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Ok, I have heard that these kits make alot of noise, but this is getting out of hand! I'll give you the long version of the story....
A few weeks ago, I had my jeep twisted up as far as she would go (left front up, right rear up, making a SHARP right turn, dragging slider on passenger side, passenger front tire in the air, both lockers on, etc. Well, I got some pretty unhappy noises (banging, popping, creaking, groaning and generally a "your ripping something off of your jeep" sounds). I get off the obstical, check things out, and can't find ANYTHING wrong! I fully expected to find a control arm bracket ripped off the axle or something to that effect. Nope, all good. (except for the stretched ear on the short side stub shaft, which has since been replaced)
The rest of the trail, I would get lots of noises that I have since decided sound just like a coil spring banging around.
Once back on the road, it handled fine, no more banging or popping....nice and quiet, just like before the trip. So, I get it home, put it up in the air and give everything a real good look. No bent, broken, torn or missing ANYTHING! It's all there, and in good shape! So I conviently forget about it.
Now, yesterday, it comes back. Only off road, never on the road. Only when I start to flex it up a bit, or am moving fairly fast (like going down dry, relatively smooth washes). It would get real bad for a little while, then get nice and quiet....then get bad again. It is bad enough now that I can feel it. So, while we were waiting on a XJ trail repair, I checked out the front end again. I find both front springs have come out of their pockets, and have rotated 90* (TJ coils are not flush wound on the bottom end). So I find a big rock, twist the jeep up, and put them back in place (spring clips are now on the list of things to add). But this doesn't solve my problem, the noise is still there. The only other thing I can see as a possible culprit, is the upper bump stops. As the front axle droops, the lip on the OE part of the bumpstop rubs the coil (axle moves toward the rear of the jeep, pulling the spring into the bumpstop--I'm sure all you short arm people know what I am talking about). But it doesn't look like it actually catches the coil, causing the coil to "pop" over the lip (which would result in a nice bang). Of course, I can only see it when it is sitting static, I can't see it when I'm driving (obviously).
Now, I have greased all the joints on the control arms, steering and track bar. Checked all of the joints for any play (none--except for the standard movement in the rubber bushings), checked all the bolt torques, checked the ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. I'm running out of ideas on what it can be.....other than the coil spring/bump stop interference (and I just don't think that is it).
So, the question is, have any of you other short arm people ran into this problem? What was the culprit? How did you fix it? This started on the second 'wheeling trip I did after installing the lift.
FWIW, I am running RE 3.5" springs, RE arms (upper and lower), Currie steering, RE adjustable track bar, and DT shocks.
A few weeks ago, I had my jeep twisted up as far as she would go (left front up, right rear up, making a SHARP right turn, dragging slider on passenger side, passenger front tire in the air, both lockers on, etc. Well, I got some pretty unhappy noises (banging, popping, creaking, groaning and generally a "your ripping something off of your jeep" sounds). I get off the obstical, check things out, and can't find ANYTHING wrong! I fully expected to find a control arm bracket ripped off the axle or something to that effect. Nope, all good. (except for the stretched ear on the short side stub shaft, which has since been replaced)
The rest of the trail, I would get lots of noises that I have since decided sound just like a coil spring banging around.
Once back on the road, it handled fine, no more banging or popping....nice and quiet, just like before the trip. So, I get it home, put it up in the air and give everything a real good look. No bent, broken, torn or missing ANYTHING! It's all there, and in good shape! So I conviently forget about it.
Now, yesterday, it comes back. Only off road, never on the road. Only when I start to flex it up a bit, or am moving fairly fast (like going down dry, relatively smooth washes). It would get real bad for a little while, then get nice and quiet....then get bad again. It is bad enough now that I can feel it. So, while we were waiting on a XJ trail repair, I checked out the front end again. I find both front springs have come out of their pockets, and have rotated 90* (TJ coils are not flush wound on the bottom end). So I find a big rock, twist the jeep up, and put them back in place (spring clips are now on the list of things to add). But this doesn't solve my problem, the noise is still there. The only other thing I can see as a possible culprit, is the upper bump stops. As the front axle droops, the lip on the OE part of the bumpstop rubs the coil (axle moves toward the rear of the jeep, pulling the spring into the bumpstop--I'm sure all you short arm people know what I am talking about). But it doesn't look like it actually catches the coil, causing the coil to "pop" over the lip (which would result in a nice bang). Of course, I can only see it when it is sitting static, I can't see it when I'm driving (obviously).
Now, I have greased all the joints on the control arms, steering and track bar. Checked all of the joints for any play (none--except for the standard movement in the rubber bushings), checked all the bolt torques, checked the ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. I'm running out of ideas on what it can be.....other than the coil spring/bump stop interference (and I just don't think that is it).
So, the question is, have any of you other short arm people ran into this problem? What was the culprit? How did you fix it? This started on the second 'wheeling trip I did after installing the lift.
FWIW, I am running RE 3.5" springs, RE arms (upper and lower), Currie steering, RE adjustable track bar, and DT shocks.
[COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR]
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