rdubb1031

So i have a 2007 JKU with a teraflex 2.5" coil lift with 9550 shocks. Nitto trail grapplers 295/70r18 aired to 29 psi. Spydertrax wheel spacers. Question i can't seem to get answered, why is my ride so rough? When i hit a bump with a single tire its alright but both tires feels like I'm hitting a two foot deep pothole. I feel everything driving down the road. I've been asking around with no luck and to be honest it may be normal but just looking for opinions so I can make my next round of mods to fix this. Is this normal? Does caster impact this? I did get teraflex's first batch of redesigned lifts could that be it?
Thanks....

EzK

Speed bumps have a harsh impact on my stock Jeep but I've seen many times that Tera shocks are in the stuff side.

wayoflife

the trail grapplers are load range E tires and so, the side walls will be stiffer than whatever you had before. that's typically a cause for a harsh ride as most people who don't know any better will run them at 35-40 psi or more. however, you're running them at 29 psi and that should have helped things out a lot. aside from that, coil rate will make up the bulk of ride quality and then shocks will make up the difference by dampening hits. i've run TF coils and shocks and have always found them to be on the firm side and a lot of people like it that way. if you were to try out a jk with the same tires but running something like evo plush ride coils and king shocks. i think you would see/feel a big difference.

rdubb1031

Hmm... do you think going down to 27 psi to start and maybe upgrade to some Bilsteins or Fox shocks in the future would alleviate some of this? I'm coming in to some repairs and I"m trying to figure out the cause which I feel is a direct result of the harsh ride. I popped welds on my tailgate after three months, tie rod ends are sloppy, drag link sloppy, and now when I hit a pothole my steering wheel will wobble back and forth for a second then stop. the harsh ride I think is the culprit, but unsure..

thoughts?

wayoflife

well, it certainly wouldn't hurt to lower your air pressure more. if you still have your factory wheels, doing so would most likely give you a better contact patch with the ground anyway.

regarding the sensation you feel after hitting a pot hole goes, it sounds to me like you've definitely got something starting to wear out or come loose. however, so long as your tie rods ends are just sloppy rotationally, they're fine. they just shouldn't moved vertically in a z-axis if you know what i mean. if they do, they are bad. make sure to check your track bar bolts to ensure they are tightend to the proper torq setting, their bushings are in good shape and, check your ball joints.

rdubb1031

I am running stock wheels on spacers, so I'll drop to 27 today and see how it goes, MPGs mean nothing.. haha.

I've had two seperate opinions on the tie rod ends, one tire shop said "shot" and high country performance (here in denver) said maybe a little, but nothing to worry about. I do trust the tire shop as both guys are jeepers themselves, one of them running a TJ w/ 40's. I was going to replace both TR and DL with the currie system, but I've heard some large complaints and not sure if its been resolved. When I do this I will be adding Currie Steering System, TF HD Adj trackbar. I have checked the trackbar and it appeared ok. I just added TF quick discos last week and while down there torqued everything and it was still tight. I'll have to crawl back under this weekend to look closer at bushings and ball joints.

thanks for the help as always..

wayoflife

when you check your ball joints, make sure to use a dial indicator as it will be the only real way to know if they're bad. i mean, if they're really bad, you can feel it with your hands and see it with your eyes but, more times than not, you can't. so you know, the sensation you are describing sounds a lot like you'd have death wobble if you're steering stablizer was bad or missing. if i could guess, your ball joints are in need of replacing.

rdubb1031

Hey WOL had someone take a look and ball joints, trackbar, drag link and tie rod all recommended to be replaced. Looking to do this myself based on write ups. Do you think the harbor freight ball joint kit is all I need to get those in and out? Or will I need more tubes? Any thing else you'd recommend while I'm doing this? Any additional help is appreciated thanks

wayoflife

the harbor freight ball joint kit will work but, you will want to order a jeep/dodge ball joint specific adapter kit. you can get one on amazon for about $70 but, you might even be able to borrow one from autozone for free if yours has one in stock. this will make the job a lot easier.

toddseye

Very helpfull info.