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lift block warning

kndrewa

kndrewa

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Vancouver British Columbia
i want to share my experience and advice with those lifting their cherokee.
avoid lift blocks.

here is my 97xj with an add-a-leaf and a 2" or so lift block.
this set up got me 3 or 3.5 inches of lift with the stock shackles.
21957_272467784576_791584576_3072317_2869722_n.jpg


i have had blocks which have both cracked and failed completely.
in my opinion lift blocks can be dangerous and detrimental to your vehicle.
if you do any moderately technical wheeling, get a full spring pack for your lift.
 
i ran the add a leaf and block set up for a few years.
then this happened.
n791584576_747727_4702.jpg

2623186894_4569610749.jpg

blockFailSide.jpg

you can see the shattered chunks of lift block in the foreground
2622362737_c4505661b6.jpg

NWFest08125.jpg

NWFest08121.jpg

NWFest08126.jpg


to be honest, i was probably a bit too deep in the throttle and some extreme forces were applied
 
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we used two winches to level the vehicle
i used my winch to lower my jeep after anchoring to another vehicle above the obstacle
another winch simultaneously pulled my rear axle backwards to keep it aligned
jeep_winching.gif


leveling the jeep allowed easier assessment of the situation and made making repairs safe
level.jpg
 
BLOCKS ARE THE DEVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was under a heep at the junkyard one time, saw half an aluminum lift block bolted in place. I'm sure it was a whole block when it was installed...
 
we discussed and exhausted all possible trail fixes
i needed new u bolts to secure the axle to the suspension
we even tried using a receiver mount recovery point as a substitute for the shattered blocks..
..this was too sketchy!
n791584576_747729_5149.jpg
 
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i got a full spring pack after the incident.
i was lucky to have such good friends and karma to get plenty of help!
its always exciting to get in a bind in the mountains and nice to be able to rely on pals.

add-a-leaf and 2" block
leafs_3.5.jpg


3.5 inch spring pack
you can see the back end sits a bit higher
leafs_blocks.jpg


the jeep rides great with the fully arc'd springs!
although, it has increased the rake a bit.. ..i kinda like it.
they should settle a little as they get broken in.
 
OMG!!!!!!!!

I've been running 10" lift blocks for like days and never new that they wur such a hazerd county, yo.
Maybeez I shud go wit de coilzovers?
 
MN rust, worn springs, and plain old leverage.......that's my guess.

I'm finally lifting my Heep as soon as tax $$ comes in.....and there shall be no lift blocks!
 
Lift blocks are bad. Do not use them, period!

The further that your axle is from the spring, the more leverage there is on that part of the spring. This extra leverage multiplies the force on those components, causing a number of things to happen;

1- The blocks to fail, as seen above.
2- U-bolts to fail and axle to flip out from under blocks.
3- Excessive amounts of spring wrap.
4- Spring failure from #3 above, as seen in pic above.

Obviously, this also leads to other carnage, such as driveshaft damage, transfer case damage, and transmission damage, among other things.

Just don't do it!!!

Save your pennies and buy the proper spring.
 
Tim_MN said:
standard.jpg
Click to expand...

Yea, that was a bad night for me. I was actually just taking a left turn out of a gas station with 3 friends in the Jeep when it broke. LOL I wonder where this picture has been if you have it saved then I'm sure others do as well.
 
Warlock1 said:
Lift blocks are bad. Do not use them, period!

The further that your axle is from the spring, the more leverage there is on that part of the spring. This extra leverage multiplies the force on those components, causing a number of things to happen;

1- The blocks to fail, as seen above.
2- U-bolts to fail and axle to flip out from under blocks.
3- Excessive amounts of spring wrap.
4- Spring failure from #3 above, as seen in pic above.

Obviously, this also leads to other carnage, such as driveshaft damage, transfer case damage, and transmission damage, among other things.

Just don't do it!!!

Save your pennies and buy the proper spring.
Click to expand...

It would seem that this would also be an issue for those who use the UBE from TNT at least from the leverage point of view. Anyone using the UBE's have these issues?
 
You guys all lift blocks are horrible, but the cast aluminum ones (every pic on this thread) are by far the worst. They slip, explode, crack, shatter, and chip horribly. NEVER NEVER run a cast aluminum lift block. If your going to go cheap at least get a steal lift block.
 
My cousin just f'-ed a block on her heep, it turns out the PO put a vato-zone 2" alum block in just before he sold it to her so he could tow a pop-up trailer better. After it started making bad noises from the rear end she kept driving it and not telling anyone. the block stretched and hogged out so bad it was acting like a pivot point and allowing the axle to rotate enough to let the pinion to move at least 6" up and down, she only stopped driving it and fessed up when the u-joint gave up the ghost.
I drank frothy beverages and watched her replace them with full packs the next weekend while giving a maintenance 101 session. She now knows EXACTLY how to fix everything back there.
 
hastahastahastahastahastahasta
 
stewie said:
hastahastahastahastahastahasta
Click to expand...
lol, yeah, but so is most every thread posted here now. . .
UBE's, hmm, I built my own little over a year and wheeled the be-Jesus out of em with no ill effect. All depends on how tall you go. Same thing that's been said in this thread and the hundred other one's like it: it's all about the leverage.
 
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