paragrunt

Hello, my neighbor and I just installed a 3" BDS lift (full leaf pack) w/ Bilstein shocks on my wife's 00 XJ. I have a few issues. First, it squeaks so damn bad I wanna give it a bullet. The majority of the squeaking is coming from area of the front drivers coil/shock/swaybar extension. I can't figure out which one it is. When I rock my XJ, it squeaks like two teenagers screwing in a parked car. I'll try and spray some silicone on the new poly bushings that came with the swaybar links to see if that does the trick. The vibration comes when I'm between 30 & 40 mph. I can feel the vibration in the drivers seat and in my right arm which is resting on the center console. IDK, since it's my wife's XJ, the vibration up through the drivers seat could be a good thing as my wife may stay quiet about not being happy about the lift.....

I used the TC drop kit that it came with. It's only 3"! (Insert crude joke here) I don't see what the big deal is? From my understanding, it's one of the best lifts out there. It's actually taller than I thought it would be. I should have opted for a 2" lift as my wife is PISSED! She thinks it's too tall. I hope she's not to upset when I swap out the 225x75x15's for 31x10.50x15's. I'm so gonna get kicked in the ***** for this lift.

Does the BDS full leafs need a shim? Mine didn't come with it.

Any suggestions? Anyone with this lift have similar problems?

paragrunt

Yes Paragrunt, Welcome to the boards & congratulations on owning an XJ.

Your probably going to need a 2 degree shim for your rear leafs. I'll bet that the store that sold you your lift didn't mention that your gonna need wheel spacers OR new rims since you will undouobtably rub at full lock with the stock rims. Something you might want to look into. BDS doesn't mention that either on their website. The squeaks will settle down after a while the ride will soften up a bit. You might want to check the swaybar extension bolts to see if their rubbing anywhere, that just might explain your loud annoying squeak, as metal on metal.

I hope this helps ya out some.

paragrunt

Paragrunt, you sure are an arrogant bastard for answering your own post like that. But thanks for the advice. The wheel spacers did the trick. The shop measured and found that I did need a 2 degree shim to eliminate the slight rear drive-line vibe. This whole process has been a great bit pain in the *** from the start. I hope the wife likes it when she see's it so she will allow me to live peacefully. Time will tell..............

Gee oh Dee

Huh, you have the same lift I do.

And I just needed to replace my old DS u joints.

I guess every truck will be different.

Gee oh Dee

And a lift wont cause the need for new rims. The only reason you would need new rims would be if you installed larger tires when you did the lift.

Unless you kept the factory track bar and your axle is majorly shifted to the drivers side...?

paragrunt

I understand about the rims. BDS's website didn't specify that you will need different rims for the 31's if you plan on using stock rims. The off road shop I purchased my lift from didn't say anything either when I told em I was too broke to buy new rims so I was planning on using the stock ones. Hell, they even gave me a quote on new tires........ Sooo, I tool it in today and they measured the axle and leaf angles I guess and told me that the shims that they had in stock wouldn't work as it would push it too far and I needed a 2 degree shim and ordered it for me. My salesman wasn't impressive, but I've known the mechanic for a few years and he knows his stuff.

For the rims, one of the shop employees just upgraded his axles and took off a set of Excalibur 1.25" spacers, got em gently used for $100.00, problem solved. They don't look like their coming off either so changing my brakes in a year or two will be fun. The XJ looks great!

Jeepjunky

what the...what?...im confuzed!?!

paragrunt

Jeepjunky, nobody replied when I had a question, but plenty of views. So, when I got answers on my own, I answered my own questions. It's just me being my usually smart *** self.

Plus, anyone else that might be experiencing the same problems might find a solution here.

ClassicX

So, just to be clear, you lifted 3" and did a TC drop? And the shop recommends shims? Also, in my experience new leaf packs are usually pretty noisy. Did this lift include control arms? Is this your first experience lifting a jeep? I'm not being smart here, i just don't want to assume anything.

Parhamm1

Well I have my full leaf 3" zone lift on now (made by bds) and I'm dealing with ungodly squeaking all around, crunching poly leaf bushings and my drivers side sway bar drop bolt rubbing the track bar bracket.... Any suggestions to help rid me of these demon noises??? I can't stand driving the thing now. It sounds terrible.

paragrunt

ClassicX, yes sir, the shop recommended 2 degree shims as that's what I'm off after they measured when I took it up there. They did say that the BDS full leaf pack is self leveling. It's a slight vibe between 30-& 40 mph. The shims came in today and will be going on Wednesday. It's my first experience with an XJ or leaf sprung vehicle. I lifted a KJ and a TJ before. I miss the TJ. the most.

Parhamm1, douse the poly bushings with a spray can of white lithium grease. Drive it around and do it again. After a couple hundred miles and a few treatments of that grease, 80% or more of the squeaks should go away. My bolt was rubbing real bad as well. A sawsall fixed that problem, trim down the bolt. That nasty sound goes away.

My wife's biggest gripe is that it's bouncy as hell. I even sprung for the Bilstein 5100 shocks. I'm just hoping it settles down some. Perhaps I'll add a steering stabilizer after Christmas.

ClassicX

I applaud your dedication to making things "right". When I first got into lifting my XJ I didn't really anticipate these type of driveline issues either. Please keep us posted on how it works after it's said an done.
I've been constantly trying to achieve stock driveline feel and noises. I've recently decided to dynomat the jeep. If I can't fix it, I can at least minimize how much I hear it, right? I guess it comes down to personal opinion. If the shim doesn't work, will you do an SYE?

paragrunt

Thanks ClassicX. As for as an SYE, I doubt it. If this doesn't work, my wife will be so damn pissed the XJ will go back to stock or she will want to sell it. She already hates it. I'm just hoping that after a good deep snow, she grows to appreciate it. I'll update and let y'all know how it works.