Figuring lift height, death wobble, long read

When I bought my 92 XJ it already had a Rough Country 3" full leaf suspension kit with 31's on it. I got bit by the bug and decided to go bigger and better so I picked up some used parts: a locked D44 with gears and disc brakes and a matching locked HPD30, JKS upper and lower arms and quick disconnects, RE HD track bar and bracket and a ZJ tie rod. My new parts consisted of JKS bar pin eliminators front and rear, RHD XJ drag link, Goferit inserts for the OTK steering conversion, RCX control arm drop brackets, JCR track bar relocation bracket, Goodyear 33x12.5 Duratracs on 15x8 steelies, RCX front coil spacers and longer rear shackles.

Still with me?

Part one-Lift: I never did measure the lift when I bought it but I was wanting to see if my spacers and shackles put me at 4.5" now so I crawled under and measure the distance between the top of the axle tubes and the frame rails front and rear. According to information I've found on this and other sites, I'm still only sitting at 3"

So I guess I should buy springs front and rear now to reach and actual 4.5"? What brands do you recommend? Thoughts?

Part two-Death Wobble: The control arms and D30 have new bushings in them as does the RE track bar. The ball joints are new and one wheel bearing is new. Caster is 6.5deg per Go-Jeeps site, toe is zero, tires are balanced, steering components felt tight when I put everything together but the ZJ tie rod is used with unknown mileage. Track bar and drag link angles look good but I haven't actually put a line on them and measured yet.

I don't get death wobble at any certain speeds or anything. Only when I hit a bump and it doesn't always happen. I can drive down my street at the same speed and hit the same bumps and sometimes it will go crazy and sometimes it's just fine. The steering is kind of sloppy and the XJ has 190k on it.

Would a worn steering box cause something like that? I do hear some popping or creaking in the front when I turn the wheel that wasn't there before all these upgrades. I also plan on doing the Durango box eventually so this might be the perfect time.

If I go 1-ton OTK, can I just remove the existing inserts, drill the knuckles larger and install the bigger inserts?

If you're still with me, thanks for any feedback.

cracking/popping noises typically point me towards a loose body side track bar bracket (very common), or steering box bolts.

Vanimal said:

cracking/popping noises typically point me towards a loose body side track bar bracket (very common), or steering box bolts.

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I happened to have the front wheels off so I just tightened the side bolts in the inner fender but I forgot to check the two that go up through the frame rail. :scared: I'll check those out this week.
The steering box hasn't been touched so I'll give them a look. I really should just go buy a Durango box and build the brace just to get it over with.

Thanks for the reply.

the bottom ones are typically the noisy ones for me. the upper bolts are pretty high, the bracket can flex a lot if the lower ones are loose. if the upper ones werent tight, then the bottom ones probably werent either, and that's likely the cause of it.

Vanimal said:

the bottom ones are typically the noisy ones for me. the upper bolts are pretty high, the bracket can flex a lot if the lower ones are loose. if the upper ones werent tight, then the bottom ones probably werent either, and that's likely the cause of it.

Click to expand...

Well I got under the Jeep tonight and checked the bolts that go up into the frame and both were loose. Not just a little loose, I could move them by hand

So I tightened them and took it for a spin and not one bit of death wobble. I'm not going to call it fixed just yet, but I do feel good about it.

good to hear. hope that took care of it!