JYogi

I have an 08 Wrangler UL Rubicon.
I have the OME lift on it, Teraflex Bump Stops, Brake line relocation brackets, Teraflex Front lower control arms & extended rear sway bar links.
I have the AEV Pintler wheels, I have Skrockworks sliders and got the BFT AT 315's
Hanson medium Fenderbar for the front with a set of IPF lights to go on the bumper (moving the factory fogs over to inside the bumper), Hanson skid plate
Shrockworks stubby rear with the reverse lights.

Anyway, everything was installed by a top notch shop with a great long term reputation and was done by one of the well known and respected (even here in the hometown forums) techs about 6 or 8 weeks ago.

This is my first lifted vehicle so I did not know what to expect.
It seemed to be a tad bit floaty on the freeway (tended to wander I guess youd say but nothing drastic).
When I go over a series of multiple pot holes the steering wobbles quite a bit (again I assumed that was due to the lift)
Today I was going up to hunt camp to set some things up.
My friend and I were in the car and at most 200 pds of gear in the back of the jeep (spead out evenly with the back seats folded down.

So, we went through out the property doing our work (smooth dirt roads, a few hills nothing anyone would consider 4 wheeling at all) you would not hesitate to drive a nice sedan on these trails...

Leaving the property I hear a very nasty grinding from the back of the Jeep when turning and a wobble of sorts at points. My friend having almost the exact same set up said the wheels might have gotten loose as I had only had them on 2K miles. We checked them and it wasn't it. Neither of us are mechanics at all but we looked under and nothing looked broke or out of place, everything seemed tight.

We continued our trip with caution and the car seems to float a bit more and more, the grinding noise while turning continued and the sharper curve or turn the worse it got).

Looked again nothing, a little later another look and the lead wheel weights are mounted on the inside of my rims and it is clearly something scraping these weights when turning..... This just started today.

Anyway we made it home slowly and safely taking as few turns as possible and those as slow as possible. My friend loaned me his Jeep (EXACT same, done by the same people except for rims also mine is a UL his isnt) well driving it home I realized mine has always had that floaty feeling which is doesnt and his doesnt get the shake (not death wobble) mine does over series of bumps.

I am taking it in Monday and going to leave it over, I know they will take care of me BUT I am at a loss, does anyone have any clue what could be going on? I know mechanics dont like being told what the problem is but I do not mind saying that someone else had a similar problem which was caused by .......
and well I am impatient and very curious so if someone has some ideas Id like to know.

Again the only thing that looked abnormal was the clear grinding on the wheels weights yet no damage to the rims. The floating was worse after this than previously as well.

Lastly as much as I hate to admit it this is the closest the Jeep has come to offroading (and as I said it was far from off roading) as I have been working non stop since the install.... So its not like I did some crazy rock climbing, mudding, wheeling etc etc. (its been a road warrior)

OK
Hope that helps and hope you guys have some suggestions!!!

Thank you!

tpm152

You didn't change your diff oil recently did you? If you have the limited slip differential in the back and forgot the additive when changing the gear oil the rear end would grind when you went around turns. Also it might add to a "floaty" feeling on the highway if you go around any turns and the axle is flexing.

The only other thing I can think of is to check your track bar bracket. The track bar bracket weld on the rear axle is a weak point that is not uncommon to break after a lift.

I hope everything works out and it isn't expensive!

JYogi

Nope, did not change the diff oil.
Also as I said the grinding is something that is rubbing against the wheel balance weights clipped on the inside of my wheels when taking turns.

If anyone else has any ideas please let me know.

I will make sure to post after they get to look it over

RedneckJeep

Sounds like the rear sway bar link bolts are contacting the wheels and/or wheel weights. This will happen on a lifted Jeep when using stock wheels without wheels spacers, or on aftermarket wheels with incorrect backspacing. Of course, since I'm not there, it's only a guess. It's probably a good guess, though.

JYogi

Rob
I just do not know about that because I have the AEV wheels which many are running great with these tires and all also I am just at about 3K miles since the lift and it has just started.
Who knows I do appreciate the suggestions and as I said I will let you guys know what the heck it turns out to be.

river2c

Did you recenter your axles with adjustable track bars or a bracket? If the axle is off center, it could cause one of your sway bar links to be too close to the rim and rub. Also, your sway bar links should be mounted on the inside of the sway bar like this for additional clearance:

river2c

Also, it sounds like you need to add more castor with the front lower control arms to correct the wandering. Check your tire pressure and keep it around 30psi.

w squared

Depending on what type of sway bar links he has, that may or may not work for him.

For instance, the links that I have actually stick out farther towards the tire if I mount them inboard of the sway bar. This is because the "bushing" side is very low-profile, and the "bolt" side is fairly long. If I was able to take a picture of my suspension right now it would be much easier to explain, but my Jeep is about 5000 miles away from me

nthinuf

Next time you're in the FAQ's, read this section:
"Q: What is Caster? How much do I need?"

If you are losing wheel weights, that could add to the handling problems also, but it sounds like a caster/toe issue as well.


I assume you'll want to have the shop do the adjustments? If you want to look into it a bit yourself before you take it to them, check the "Setting Your Toe-In" and "Setting Your Caster" sections here:
http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-...-end-alignment

m(a)ce

I have a similar setup and never experienced the grinding at all - but there are some good suggestions above to check.

As for the floating- I did have that and in all honesty once I got front lower CA's I was impressed on how much they tightened it up.

Maybe if you have some pics that will help.