Not the Runt Anymore!

[Glacialbass]

Hmmm... I did indeed tighten the shackle bolts down when I completed the rear. It wouldn't be a big deal at all to loosen them up a bit and re-torque them to see if that helps. So you don't think the lack of a track bar and the axle being off center would cause the lopsidedness?

I think that what Troy was saying is that the rear springs could be holding their position which might be causing the front to be off in the way that it's sitting.

Of course, I could be way off base. It's been known to happen :wierd:

 

[Kiefer316]

any pics so far?

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Hmmm... I did indeed tighten the shackle bolts down when I completed the rear. It wouldn't be a big deal at all to loosen them up a bit and re-torque them to see if that helps. So you don't think the lack of a track bar and the axle being off center would cause the lopsidedness?

Once the track bar is on and you've got the lift finished, drive it around, hit some dips, steer right and left to get some body roll then find a level place to park. Step back and see if it hasn't leveled out. If not, loosen the shackle bolts enough to allow the metal sleeve in the bushings to move and then drive it again. Park level again and see if that allowed it to level out. If so, tighten shackle bolts.

If not, ensure that both front coil springs are seated correctly in the seats. If those are sitting correctly, then look at the arc of the rear leaf packs. See if one has more visible arc than the other - use a tape measure and use common body points to the ground as reference and check for a difference in height.

Hopefully it's not becoming a problem with RC lifts, but IIRC, DutchVDub has the same lift kit and he has one leaf pack that caused his rig to sit lower on one side...... :dunno:

 

[bcmaxx]

Its a jeep thing ,my xj with new re lift is a half inch to the drivers side. and yes an off center front axle will cause a lean

 

[Jawa]

Once the track bar is on and you've got the lift finished, drive it around, hit some dips, steer right and left to get some body roll then find a level place to park. Step back and see if it hasn't leveled out. If not, loosen the shackle bolts enough to allow the metal sleeve in the bushings to move and then drive it again. Park level again and see if that allowed it to level out. If so, tighten shackle bolts.

If not, ensure that both front coil springs are seated correctly in the seats. If those are sitting correctly, then look at the arc of the rear leaf packs. See if one has more visible arc than the other - use a tape measure and use common body points to the ground as reference and check for a difference in height.

Hopefully it's not becoming a problem with RC lifts, but IIRC, DutchVDub has the same lift kit and he has one leaf pack that caused his rig to sit lower on one side...... :dunno:

Thank you for the help Yella, I'll try all of that stuff out. I think Dutch's springs didn't start to sag until he had wheeled on 'em a few times, but I'm not 100% sure.

Now I just need a track bar mount so I can install my track bar...

 

[Jawa]

any pics so far?

Sure thing!

You can see the passenger side lean in this one, as well as how the axle is off center:

This last one has me thinking I need to move the axle further forward. I followed the control arm lengths given here http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Suspension_Steering_Axles_and_Brakes/Control_Arm_Chart.htm and on Yucca-Man's site, but it just looks like the wheel is sitting back in the well a ways.

EDIT: Since the axle moves in a curve rather than straight up and down, I guess as it compresses it would move further forward in the well. Am I thinking along the right lines about that?

 

[Kiefer316]

looks really nice what size tires and rims i can tell there the goodyear wrangler MTR's right? ive got 2 32's if you wanna buy them from me for spares

 

[Jawa]

Those are 305/70/R16s (32.8 x 12.00) on 16x7 Cragar Soft 8's with 4" backspacing. I'll keep one or two fo the 30x9.50s I took off as trail spares. The MT/Rs are really worn down, something like 25% tread left, so they'll be replaced in a couple of months. I was able to pick them up real cheap, so I figured I'd just use 'em for a short while to get me started.

 

[Kiefer316]

i was gonna ask you what you were doing with those too darn well if you or anyone else needs spare 32" tires then i have a couple

 

[jdogg4]

Now your front sway bars have disconnects, and if so are they connected? if so see if they are set at the same distance or disconnect them and see how it sits maybe. I did mine and my front driver side was lower. Popped it off extended it a few twist and BAM all good.

 

[Jawa]

I haven't pulled the discos off from the 2" lift, but they're not connected currently. Crap, I forgot about discos... that's something else to add to the To Do list.

 

[Skully]

Hmmm... I did indeed tighten the shackle bolts down when I completed the rear. It wouldn't be a big deal at all to loosen them up a bit and re-torque them to see if that helps. So you don't think the lack of a track bar and the axle being off center would cause the lopsidedness?

Just gain 100lbs and when you drive it, it will all level out!

In all seriousness what Yella said, I have seen that time and time again the shackles are tighten early before all the lift is set static on the ground and make sure you do not tighten your shackles super tight either....it is like 12-15 ft lbs or something like that.

Another thing is the pre-load on your control arm bushings? Did you tighten them all before you set the vehicle static load on the ground? That will kink things up to.

.....all else fails drive it around and abuse it a little in full motion of the suspension then see where it sits.

This would not be the first time I have heard of mis-match coils and leafs.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Looks good! I've always been kinda fond of that Chili Pepper Red color too.

For a 4.5" lift, it seems kinda tall. But I'm sure it'll settle a bit after you put a few miles on it.

Yeah, the front suspension does definitely travel in an arc. As the axle compresses upward, the tire/wheel moves up and forward into the fender well. With the dramatic angles that your control arms are at currently, the tires/wheels will move more drastically forward. Unfortunately, that lift design doesn't ride as comfortable as others because of the sharp control arm angles. That lift would definitely benefit from a set of RE drop brackets. It would restore your geometry closer to stock specs and take the harshness out of the ride.

From the pics, I think your "sagging" issue to one side will correct itself once you get the track bar in and adjusted, and loosen up the shackle bolts. Skully is also correct that if you torqued-down on the control arm bolts you may also be binding up those bushings as well. I'd just go ahead and loosen all the control arm bolts and the shackle bolts so that they're snug, but not wrench tight. Drive it around the block so that the bushings all around get the chance to un-bind and move around a bit. Then on level ground, tighten everything up to spec.

 

[jdogg4]

I haven't pulled the discos off from the 2" lift, but they're not connected currently. Crap, I forgot about discos... that's something else to add to the To Do list.

Mine have been zip tied up (disconnected) for about 2 years now. and the rear got tossed out with the lift when I did it.

 

[Jawa]

So far the only bolts I have torqued down are the rear leaf srping and shackle bolts. An online resource I found had 65 ft.lbs. for the shackle bolts, so that's what I tightened them to. Does anyone have a FSM to confirm that # is accurate? None of the front bolts are torqued down, but they were tightened snug with a wrench. I can back those off a bit before I drive it around the block.

A set of drop brackets is definitely in my future... very near future. With the control arms at the angle they are I've only got an inch or so of downward travel before they hit the axle bracket. I was thinking of grinding the bracket a bit, but that's only a temporary solution...

The lift looks high for a 4.5" kit because I've combined it with a 3/4" spacer up front and a 1" shackle in the rear. I'm actually hoping it doesn't settle in too much - I like it where it's at.

 

[Jawa]

Mine have been zip tied up (disconnected) for about 2 years now. and the rear got tossed out with the lift when I did it.

I'm heading down that same path - mine have been bungee-corded up for 3 months now, thanks to me leaving the lynch pins on my hood last time I went wheeling. :doh: I haven't had much luck finding the right size pins at places like Ace and JKS wants $15 for a pair of 'em, so I've kinda backburnered it...

 

[jdogg4]

Lowes and HomeDepot have a bin of different sizes for a few bucks each. I keep about 2 back up sets in my glove box because I've been known to leave them on my tire when disconnecting and driving off. I caught some kid at the grocery store trying to snag them off mine. I was disconnected and just had them in the holes. Well I came out of the store and saw this guy looking under the jeep. Walked up the next row as if it wasn't my jeep and sure enough he had one in his hand and was going for the passanger side one. I don't want to say what I did but he gave them back and ran like a girl.

 

[Skully]

So far the only bolts I have torqued down are the rear leaf srping and shackle bolts. An online resource I found had 65 ft.lbs. for the shackle bolts, so that's what I tightened them to. Does anyone have a FSM to confirm that # is accurate?

It depends on the manufacture of the aftermarket components, I have read somewhere the OEM specs was that the frame mount bolts should be torqued to 100ft lbs, and the the bottom shackle bolt to 45ft lbs, But in my experience in the past that was too tight for the shackles. They would not move freely and would result in a ride rough. On my Cj I use to put on nylocs and tighten them down and with the static load of the vehicle on the suspension use a wrench and if I could not turn the main bolt freely on the shackle it was too tight.

I have the Terflex rear 1.5" shackles. I torqued the top frame bolt to 85ft lbs, then tested it to see how easy the shackle moved to be sure it was free to move back and forth easy, then I torqued the bottom to only like 15ft lbs because I noticed it was a little tight and when I jumped the rear up and down it moved nice and smoothly. If you grab the back of your jeep and you can not easily bounce the suspension up & down, in my eyes it is too tight.

 

[Jawa]

Well, I was finally able to finish everything up last night, thanks to a new track bar mount from Troy. Woo-hoo, right? I'd be a little more woo-hoo about being done finally except for a few things...

1. At full lock the front tires come in contact with the rear of the fender flares. I'm running slightly narrower 33s than most people (12.00" as opposed to 12.50") with proper backspacing and set the control arm lengths longer than RC's instructions told me to. WTF? I guess I shoulda used control arm lengths for 7" of lift.

2. All the pushing and pulling to install the control arms really jacked up my alignment. The toe is off by over 1" and I couldn't get the tie rod to turn to correct it. Because of this I couldn't test drive the lift over about 20 mph. I'll get it in for an alignment today.

3. The extended brake lines RC provided are so long that they "loop up" and come in contact with the tire when turning sharply. I'm having a hard time bending the lines away and getting them to stay that way.

4. People weren't kidding when they told me over 5" of lift on stock geometry would be a rough ride. Holy crap! You sure do feel EVERY little bump.

I'm thinking of ordering the RC drop brackets today. They'll make the ride a lot smoother, improve articulation big time, and while I'm installing them I can adjust the control arm lengths to get the wheels off the fender flares. I just hate to pay for an alignment today and then pay for another one next week. Fun, fun!

 

[Skully]

1. At full lock the front tires come in contact with the rear of the fender flares. I'm running slightly narrower 33s than most people (12.00" as opposed to 12.50") with proper backspacing and set the control arm lengths longer than RC's instructions told me to. WTF? I guess I shoulda used control arm lengths for 7" of lift.

2. All the pushing and pulling to install the control arms really jacked up my alignment. The toe is off by over 1" and I couldn't get the tie rod to turn to correct it. Because of this I couldn't test drive the lift over about 20 mph. I'll get it in for an alignment today.

3. The extended brake lines RC provided are so long that they "loop up" and come in contact with the tire when turning sharply. I'm having a hard time bending the lines away and getting them to stay that way.

#1. Cut the fenders I have 4.5" with 31's and had to cut the back side of the flares as they stick out too far and my tire hit them when it turned lock to lock left to right. 33's little more trimming probably.....

#2. When you went up with the Y style steering it will toe in naturally, get a big old MONKEY WRENCH/ aka pipe wrench and gets some torque on that puppy, probably just rusted............ or get someone else to do it as you have already planned

#3. Easy as pie, there is two ways you can do it or combine if necessary. 1st; Start from the caliper and not too tightly put the brake line to the shock and use a zip tie, making sure it will not bind when turning lock to lock.
2nd; go to a hardware store and get light springs like the ones on your parking brake cables in the back so they pull the brake line to the frame and will stretch out when flexing or turning. I have had to do both of these things cause of too much brake line.

#4. Rough ride? ....it is never going to end you are never done fine tuning your Jeep :sunshine: ....remember to go beat the crap out of it now and get those springs working and they might ride better. Also like in our previous post make sure your shackles are moving freely or it will be a rough ride.......



Did you ever figure out your leaning problem?