96 XJ Sport

So I finally get my RE 3.5 kit completed tonight and take it for a quick test drive and WOW the vibes seem to be coming from everywhere front and rear. I have a RE hack n tap SYE and a CV driveshaft that I haven't installed yet, but I still thought I would be able to drive it on the road without major problems. I couldn't even get past 20mph before the vibes were too much. Is this normal and if not, what could I have done wrong? There's also a metallic kind of sound coming from the rear, maybe the driveshaft binding?

I know it needs an alignment, too. That was on my list to do tomorrow, but I can't make it to town like this. I know it's bad because I can see the toe-in without even looking very hard. I have installed a JKS adj track bar, too, and the axle is centered perfectly. Maybe I just have a standard case of DW along with needing a SYE. Do I need to do a rough and dirty alignment just to make it driveable?

a1racer

not all jeeps are the same some need a sye at like 3 inches of lift where some are ok up to about 4.5 plus i would do the hack and tap first then go from there

96 XJ Sport

Yeah, I'm sitting at about 5 inches right now, so the SYE is definitely in order. I think I may remove the rear DS in the morning just to try to isolate where it's all coming from.

a1racer

with no alignment i am sure you are getting some front vibes as well i would adjust your toe to close to 0 before looking for anything else in the front

93XJRay

i would have to agree some of the worst vibes can be from the front end alignment. good luck

MasterShakeXJ

did you get new tires? id get an alignment, and do the H 'n T and after driving it around for a little while go back and double check and make sure all bolts are tight. since you have so much lift now, you also have to think that its putting stress on your front ds also, which can cause vibes almost the same as with the rear. but like it was previously stated, every jeep will react differently to a lift.

96 XJ Sport

Thanks for the help guys. I sure hope it's not the front DS...didn't think I'd need to address that, but first things first, get an alignment. I'm still running the stock tires/wheels because I didn't want to introduce too many new things at once. I will def go back and retighten everything after I get to drive it for a few miles. For reference, the LCA bolts were all tightened to 130 ft lbs and the rear spring bolts to 110 ft lbs.

Here's my plan for today then--1) remove the rear DS and limp to get an alignment, 2) if front vibes are cleared up, go ahead and pick up my new tires on my other rims, 3) come home and start on the HnT

96 XJ Sport

UPDATE - the alignment shop was really backed up, so I went to my tire shop (different place) and got the wheels/tires put on. Oh, and taking the rear DS out got rid of over half the vibes, but the front is still doing some shaking. Going back to get the alignment this afternoon.

A little before and after action...

TrekkerJmm

Try a TC drop also. I got rid of my rear vibes/binding buy doing this...Tj

a1racer

tc drops are OK but i don't like losing the ground clearance just use your hack in tap. and yeah you can get a lot of vibs from the front if the alignment is off. are you using adjustable arms with your lift or stock arms

96 XJ Sport

Yeah, I'm def going to just try the HnT first before getting a TC drop. I'm using the LCAs that came with the RE 3.5 SuperFlex kit. They're not adjustable, but slightly longer than stock I think, and have the flex joint on the axle end. UCAs are stock.

Alignment shop had a 3 hour wait this afternoon, so going back tomorrow. I'm too tired to start on the HnT today, maybe tomorrow. And I just checked the front axle again and it's off center by about one inch! How the heck did that happen? I had it centered perfectly a couple weeks ago with weight on the front end but not on the back. I guess it's not the same as being on all fours. I'll let them adjust my track bar tomorrow along with the alignment

96 XJ Sport

Had the alignment done today and all the vibes seem to be gone. Still running on the front DS only...front diff is doing a little whining, but a fluid change was in order anyway. Hope to get the SYE and rear DS installed sometime this week so I can really put it through the paces since I've been babying it on the front DS.

a1racer

nice to here it helped out now just do the rear and you should be ok

rob450er

looks good man.

96 XJ Sport

Yep

Thanks!


Anybody have any tips on the hack n tap install? Particularly, what kind of tool do I need to properly chamfer and deburr the splines on the TC output shaft after I cut it per the instructions? Just a small file of some kind?