It's rubbing enough to make a loud noise inside the cabin, and after 200 or so miles of off road driving (not rubbing constantly obviously), there are clearly detectable (1/8" deep maybe?) scores in the fender, mostly at the top. This happens at speed as well as during crawling.

I am definitely planning on trimming the corner spot, since to me that seems like it has the most potential for damage, but it really doesn't seem like a long-term solution to allow rubbing of any kind.

I should also point out that I did not disconnect the sway bar the entire time, so this would probably only be worse if I did.

I guess the consensus is "body lift." That seems really ugly to me, and I'm not happy. It would be nice if Full Traction included one of those in their kits (as well as a complete set of working parts) or stopped advertising that it will clear 35's. Do people have the same issues with RE, Black Diamond, Tera, etc.?

 

You could add Coil Spring spacers in the rear to lift it up a little more. You could also use some washers to space the rear bumpstops lower. I'd try that since you don't like the looks of a body lift.

 

What are you wanting FT to include in the kit?

 

But it does clear 35's. Just because you are experiencing some minor rubbing issues at a full flex with the tires/wheel combination that you have doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't. And, for whatever it's worth, I don't ever recall Full Traction advertising that there wouldn't be any rubbing with their kit under certain circumstances.

I agree this would be the best solution. If you extend your bumpstops a bit more, you shouldn't have any more rubbing issues. The Full Traction 3" Ultimate kit to be extremely flexible and I personally love it because of it. In my opinion, a little bit of rubbing can be easily addressed but a stiff suspension system or one that has limited flex cannot be made to be have more flexible.

 

Id go with some small coil spring spacers too, something like the 3/4" ones.
That would give you more suspension lift to clear the tires better, and look better then a body lift.
Then also add some more to the bump stops if all else fails.

 

Looks pretty minor to me. A little tire rub on the inner fender liner. What's the big deal?

 

I am curious. You never did say how much you were loaded down. Also if your scratches are an 1/8 deep in the rear end only, just get a piece of 1/4" steel or aluminum drill two holes in it and bolt it under your rear bumpstops. Seems like that should do it.

 

A body lift (it was a joke)


Maybe we have different definitions of "clear" (and you've been around this scene a lot longer than I have, so it's probably me who's wrong). I don't want to belabor the point, but I want to reiterate two things:

1) To me, and probably to the uninitiated in general, "clear" means "clear" -- that is, the axle should be able to rest on the bump stop and the wheel should turn without hitting anything. If the spring is all the way compressed, then the load should not matter. Yes, I was fairly heavily loaded on my trip, but I don't think that's out of the ordinary for a five-day excursion. The description on Northridge's site says "this system will allow use of 35in tires with ease." I did not interpret that as "this kit will rub under certain circumstances."

2) The "tire/wheel combination that I have" was picked because of materials put out by Full Traction! I did not go renegade and pick some crazy combination for exactly that reason.

Anyway, I think I've made my point, and I hope this thread will serve as a bit of a warning for others thinking of doing the same. I have some good suggestions (spring spacers, bump stop extensions) that I'll try in the next couple of weeks, and I really am happy overall with the performance of the kit -- as you say, articulation seems really good. Probably just a matter of adjusting my expectations accordingly. As I've said before, I'm pretty new at this.

 

Hey Clint dont let it change your order, I stick way out on my spacers and I rub in extreme conditions too but life is to short to go small.





figure it out

 

Quick update on this...

I pulled the wheels and dropped the axle yesterday in an attempt to fix the rubbing issue. I found a few (others) things of concern. This is all on the rear of the vehicle:

- My rear track was off by probably 3/8 - 1/2" (shifted toward the driver's side). In order to fix it, I pretty much had to tighten the track bar heim joint all the way in so there are no threads exposed.

Side note: I had asked a shop to look at this among other things, but they obviously did not. They also failed to tighten down two jam nuts on the control arm heim joints, even though they made a big deal about how important it was when I went to pick the Jeep up. If you live in the SF Bay Area, I would not recommend Arabia's Overkill in Campbell. Also: I'm also looking for a good shop (would travel to East Bay, etc. if needed).

- The sway bar was rubbing pretty badly on the brake hose hanger. At first I thought this was due to the track being off, but after adjusting it I'm not so sure. It only rubs on one side.



- The bolt heads for the sway bar links have pretty much embedded themselves in the rubber of the bushing. It really feels like there should be a washer here or something. It's to the point where it was very difficult getting the bolt out and back in again because I have probably less than 1/8" of surface to get a socket or wrench on.



Finally, here's a pic of my low-budget bump stop "extension extension." A stack of 8 washers extends it almost exactly 1/2". If this works to eliminate the rubbing, I'll buy/fab a block of aluminum or something to use there instead.