Nemisus

Good afternoon JKF,

Sorry this took so long to update. I finally got the Jeep in for a wheel balance and that was certainly part of my front in wobble. A fresh balance was needed. That said, and the more unfortunately news... is I need some front end work. Left upper and lower BJ's show movement, and the upper and lower drag links as well as track bar bushings are showing signs of wear. Enough that they wouldn't do an alignment.

I already have a set of upper and lower Ball joints ready to go on so there is that. Will be looking at after market Drags and tracks. Welcome suggestions on brand. I seem to be drawn to the Terra-Flex HD pieces. Let me know what you guys think.

Cheers

Nemi

resharp001

I really hate to sound like a Metalcloak homer but when it comes to a TB you really need to scrutinize the style of joints used. IMO, MC and Synergy are really where it is at. My issue with Synergy is that I don't buy into the premium price for their double-barrel adjustment system. I've had it before and it's crap that is not worth it IMO after the initial adjustment. The TF has an OEM style bushing which is fine in general, but the only TF product I really think is worth a darn is their tire carrier.....and their ball joints are better than the other offerings in that price range if you can't opt for Rare Parts. I don't see much reason to pay significantly more for the TF bar vs. Metalcloak.

Nemisus

Hey there Resharp,

Pretty sold on the MC stuff. It's much much cheaper. I am curious though... I watched a video on the TF steering... are those tie-rod joints really adjustable? As in when they wear out you can adjust the tension making them tight again? I've never seen that in a tie rod before. Interesting at any rate.

anyhow, thanks for the good advice as always.

Nemisus

ordered the MC steering and Track Bar. I'll update when things are installed.

Thanks Russ for your advice and help

Nem

resharp001

I think you'll be happy with em. My build started as most do.....not knowing what you don't know. It was a long and bumpy road along the way. When I got to the point of doing a full set of control arms years ago, MC was my preferred choice due to their bushings for a nice mix of on/offroad qualities and angles of bends in their arms compared to others. Over time I swapped to their TB and DL after a few previous brands. My jeep has always been a Frankenlift and I've been fine with that. I'm still ok with my Rock Krawler springs as they get the job done, my rear Rubicon Express TB centers the axle just the same as other adjustable models, and my Fusion 4x4 tie rod is beefy as all hell but I only have that as it was a package with my front axle. I offer this background as a point of reference cuz when I suggest MC items it really is cuz I think that is what I'd do again if I had to make the choice today. That isn't to say other people can't be happy with different brands, but it's really hard to go wrong with MC products.

Nemisus

yeah I am looking forward to it actually. The cost of the Steering and track bar from MC was the same price as just the steering from TF. And the MC has a new steering stablizer. I suspect over time I'll add more MC's compenants but what I have on it now does the job. The TF short arms are nice, nicer than stock anway and seem to do as advertized. The next peice might be to update th rear track bar. Might not be needed anytime soon though.

We're still on the fence if this 17 is going to be hers and I'll get another one to do what I see fit. Right now since it sees more work drive time than fun time there isn't much of a point in getting crazy.

One thing blowing my mind is how much movement I see in the LOD destroyer roof rack. You'd think for their cost it'd be more solid. Might just be a roof rack thing and they all do it? Topic for another thread though.

Thanks in advance, and I really do appreciate the feedback and advice.

Mark Doiron

I'm a little late to this party, but it seems that your problem hasn't been fixed (sorry if I overlooked that it had). I had a problem earlier this year with a severe vibration while heading out to run the NVBDR. It occurred only at highway speeds, around 55-65. Above and below it went away. When I returned home and was washing the Jeep, I noticed a lot of mud build-up inside the left rear wheel. I washed it out and the vibration was significantly less. But still there. I took the Jeep down and had all four tires balanced, because that wheel had about five times as many weights as any other. Problem quite minor now, but still there. During a run of the COBDR, went ahead and swapped that left rear tire for the spare. Problem did not change during return trip to OKC. Somewhere along the way I had a thought that maybe I had a bad shock. I pulled all four, and the left front was totally collapsed. Replaced the Ranchos with Teraflex 9550s because when I replaced them years ago after 150K miles, all four still had good pressure. The Ranchos were supposedly adjustable, but the adjustment knobs had frozen years ago, so I was pretty disappointed with the higher price for something that really didn't work. Took for test drive and have since run another overlanding trip and the Jeep is rock steady. Not too bad for 277K miles, TF shocks, Synergy ball joints with 100K miles, Synergy tie rod and drag link with 150K miles, and TF front track bar with 150K miles.

Anyway, short answer: Check shock the shock absorbers. It's an easy check and can cause vehicle vibrations.

Nemisus

Good morning Mark,

So far I've had the tires re-balanced and the shake slightly went away. I tried to get an alignment and was told my tie rods are loose and one side is showing play in the ball joints. I ordered the Metal Clock steering and Track Bar and am currently 4 to 6 weeks out for that. I happen to have replacement ball joint and am just waiting for the MC parts to come in. As far as shocks go I just put brand new Fox 2.0's all around. Maybe 1k miles on them. I may remove them as they are a tad stiff for general road use. At this time I mainly use the JK for work.

I will post back when I get the steering and alignment worked out.

I'd probably go back to Bilstein shocks offered by AEV.

Stay Tuned and thanks for the feedback Mark

Cheers

Nem

Mark Doiron

Yeah, I figured you were on a path. Main reason I posted was in case someone in the future is looking for ideas, bad shocks is one that hadn't been mentioned yet. I've seen all of those things cause shakes, so good luck and I hope you get it resolved. Do always appreciate when someone closes the loop, as it were.

Nemisus

Greetings everyone,

Just wanted to update that I've not forgotten about this thread. I am merely still waiting for the MC components to arrive. Guess they are 4 to 6 weeks out. I just hit 4 weeks to the day.

I'll update shortly

Cheers

Nem