i am looking for advice on restoration of my 72 commando.i am working on electical,mechanical,and body.what is the best lift,body or suspension,for lift without doing a springover?where can i  get steering components?etc.this is my first jeep restoration and i appreciate any help i can get. thanks              steve  

suspention lifts are better but body lifts are alot cheaper and if your looking for 3" or less of lift that is what i would personally go with plus when you get a suspention lift of 4" or more it leads to alot of other expensive things like redoing driveshafts, slip yolk eliminator, etc.  

you really won't need anything more than a dropped pitman arm and maybe lower your t-case an inch or so if you keep a suspension lift to 4". there are also other cool steering options besides the pitman arm but they're pretty expensive. you won't need a slip yoke eliminator because unlike later model jeeps, the t-case has a fixed yoke. suspension is the way to go.

We have a few guys that have and are pretty good with Commandos over in the forums at www.earlycj5.com...

i want to do a 3" body lift instead of a springover.what are the tallest tires i can put on it.what about shackle lifts?can i combine the two lifts?if i can ,how tall of a tire can i use?what parts will i need to replace?are spicer20 transfer cases easy to rebuild?  thanks steve  

i have never rebuilt a t-case before but i have my 20 in pieces. i'm getting the gears tomorrow and and don't see any problems putting it back together. looks pretty straight forward.  

The model 20 is easy to rebuild.

Plenty of how-to here:

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/model_20.htm

HTH

I have a '97 TJ with a t-case that occaisionally pop's out of 4 high (4 low works fine).  It makes some pretty nasty noises when it does.

Is the t-case in a TJ hard to rebuild?  Would I be better off looking for a new one?  We tried adjusting the linkage, that lessened the occurances ... but there is still a problem.

Any help/comments are appreciated.

Pete  

Pete, I don't know; I never tore into a 231. I will suggest that you take a look at the boot around your shifter. I've heard that sometimes they bind and prevent full engagement when pulled the whole way back. I've even heard of some guys pulling the boot off and trimming the sheet metal a bit so that the boot, when reinstalled, does not bind when the lever is pulled the whole way back.

(Forgive me if I don't have the pattern correct for engagement of 4 hi; I've never owned or driven a Jeep with a 231) 

As for rebuilding the 231, I'd suggest you read here:

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/np231.htm

Then call Novak and discuss your needs with Eric.

HTH!!

Thanks Lynn.  The problem started after a transmission replacement ... so I might very well need to check for binding.

Thanks again!

Pete  

I tried to find a lift for my 72 commando and couldnt.spring over or have a spring shop make you some