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New LIFT: Impressions

Just got my 83 CJ7 back from getting a new skyjacker 2.5 inch lift and new steering stabilizer. The jeep had a 2 inch body lift on it. Also put 10 inch wheels with 33 x 13.5 superswamper TSLs on it. Before it had shocks that were shot, bushings that were falling apart, and 31 inch tires with 8 in wheels. Also before, it had a bad vibration at around 50-60 mph. Also,...with 4 inches of lift...they didn't think it was necessary to replace the pitman arm,...or adjust the transfer case...is this cool or not?!?

Now....my first impression was a low growl "seemingly" coming from up front like a bearing going out?!?! This only happens at slow speeds. These tires are actually very very quite compared to BFG MTs I had on another jeep. Anyway...my second impression was a bit of wandering that the jeep never had! On the highway there is also a bit of death wobble....slight back and forth motion. I'm a bit afraid to take it over 65. The next....and most horrendous part....that shake I had....it's 10 times worse...only this time it happens between 45-55 mph! And I mean it shakes the HELL out of me.

So my questions are....where is this shake coming from? U joints??? It's got a bad transmission mount/motor mounts but I doubt this is the problem. And what can I do about the wandering??? It's got all new body mount bushings, New shackles and bushings, new shocks, steering stabilizer. What is up with this?!?! All in all the ride is very very smooth over bumps etc. But I've got tons more rattles, wander characteristics, and a more pronounced shake!

Thanks! Allen

Reply to
<ABanks5
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Ok, time to pontificate. NEVER install a lift and larger tires without correcting things like bad motor mounts, driveline angles, alignment, etc. You;re just asking for trouble, from the death and injury type, to simply being disappointed.

With a 2.5" lift you won;t need to drop the pitman, 4", yes you will. Also, on a CJ7 with a 2.5" lift you may be able to get away with not dropping the t-case, it's simply a matter of correcting the angles . (Did they shim the rear axle?)

As for the shake, get it aligned and see what the caster angle is in front, plus recheck the tire balance and wheel runout. This doesn't sound right and it SURE doesn't sound safe.

Reply to
Gerald G. McGeorge

Thanks for the input George. I'm not sure if they shimmed the rear axle or not...I'm not sure what all that involves or even what it's good for (laughing). I have a combination of 4 inches of lift with the body lift...but I'm not sure that has anything really to do with actual suspension lift...I don't think it does. The tires were just balanced and wheels/tires are all brand new. It shook before just at different speeds so I'm inclined to believe it's something else like U joints. The alignment could be the problem. Also keep in mind it's a YJ tub on a CJ...not sure if that has anything to do with it. Seems pretty solid. Thanks again! Allen

Reply to
<ABanks5

Reply to
Gerald G. McGeorge

Did you put on longer shackles on the front? Unless you have a shackle reversal you changed the caster. My Jeep ('73 CJ5) has 3 degrees of caster with the stock set up. I install a 2.5 Rancho lift and made shackles that were longer than stock to give me the travel I wanted. I shimmed the front axil accordingly to maintain this angle to keep it from doing the death wobble thing. Stock shackle length on mine is 2 5/8 between bolts. I made 4" shackles. This rotated my axil about 4 degrees giving me 1 degree in the wrong direction. I installed a 6 degree shim (what I had handy)between the axil and the spring. This castered me a little further than stock but it drives fine.

Reply to
cj573cj5

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