SlowPWNY

Ok, im new to this forum and to off road vehicles. i am more of a pavement native and i am no newb to general mechanics(500RWHP foxbody built by me). me and my wife recently purchased a 96 grand cherokee limted 5.2., its in great shape and all but came with some rather large tires for the stock height suspension. They are 29.50 tall by 9.6 wide. my question is: is there any drawbacks to the spacers? at what point does other mods need to be done IE:brake lines shock extentions ect. i was looking at 2" polyurethane spacers to help the tires clear. this jeep will see some light weekend trailing but nothing serious as its the wifes DD and she wont let me near it other than need be fixes and mods .

thanx for your time!

Bustedback

The spacers are really easy to install, but they can cause what is known as "death wobble" because the steering geometry will be off. I had spacers in my 95 when I baught it and had death wobble issues. I'm currently running 30-9.50-15 tires with no lift, they're not much bigger than the stock 235-75-15s.

SlowPWNY

Def dont want the mss dealing with the death walk. I thought that only came around in higher lift rigs, can this be fixed with better shocks?

Although the tires do look good sitting under the jeep at that height they are VERY close to the front bumper and will rub time to time. Im just concerned that one it gets flexed its going to shred the bumper or wheel well.

wildspear

Go ahead and put the spacers in. Make sure all your steering bushings are good and that the front track bar is good (tight and good bushings). Death Wobble is the jeeps way of telling you that you that something is off. I had Death Wobble on my rig and once I took a look under her I noticed that the track bar was trash. Replaced that and all was fine. Many things can cause "DW" but you just have to check out your rig and fix the bad and worn stuff.

j-rod

wow....what a terrible generalization.

spacers do not cause DW. other issues will. unless a spacer is busted, cracked, etc it in itself will not cause DW.

run the spacers. you shouldn't have any issues. do check all bushings and suspension components while in there. especially the control arm bushings and the track bar.

oh and get it aligned!

Bustedback

Notice I said can cause and NOT will cause? I'm simply stating the issues my ZJ had with the spacers even with a new trackbar, control arms and alignment, once the spacers were gone, so was the death wobble.

SeriousOffroad

That's because the spacers changed your steering geometry.

Sir Issac newton really nailed it...
"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
(Yes I know it's his 3rd Law of Motion....but it fits the context.)

Increasing the ride height by any means will have an effect on the steering geometry. It's this change that must be corrected to return the steering to the specifications to which it was designed. Failure to do so will result in poor control, uneven tire wear, and in some cases, death wobble.

Bustedback

Exactly, thank you.

wildspear

You think old Sir Issac would be offended to have a kids snack named after him?????

Bustedback

It was his cousin Fig that had the snack named after him.

wildspear