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Insanity!

D

Droopy76

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Tazewell Va.
This whole caster vs. pinion angle thing is driving me nuts. When I installed my 6.5 long arm kit I did some searching and read that I needed 7* positive caster so thats how I set it. I got everything torqued and locked down then I installed my front drive shaft. My DS angle was way steeper than my pinion angle so I did some more searching and found out that you want the DS and pinion to be in line on the front to avoid vibration. So I lined up my DS and pinion. Now I only have 2* positive caster. I'm trying to find a happy medium here. How do you guy's do it? I know the only real fix is cutting and rotating the inner C's but I don't have the tool's or ability to do so. Where do I go from here? I'm sure there are guy's out there that are running 6.5 in. and long arms without vibrations or death wobble. Show me the way ole' wise ones.

Thanks

Droopy
 
When I had the low pinion axle in my TJ I ran it with about 2* of caster without any issue accept sometimes when turning sharp the steering wheel wouldn't recenter on it's own. You could try 4* of caster, this shouldn't produce any vibrations.
 
Droopy76 said:
This whole caster vs. pinion angle thing is driving me nuts. When I installed my 6.5 long arm kit I did some searching and read that I needed 7* positive caster so thats how I set it. I got everything torqued and locked down then I installed my front drive shaft. My DS angle was way steeper than my pinion angle so I did some more searching and found out that you want the DS and pinion to be in line on the front to avoid vibration. So I lined up my DS and pinion. Now I only have 2* positive caster. I'm trying to find a happy medium here. How do you guy's do it? I know the only real fix is cutting and rotating the inner C's but I don't have the tool's or ability to do so. Where do I go from here? I'm sure there are guy's out there that are running 6.5 in. and long arms without vibrations or death wobble. Show me the way ole' wise ones.

Thanks

Droopy
Click to expand...
I went through this on mine for a long time and in the end I just figured I was stuck with death wobble so I set the pinion straight with the the D/S and guess what? No death wobble! I can't account for it but I have a perfect pinion angle with no death wobble without rotating the "c"'s.
 
I hope I get lucky. Can I get by with like 1 or 2* difference on my pinion angle? That way I could gain a little more caster. I would try offset ball joints but I just got finished rebuilding my front with new gears, bearings and guess what balljoints. I would hate to replace brand new balljoints. I guess I'll just have to drive it when I get everything buttoned up and see what happens. Thanks for the input.

Droopy
 
The fastest way to do it is to split the difference in the angles and start in the middle--f you don't get vibes that's great, otherwise cut the pinion angle until the vibes go away. Favor the pinion angle, you don't want to get in the habit of replacing driveshaft u-joints.

If you are just getting this setup, remove the front driveshaft altogether and make sure the rear isn't producing any vibes. You don't want to be chasing two vibes at teh same time.
 
I shouldn't get any rear vibes. I have 6.5 in. rear springs and put in 7* shims that came with the kit. The rear pinion angle was about 2* lower than the DS angle. Then I added a set of JKS boomerang shackles that give you 1 in. of lift. That put me dead on. I hope that doesn't cause any problems during acceleration. I'll just have to drive it and find out.:guitar:

Thanks

Droopy
 
What year is this? I had issues with my pinion/caster so I swapped in a high pinon dana 30 axle. My 2001 came with a low pinion dana 30 and they suck balls.

I once drove on 3 degrees caster and it sucked. The jeep would pull towards the crown of the roads, wouldn't track straight, and brakes were funny. Once caster was set to factory specs with the HP 30, all that shi$ went away.
 
Droopy76 said:
I shouldn't get any rear vibes. I have 6.5 in. rear springs and put in 7* shims that came with the kit. The rear pinion angle was about 2* lower than the DS angle.
Click to expand...

Do you have an SYE?
 
It's a 98 with a hp 30. I also have a AA SYE. I think whats screwin me is the 1.5 in. spacers I put up front to level it out after I added the JKS shackles in the rear. I might end up ditchin the spacers and tryin to find some 5.5 in rear springs. Or just ride it stinkbug style.:roll:

Droopy
 
jeeperjohn said:
I went through this on mine for a long time and in the end I just figured I was stuck with death wobble so I set the pinion straight with the the D/S and guess what? No death wobble! I can't account for it but I have a perfect pinion angle with no death wobble without rotating the "c"'s.
Click to expand...

Strange that you say that. After 8 years I decided it was finally time to address my poor caster angle so I shimmed my LCA's. Prior to installing the shims, I wasn't having any noticeable caster related issues and my front driveline ran smooth at about 1*.

My primary goal was actually to get my lower sway bar mounts rotated up and out of the way, improving caster was a secondary benefit. I now have minor vibes with about 3* of driveline angle, better caster, and.... minor death wobble at about 35mph! I guess the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" applies in my case. Hopefully getting rid of the shims will eliminate my new found wobble.
 
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