I am not sure if this is a factory defect from Rubicon Express or their leaf packs are supposed to be like this but since a couple people have mentioned it to me, now it is driving me nuts. My rear axle needs to be shifted back 1.5 inches to be centered.

What is the best, safest way to correct this without spending a lot of money and time doing it? Here is a pic where you can see the axle is too far forward on the leaf. I have 6 degree shims attached if this makes a difference in the best way to correct my problem.

And before you ask, yes the leafs are installed correctly.

 

That's really odd. I mean, the only "adjustable" points in the rear are the shims for the axle and the rear shackle. You can try a shackle relocation kit or running an extended shackle, but the component that determines the location of the axle is the center pin in the leaf pack.

You can try drilling a new location for the center pin, grinding the original down and then installing a new pin... short of that, I don't think anything else is going to do it. I don't think they make a "main eye" relocation kit and I don't think I'd trust it if they did.

EDIT: Looking at your picture again, what does your rear shackle angle look like... are you still running the factory shackles?

 

Anyone run Pro Comp Xtreme M/T2 Radial Tires on their xj?

 

Dont do it unless you get one hell of a deal. I had Pro Comp A/Ts loved them at first but after 2000 miles or so I had one of my rear tire go slick and pro comp refused to do anything saying it came from cornering to aggressively. I will never run anything pro comp again.

 

I haven't seen anyone running them yet... They look like they will do much better than the old MT's.

 

Did the leaf springs come with any paperwork? I have the same ones and I remember it saying something about how they do their center pins to adjust the driveline or length slightly or something like that. I can't remember what it was. I have noticed my rear wheels are slightly closer now too but I haven't really thought about it.

 

Have you installed the tire and looked at its resting point with weight on it? The tire needs to sit forward in the wheel well because it will move rearward as the leaf spring compresses. When the leaf is fully compressed and the shackle moves back, the wheel should THEN be centered.

 

I just did some research and I am correct. RE even puts it on the paperwork. They say the center pin is a bit more forward to help correct driveline vibrations due to the lift. I imagine they are trying to correct the geometry that the lift throws off. My pack has settled a little bit (I also have 3 tires in the back w/ rims) and the vibes are almost all gone. I have that Tatton Dbl Cardan shaft.

 

Yes I had the paperwork/instructions but you know how us men are about instructions. We don't look at it until after we have f'd it up...

Yep, the tires are installed and have been running them a while now. I don't use my jeep for work or any kind of hauling so there is never any weight in or on the rear. The springs still look as arched now as when I installed them. They may have settled slightly but very slightly.

I wondered about the tires shifting rearward once they got some weight on them or compressed from wheeling. That makes complete sense. I am in the process of making some shackle relocation brackets to fix the bad angel of my shackles so this should help move the axle back some.

When I get home I will try and flex the rear to compress the spring and see how much the axle shifts rearward.

Appreciate the information. I have zero vibes with the way it is currently set up so no complaints by me. Like I said in my original post about the issue, a couple people have said something about it and got in my head and started driving me nuts but apparently it is supposed to be like this.

Thanks again to both of you. I won't even bother messing with it.

 

Shackle angle is horrible. Straight up 90 degrees. I am building some relocation brackets for them right now to resolve this issue so this should help shift the axle rearward some. I am running extended shackles that give me an inch of lift over stock. 4.5 inch leaf packs plus 1 inch lift shackles for a total of 5.5 inches in the rear.

 

Oh wow, yeah 90 is horrible. You'll get no down travel out of your springs at all that way. What kind of design do you have in mind for your brackets?

 

Just copying Rough Country's shackle relocation brackets basically. I will post pics when I am done.

 

So if I'm gonna buy a set if impact sockets for working on the xj should I get standard or metric? Which ones are used more

 

I got both, but I tend to use metric more.

 

Definitely get both, while most of the original XJ hardware tends to be metric, I've found almost all aftermarket parts are SAE. I find that I use both imperial and metric sockets about equally when working on the Jeep.