He is that good. Not only did he split up his CJ/YJ conversion kit to allow me to use Crabtree's shackles and shackle hangers, he also swapped out the shims that normally come with the OME springs and replaced them with the 4* shims (based on the advice in this thread) with no upcharge and knocked the price down by $200. He knows CJ suspensions, uses his products he sells and is genuinely interested in your experience with the items you purchase and install. OK4wd.com will be my 1st stop for all of my CJ needs from here on out. Call them...:thumbsup:

I also ended up purchasing for my CJ the HD tie rod/drag link flip kit from them as well and I can't wait to get that on...

Again, thanks to Matt1981CJ7 for starting this thread and all the others for contributing as it is another example of how JeepForum really can turn a knucklehead like me into a decent CJ do it yourselfer...
 
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