Brought home this 86 loyal today, its got a 6 inch lift already installed, unfortunately i dont know much about the lift. Had to drive it home in 4wd engaged as the front cv axels had been broken from the previous owner, due to the angle from the lift. They mentioned i could maybe replace the axels and put a sleeve over them to prevent the axel breaking. Are there any other solid fixes to this? I know there's a few other lifted wagons out there, so im hoping some has a good workaround? Thanks in advance!

Edited January 26, 201511 yr by d8usti5n

best bet is to drop the crossmember down lower to relieve the stress on the axles.  at 6 inches of lift it must already have some crossmember drop, so if its not enough you will have to add it.  some people leave them a little more stretched than stock but even a couple of inches can cause you problems so I would drop the crossmember the full 6 inches.

 

axles are a pain to get as far as good quality, don't be surprised if you go through a couple before they hold up.

Damn that thing is a beast! I thought they started the loyale name in 1990 though?

Let's see some pictures of the lift blocks and axle angles, on a 6 in lift should have 4-5 in blocks on the engine and rear diff

Ah you are correct scooner, it was sold to me as a loyal, but the title says its a g4 glsw. So yeah, not a loyal.

 

Ill try to get pics of all the lift hardware but it probably wont happen until this weekend when i have daylight to go play with it.

finally some time to roll around and take some pictures of the wagon. you can see them here http://s1381.photobucket.com/user/bratparts/library/?sort=3&page=1

 

as far as I can see it looks like there are blocks on the strut towers, and its got 15 inch rims on it.... cant really tell if the back struts are normal, or if they were modified as well? cant seem to find any other lift blocks on the rig anywhere... any help would be much appreciated

Was it sold to you as having a 6" lift? Looks like a 2" JAW lift to me, and it has the decals to back that up. That's a pretty typical home made style lift for those cars, and doesn't usually cause axle problems. The blocks are usually cut at angles and have holes drilled offset to correct the camber. And the rear is just a bent piece of flat steel to drop the struts the same amount.

Was it sold to you as having a 6" lift? Looks like a 2" JAW lift to me, and it has the decals to back that up. That's a pretty typical home made style lift for those cars, and doesn't usually cause axle problems. The blocks are usually cut at angles and have holes drilled offset to correct the camber. And the rear is just a bent piece of flat steel to drop the struts the same amount.

That makes sense. Ya it was sold to me as having a 6"inch lift. So i guess between the blocks and bigger tires... maybe. What exactis jaw luft? I tried doing a bit of digging, but not finding much. Is it a brand, or style of lift?

looks like a 2" lift, all suspension , you can drop the rear of the rear diff 1" at the mustache bar, also drop the engine crossmember 1" that will help with the axle angle

 

looks like a 2" lift, all suspension , you can drop the rear of the rear diff 1" at the mustache bar, also drop the engine crossmember 1" that will help with the axle angle

whats the best way to do that? Just a 1inch block on the rear diff, and a block on each side of the crossmember? Ive never meddeld with anything lifted vefore, but im all for trying!

rear diff support (mustache bar) is held to the body with 4 bolts, just add a 1" spacer between the body and bar mount like a length of 1x 1-1/2 tubing with 2 holes in it, on the front is similar same tubing between engine crossmember and body, will need longer bolts also will need a longer steering knuckle

Probably don't need to do anything with the rear. The rear axles are much more forgiving than the front. I have mine dropped 4" in the rear without dropping the rear diff.

That is Dans old car.  It has had a few owners since then but it looks like it still has the 2" lift that has always been on it.  All suspension.  Like others have said if you want to alleviate the stress on the axles dropping the diff and engine crossmember an inch will help.

 

Also to note this car has been rode hard and put away wet.  You may want to go through a lot of it and double check stuff.

That is Dans old car. It has had a few owners since then but it looks like it still has the 2" lift that has always been on it. All suspension. Like others have said if you want to alleviate the stress on the axles dropping the diff and engine crossmember an inch will help.

 

Also to note this car has been rode hard and put away wet. You may want to go through a lot of it and double check stuff.

yeah, im replacing the interior and cleaning it up. The previous owner replaced the trannyand aparently the carb as well

Here is what it looked like a couple years ago.

 

Here is what it looked like a couple years ago.

 

thats awesome! Its pretty cool to see a life of a car

Then you will like this.  This was right after Jeff lifted it!

 

Nice!