Full Size Jeep Network

Looking great! Don't forget new bump stops.

So after driving around for a few days with the lift, I am experiencing some vibration starting around 45 mph and on up. It feels like it is mainly coming from the rear. I have measured the transmission output and rear diff angles and they are one degree different. So I don't think the vibration is the result of that. And all I have read about on 4" lifts here it does not seem that any have had to use shims to adjust pinion angles in our FSJs.

I have had a shop I trust balance the tires. They do an on car balancing, and are highly respected in my area of town. Many people bring their track cars here for alignments and balancing.

The wheels I have are Centerline Convo Pros and they are lug centric. Before the lift, I had 0 issued with vibration etc and that was on 31x10.50 big all terrains.

So from what I have read, maybe the first place to start is by eliminating variables. I read that you can remove the front DS and put it into emergency drive and drive around. That would eliminate the front DS possibly.

I have also read that swapping out the u joints is a wise decision when doing a lift. I am probably on the stock u joints so this is probably wise for me to do regardless. Are there any that you guys recommend? I plan to go back with a greaseable u joint at least.

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

On a better note, seats are finally here:



Been waiting for these for a while as they have been out of stock most everywhere. So since these were advertised as direct bolt in, I got started on them yesterday.

Here are the comparisons to the old seats:



There are multiple mounting locations on the corbeaus but only one set of holes will line up with the factory slides. These holes are actually a touch wider than the stock holes, so your release mechanism will need some adjustment.

Also to get the slides mounted back into the stock brackets takes a little work but not much. I used a round file to round out the holes in the brackets a bit. I also loosened the brackets so I had some wiggle room to get everything seated into place.

I have had the console for a while but have never mounted it into place. I had always intended to use the factory brackets if possible. This worked out great, although I did have to one again alter them a bit.



Had to bend both mounting sides a bit to fit the contours of the console. Mocked everything up then marked the console to secure it with some bolts.



It fits really well and is rock solid after its all mounted up.

Here are some good shots of the difference from the stock seats:



It got dark on me as I was wrapping up the passenger seat but here is the finished look:



This might be the best upgrade I have done so far. The colors, fit and finish I think are perfect.

I am about 6'0"-6'1" and have about 2-2.5" of headroom in the new position. So they do get you up higher, but I think it is the perfect seat height, at least for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You said you were going to leave some bolts loose for the springs to settle in. Did you ever tighten those? And yes, change out the U-joints. DPA? Did you get alignment checked after lift install?

1979bettywhite wrote:So after driving around for a few days with the lift, I am experiencing some vibration starting around 45 mph and on up. It feels like it is mainly coming from the rear. I have measured the transmission output and rear diff angles and they are one degree different. So I don't think the vibration is the result of that. And all I have read about on 4" lifts here it does not seem that any have had to use shims to adjust pinion angles in our FSJs.

I have had a shop I trust balance the tires. They do an on car balancing, and are highly respected in my area of town. Many people bring their track cars here for alignments and balancing.

The wheels I have are Centerline Convo Pros and they are lug centric. Before the lift, I had 0 issued with vibration etc and that was on 31x10.50 big all terrains.

So from what I have read, maybe the first place to start is by eliminating variables. I read that you can remove the front DS and put it into emergency drive and drive around. That would eliminate the front DS possibly.

I have also read that swapping out the u joints is a wise decision when doing a lift. I am probably on the stock u joints so this is probably wise for me to do regardless. Are there any that you guys recommend? I plan to go back with a greaseable u joint at least.

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

I haven't read your entire thread, but this post caught my eye. I also installed a 4 inch lift (BJ's) and am experiencing vibes at about 56+ mph. I removed the front DS and put the jeep in E-drive and put about 40 miles on it. Still had vibes. Tires balanced and rotated, no change. Pinion angles all seem to be good as best as I can tell. New u joints on both driveshafts and a new centering ball on the front shaft. My tires are 33x12.5-15. If you find an answer to the vibes, I'd love to hear it.

Curly wrote:

1979bettywhite wrote:So after driving around for a few days with the lift, I am experiencing some vibration starting around 45 mph and on up. It feels like it is mainly coming from the rear. I have measured the transmission output and rear diff angles and they are one degree different. So I don't think the vibration is the result of that. And all I have read about on 4" lifts here it does not seem that any have had to use shims to adjust pinion angles in our FSJs.

I have had a shop I trust balance the tires. They do an on car balancing, and are highly respected in my area of town. Many people bring their track cars here for alignments and balancing.

The wheels I have are Centerline Convo Pros and they are lug centric. Before the lift, I had 0 issued with vibration etc and that was on 31x10.50 big all terrains.

So from what I have read, maybe the first place to start is by eliminating variables. I read that you can remove the front DS and put it into emergency drive and drive around. That would eliminate the front DS possibly.

I have also read that swapping out the u joints is a wise decision when doing a lift. I am probably on the stock u joints so this is probably wise for me to do regardless. Are there any that you guys recommend? I plan to go back with a greaseable u joint at least.

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

I haven't read your entire thread, but this post caught my eye. I also installed a 4 inch lift (BJ's) and am experiencing vibes at about 56+ mph. I removed the front DS and put the jeep in E-drive and put about 40 miles on it. Still had vibes. Tires balanced and rotated, no change. Pinion angles all seem to be good as best as I can tell. New u joints on both driveshafts and a new centering ball on the front shaft. My tires are 33x12.5-15. If you find an answer to the vibes, I'd love to hear it.

Tim, did you get an alignment?

az chip wrote:You said you were going to leave some bolts loose for the springs to settle in. Did you ever tighten those? And yes, change out the U-joints. DPA? Did you get alignment checked after lift install?

Yes. Tightened the shackle bolts down to 30 ft lbs and the fixed mount locations at 60 ft lbs. Using stop nuts all around so not to worried about those backing off. U bolts are at 65 ft lbs. Have some solid spicer 1310s on the way. Will throw those in the rear ds first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

AZ, I did get the alignment done while I was at the shop. They actually did not even touch the alignment, said everything numbers wise looked really good. Asked them about the angle of the draglink and he said it really wasn't all that bad. And if I wasn't experiencing any pronounced issues with driving and steering, he would probably leave it alone and not do the drop pitman arm.

We will see how things are once I get the new u joints in.

az chip wrote:

Curly wrote: Tim, did you get an alignment?

[/quote]

Chip, yes I did. Toe was off by about 1/8 inch. No noticeable difference in the vibes.

1979bettywhite wrote:AZ, I did get the alignment done while I was at the shop. They actually did not even touch the alignment, said everything numbers wise looked really good. Asked them about the angle of the draglink and he said it really wasn't all that bad. And if I wasn't experiencing any pronounced issues with driving and steering, he would probably leave it alone and not do the drop pitman arm.

We will see how things are once I get the new u joints in.

I had scream steering above 30 mph. Where I would scream any time above that speed. Not fun. Alignment helped. DPA helped more. I might need to replace bearings.

Is that driveshaft pinion angle? Did you measure yours after the lift? I think I am only one degree different on mine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

seats look great! where did you get them? from the pic's looks like you need a dropped pitman won't cause a vibe but makes steering dart when you hit a bump, might call Tom Woods up in Utah about driveline I had to have a longer driveshaft after BJ's 4" spring lift, also make sure u-joints are in phase, cheers

Ordered from 4wd.com when I ordered the tires. Got a great deal on them.

1979bettywhite wrote:Is that driveshaft pinion angle? Did you measure yours after the lift? I think I am only one degree different on mine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did measure. Not much different. Less than 1 degree.

Replaced the U Joints in the rear DS. Still get a vibe around 45-65 but maybe a little less now. Still not convinced it isn't in the tires/wheels etc.

Ordered up a CJ w/power steering HD steering shaft today to replace my worn out shaft and to do away with the rag joint. The upper u joint on my shaft has a decent amount of play in it. Hope this will be a nice upgrade for the drive ability. Also thinking about throwing on a set of BJs HD shackles on the front to maybe level out the rake a little bit. Although this might be a downgrade for the driveability, lol. But most of what I have read says people really don't notice a difference in driving characteristics with the HD shackles.

Also, still trying to decide what to do on my alternator situation. Seems to only show me 10-12 volts at idle (500-600 rpm) and then jumps out to over 14v when I get it up to 1000+ rpm. Belt tension I believe was good, but I will check again. All that I have read either says this may have to do with grounds or the alternator is just going bad. My battery carries 12.6v when I let it sit overnight, so I don't believe I have a parasitic drain somewhere.

My parasitic drain is married to me.

What is the reason for rag joint steering?

az chip wrote:My parasitic drain is married to me.

What is the reason for rag joint steering?

Vibration control

Have not updated things in a while. I found I am somewhat bad at taking pictures while doing projects. I guess I get too excited and just get wrapped up in finishing things. But anyway here are the new updates:

Both drive shafts serviced, balanced, and the front extended 1 1/4".

Leaky front pinion seal replaced. New fluid in both diffs.

BJ'S HD extended shackles to get rid of the rake. Road manners are a little more loosey goosey with these though. So may go back.

Rebuilt the oil pump and added the midplate (although I still have low hot oil pressure).

Replaced the radiator with another brass one. Then found out that the mounting bracket for the a/c condendor was digging into the radiator. So back to the radiator shop to repair my new radiator. Spaced it out from the core support with some nylon spacers.

And my favorite fix was my retro mod of new wagon wheels. Although I am hanging on to the old centerlines for now. May sell them.

Now to get a set of center caps at least for the rear. Although I will have to drill and tap the new wheels to attach them. Should be pretty easy.

Updated pic:




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On the oil pump, did you change the relief spring? Old springs are not as resistant as new ones. Relatively cheap.

Oh, looks great. Love the wagon wheels. Although I am biased.

Yeah, I rebuilt the whole pump. New gears, relief spring and plunger, dual gaskets and the midplate. Runs about the same as before. Swapped over to the STP S25 Filter. The drainback valve actually works on it, unlike the napa and wix filters I was using. When I changed the oil there was almost no oil in the napa gold filter. STP seems to be working much better.

Yes, loving the wagon wheels so far, but trying to pick up a set of center caps. Will then have to drill and tap the wheels to accept them.