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drag link / sway bar link mount interference

S

sarvermr

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Little Rock, AR
i just swapped some RE 4.5" zj coils in place of my 3" coils and 2" spacers. even though i only gained about 1/4" of lift, my drag link now hits my sway bar link mount when turning right. it makes a loud pop when the drag link is forced past the mount. any ideas???? also, the pass side coil has one hell of a bow in it. any ideas there???

thanks, matthew

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242380_120_full.jpg
 
The bowed coil is usually a sign of too much pinion angle (or not enough castor). The axle is rotating forward into the steering linkage. Check your angles, arm lengths, etc. Did you let the suspension relax before tightening everything up?
 
MaXJohnson said:
The bowed coil is usually a sign of too much pinion angle (or not enough castor). The axle is rotating forward into the steering linkage. Check your angles, arm lengths, etc. Did you let the suspension relax before tightening everything up?
Click to expand...

that could definitely be the problem. i'm running trailmaster drop brackets and the lower arms are set back as far as possible because i don't have any spacers to set teh correct caster. i'll mess with that and see if it helps.

thanks, matthew
 
Matthew, just a a point of reference, I had zero interference with stock steering on a measured 6" of lift. You have some pretty serious caster issues, it looks like you may be well into negative caster.
 
alright, i was at 2.5 deg caster before. i shimmed the arms out so now i have right at 5.5 deg. much better. my passenger side coil is better but still has a bow in it. i was able to shorten the sway links back down to the correct length without interference from the coil though. as far as the drag link goes, its much better too. it still barely hits when it passes by but it doesn't make any noise now!!! i'll take some new pictures if it will help any.

thanks, matthew
 
I too have 6" of lift without them touching. It looks like your axle is "rolled" to far forward. Check your lower shock mount. As a quick reference, it should be level with the ground.
 
I have the RE 5.5" lift. I have / had the same problems as you do. For the swaybar mount hitting the drag link, I'd go with ORGS. They make a 1 inch and a two inch higher mount. You basically grind off the old mount, then weld the new one on. All it does is put the mount up higher.
As for the passenger side coil being bowed, in my opinion it's nothing to worry about. Mine is bowed even more than yours, and I've had no problems. Every RE lift I've seen cause the same thing. I asked on here about it, and everyone said not to worry about it and that it was very common. My control arms are all fixed length, and my alignment is dead on, and the driver's side coil is perfectly straight.
 
CStamm said:
I have the RE 5.5" lift. I have / had the same problems as you do...
As for the passenger side coil being bowed, in my opinion it's nothing to worry about...
My control arms are all fixed length, and my alignment is dead on, and the driver's side coil is perfectly straight.
Click to expand...

and you been wrenching for how long? "have/had" Which is it? You have jacked up coils or you did, but fixed 'em?

What does "dead on" mean?
 
MaXJohnson said:
and you been wrenching for how long? "have/had" Which is it? You have jacked up coils or you did, but fixed 'em?

What does "dead on" mean?
Click to expand...

And that :passgas: from a Kansas Flatlander. Wow.
I also have the R.E. 5.5" kit and have the same issue. (bowed pass-side spring) I talked to the company that sold me the latest lift and they laughed and said, "It's a R.E. thing"
Although, I had the same issue with my R.E. 3.5" kit......and my alignment was/is "dead-on" to R.E. spec for my purchased lift kit. Still diggin the pile of receipts from my latest to find the specs. But the specs that matter the most? No death wobble, no bumpsteer no driveline vibe(maybe a little on decel) and no wandering.

Can't seem to update the sig line but not accurate.
 
Check the drag link ends and tie rod ends to see the they are aligned. when adjusting them they can be miss clocked to the point that it will put a twist in the drag link forcing the tie rod end to twist up possibly hitting the sway bar link.
 
Duane said:
Check the drag link ends and tie rod ends to see the they are aligned. when adjusting them they can be miss clocked to the point that it will put a twist in the drag link forcing the tie rod end to twist up possibly hitting the sway bar link.
Click to expand...

thats a good idea. i just checked, but they are both fine. not twisted at all.

matthew
 
i have the re 5.5 and jks disco ang the linkage is close but not rubbing . no sping problems other than the rears sagging but i think thats my fault loaded the whole back with bicks till the tires were touching the wells and drove 40 miles home with no bumpstops
 
Exact same problem here with the exact same springs. I run the Trailmaster control arm drop brackets, stock lower control arms and RE fixed uppers. My caster was off at first, so I shimmed the crap out of the lower CA mounts. The caster looks about right and drives a TON better with good return-to-center feel. Now my pinion angle is much lower and the driver's side coil it perfectly straight. The passenger side, however, is even more bowed than the one in your pic above - it almost touches the bumpstop.

The only two things I figure could possibly be wrong are these:

1. The passenger side of the axle is too far forward, almost as if the unibody control arm mounts are in the wrong place. This would mean that the axle is not square to the rest of the vehicle.

2. Jeep welded on the spring perches incorrectly, so that the left and right perches are not parallel to eachother.

Maybe it's one of these things, maybe not. Either way there isn't too much to be done about it.
 
LOL MaxJohnson, you crack me up. Ok, I admit, I'm only 22, so I've only been wrenchin for about 7 years, my bad. Add to that the fact that my father has been a mecahnic for 30 years, and my brother for five. So I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about, and no skills either. I had a heck of a time putting my lift on with only a wal-mart adjustable wrench.

My alignment specs are DEAD-ON, so my tires wear perfectly, and I have no death wobble, shimmy, and it tracks perfectly even at 70. If you would like I could send you a copy of my alignment specs from the alignment shop, for your educational purposes.
 
I have the same lift w/no bowed coils. I do have the RE CAs upper and lower. AFAIK, bowed coils are a result of incorrect axle position (wheelbase) or rotation (caster). Both can be corrected with adjustable CAs. I've seen it more on rigs WITHOUT drop brackets. When fixed arms are used w/no drop brackets and a tall lift, the axle's NOT where it's supposed to be.
If I'm off here, someone please correct my thinking...
 
BillR said:
I have the same lift w/no bowed coils. I do have the RE CAs upper and lower. AFAIK, bowed coils are a result of incorrect axle position (wheelbase) or rotation (caster). Both can be corrected with adjustable CAs. I've seen it more on rigs WITHOUT drop brackets. When fixed arms are used w/no drop brackets and a tall lift, the axle's NOT where it's supposed to be.
If I'm off here, someone please correct my thinking...
Click to expand...

i'll agree with what you're saying, but according to gojeep's alignment specs my castor measured at the diff cover is 5.5 deg now. and both spring perches are at teh exact same angle. so why is one bowed and the other not? and why does it happen to everyone on the pass side? i have RE fixed uppers and lowers, but the drop brackets have quite a fit of adjustment in them so i have the lower arms shimmed to correct the caster.i suppose if i pull the entire axle back (uppers and lowers) i would gain a little clearance, but thats not possible because there in no room to shim the uppers. like i said above, i changed my caster from 2.5 to 5.5 and there is less interference and less coil bow, but thats obviously not the only problem.

matthew
 
As an update, I have the adj. CA and the lowered CA brackets. Adjusted my castor (and pinion angle up and down, maybe I am using the improper tech-speak, if so, I apologize) back and forth and still the pass. side coil is bowed. Albeit slightly, but still bowed. In addition, I looked a friends 89, same kit except he had Skyjacker coils, bigger diameter coil, and he had no bow. He said this might be the issue. I guess I fall into the "no-worries" category as it drives, tracks fine.

david.
----------------------
90 XJ Laredo
5.5" R.E. Extreme Duty
R.E. Shocks
33 x 12.50 BFG AT/KO
4.56 Genuine Gear
:us:
 
Just a thought on the passenger side spring bow. the spring on the passenger side is installed rotated 180 degrees about its axis from the driver's side. if the springs last coil turn is not completly flat for one turn. this would cause the coil to bow one way on the left and the other on the right.
 
crjeeper said:
I talked to the company that sold me the latest lift and they laughed..
Click to expand...

can't add much to that except maybe alignments specs are different in Colorado party1:

could be the thinner air...
 
CStamm said:
LOL MaxJohnson, you crack me up. Ok, I admit, I'm only 22, so I've only been wrenchin for about 7 years, my bad. Add to that the fact that my father has been a mecahnic for 30 years, and my brother for five. So I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about, and no skills either. I had a heck of a time putting my lift on with only a wal-mart adjustable wrench.

My alignment specs are DEAD-ON, so my tires wear perfectly, and I have no death wobble, shimmy, and it tracks perfectly even at 70. If you would like I could send you a copy of my alignment specs from the alignment shop, for your educational purposes.
Click to expand...

Always glad to put a smile on someones face ;)

My point, if you didn't get it, is that you shouldn't be recommending that someone accept bowed springs, linkage interference and out of spec alignment settings unless you know for sure they live in Colorado.

"DEAD-ON" is pretty ambiguous. Post those specs so we can all see them. If you can't, then e-mail them to me and I will.
 
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