My Newly Lifted XJ

Funny thing,

My Rough Country 4" X Series lift came with a slightly larger coil for the driver's side. It is supposed to prevent the failure of that spring due to torque. Makes sense I guess.

As far as the angle of the differential, we had to go back on mine and readjust them once. We have some rattles that drive me out of my eff-ing mind, but they are fom the quick disconnects. Gonna remidy that as soon as financially possible. I hate rattles and squeeks.

What year is yours?

K.

It's only been a day and a half, but so far, so good.

A few noises to diagnose, and a very slight chance that a SYE might be required, but no detectible vibrations so far.

Anyone know of a reference listing acceptable driveline angles? And, is it OK for the rear dif to be pointing slightly upwards??

But, the XJ has always been an inch or so lower on the passenger side, and the new springs did NOT change this.

Anyone have any ideas about what might cause this? The vehicle is empty of all foreign materials, and I'm SURE the tire pressures are correct (but I WILL BE checking them tomorrow ).

TIA

...

It's a 95.

I called Rough Country and they said the springs on my kit were the same size for each side.

The noises I hear SEEM to come from the back end, but I'll keep the quick disconnects in mind. (One noise that I wasSURE was from the rear was actually one of the front "hub caps" rattling loose!)

So from your experience, the bottom of the differential should be parallel to the ground, and not tilted up?

TIA

...

** Posted from **

Well...

*sigh* In my experience, when it was tilted TOO far, I was getting a little vibration. We went down to the Jeep dealer to look at some stock Jeeps, reajusted to get it as close as i could be, but it still appears a little tilted. No more vibration and no squalling U-Joints. Seems to be ok.

I'd be glad to post a phot of mine if you like, let me know.

The guy who might know is Mike, hopefully he will chime in.

Kate

It's a 95.

I called Rough Country and they said the springs on my kit were the same size for each side.

The noises I hear SEEM to come from the back end, but I'll keep the quick disconnects in mind. (One noise that I wasSURE was from the rear was actually one of the front "hub caps" rattling loose!)

So from your experience, the bottom of the differential should be parallel to the ground, and not tilted up?

TIA

...

One other thing, On my kit, the bolts that hold the shocks (I got the upgraded shocks) don't fit snugly in the bushings. I'm going to get some bushings made at a machine shop so there isn't any room to rattle. This with the disconnects I strongly believe is my problem child.

I've seen some QDs that look great but one of the guys in our Jeep club has some that hs just pushes a button to disconnect. I hope to get more info from him and maybe go in that direction. That way I won't have to fight to find a level spot when I forget to cut them loose.

K.

Them is this?

I read about that deal here in RAMJ+W shortly after it was first posted on JeepForum, and just for kicks I tried to order one from the local Jeep dealer, but I was too late.

By the time I ordered one it was heavily backordered, and a few weeks later I get a call saying the price had been jacked up so they canceled the order (without asking first, I might add).

Eh, for the "mistake" price it might have been worth it... I'll stick with the TeraFlex discos for now.

Hey Doug, Well, it MIGHT be however, I quote: "I know this works on YJs. I also believe that it will work on any Jeep on which the swaybar mounts to the bottom of the frame. I do not believe it will work on TJs because the sway bar is on top of the frame and bumper. "

I'm not sure what model Mark's Jeep is. We're going on a run to Coon Creek later in the month, thought I would ask him about it then if he isnt doing MOAB.

Kate

2O|||||||O6 TJ Rubi With some flammywhammers on it.

Them is this?

Great article Doug, thank you. At least now I have an understanding of how they work. Kate

Them is this?

In the XJ (you have no CV joint in the rear driveshaft), the rear pinion should be set almost parallel to the output shaft of the transfer case. I say almost, because the rear pinion should be pointed a bit lower (0.5 - 1 degrees) than the TC output shaft. That is because under load the rear pinion will rotate a bit upwards, so you have to compensate for this by adjusting the rear pinion a bit lower. In the XJ driveshaft vibrations are less noticeable than TJs, because the drive-shafts are much longer, and the change in angles with the lift is smaller.

The axle vibrations feel similar the difference of going from street tires to muds. If you already have mud tires, you may not feel the vibrations at all, so it would be better to put a set of old street tires if you have and adjust the pinion angle by trial-and-error, until you find the correct angle that gives the smoother ride.

In the front axle, the pinion should be almost parallel to the driveshaft, again 1 degree lower that the parallel position, to permit the U-joint bearings to rotate for proper lubrication. If you noitice death-wobble, you may want to lower to front pinion a bit more to increase the caster angle.

Regards, Bill Spiliotopoulos. '96 XJ, '06TJ.

[snip]

It's interesting that ULB has the same symptoms in his (already broken in?) TJ as I have in my XJ.

Describing it as being similar to changing to Mud tires is a good way to say it. And although I am *hearing* the pulsing sounds, there is NO discernable vibrations to be felt at the transmission or XFR case shifters :/

My rear pinion points upwards, in line with the driveshaft. Then at the forward u-joint in makes a modest bend (I have yet to measure the angle) and goes into the XFR case (which I believe is still parallel to the ground, but I do have a lowering kit installed). This sounds wrong according to what you state above :(

I haven't really looked at the FRONT, but I have no "death wobbles". I do know however, that my Castor angle is one degree beyond stock specs (9 degrees - stock is 5.x to 8).

I need to take it back to the mechanic to investigate some rattles, so I plan on having him see if he can adjust it any better.

TIA

...

This would be correct if you have a SYE kit installed and a rear driveshaft with a CV joint.

Also the output shafts of the transfer case, are not parallel to the ground. The Engine / Transmission / TC combo, is tilted to the back. When you lower the TC, or when you lift the engine, this angle is increased, so that it matches that of the rear pinion (non SYE transfer cases).

Regards, Bill Spiliotopoulos.

'96 XJ, '06 TJ.

The way the torque transfers through the diff makes the right rear the main drive wheel as well as the left front. I think it has to do with the pinion angle, but could be off on that.

That is one reason the spare goes to the RR and the RF goes back to the spare in a rotation. The 3 tire rotation on the drive tire side matches the two wheel swap on the other side for wear.

They do make some vehicles with 'left tire' drive. They normally have a 'LT' logo on them. I first thought that was a dumb way to say 'light truck' on the side of a pickup, then learned about their Left Tire drive.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > Well...

"Mike Romain" wrote They do make some vehicles with 'left tire' drive. They normally have a 'LT' logo on them. I first thought that was a dumb way to say 'light truck' on the side of a pickup, then learned about their Left Tire drive.

Mike

Huh! I always thought it stood for 'Light Truck' too... add another bit of information to my little bitty brain :)

Now, if I can just remember it.

K.