Wtf!!

alright.... i just got my jeep back from the frame shop for some work. he installed a new transfer case for me as well as the frame work. anyway, i just put on rusty's long arm kit(which i like despite the views of some on this forum). i am however i am in doubt of some of his other parts that i have on my jeep. his long arms seem to have alleviated my death wobble, but his steering conversion is worrying me. now on top of my vague steering(which i can live with), i my wheels are shaking violently during hard acceleration (i can't tell if the whole axle is moving or not). i've got new ball joints and new t-bar etc. i have heard that some have noticed his steering conversion to bend irregularly... could this be contributing? everything seems tighted down properly when i had my buddy turn the wheel under load, and my angles look perfect. what am i forgetting?

could the fact that he didn't send me those jam nuts be the cause? am i just getting too much play in the CA's? don't know..

also, my speedometer is haywire. its acting more like a tach.

please help..

Just for kicks have a buddy drive behind you and watch your front wheels. that way you know of the axle is moving left/right, fore/back, or the tires bouncing left/right, or up/down.

note. i'm currently waiting to put in a ford 8.8 and new DS in the rear, and my front end is 4.10(back is 3.07). so i don't have the rear DS in and am in 4high. not that it should make much difference.

i just did that and he said the tires were shaking left to right. similar to DW but at little or no speed, and no effect on the rest of the jeep.

Sounds like you have a bent front axle shaft, worn/binding u joint or bent front driveshaft I have Rusty's long arm on also and have had no problems like that. When you say there are no jam nuts, do you mean on the TRE's or on the control arms? The control arms are not supposed to have jam nuts so they can pivot as the suspension flexes.

i'll have to check out the axles.. i've got two sets of spares. but wouldn't the shake at all speeds if that were the case?

thats kind of what i thought about the jam nuts, but i could swear i've seen posts where people were bitchin about rusty not sending them jam nuts with their long arms. it seems to me that they would limit flex, bind, and eventually loosen themselves if they were installed on the CA's.

You need to get it aligned. And don't live with the vague steering, put the stock steering back on or do an upgrade that will give you positive steering.

Nay

Also..again just for kicks...

With the engine off, have a buddy turn your wheels back and forth just to the point that he takes up all the slack in yoru steering (basically tun it until resistance is felt, then go the other way until resistance is felt, etc). ANyway, while he's doing that get up under there and put your hand on all moving parts to feel for any popping.

I'd say it sounds like that track bar is at fault. Check both the frame and body end. Perhaps the trackbar to frame bracket has loosened up?

Sequoia

A loose track bar usually give you DW. A vibe under acell. is usually a ujoint or bent something. I would actually wait until you get the rear driveshaft on before worrying about it too much. There are way too many variables to deal with now.

Ditto on the steering. I didn't care for Rusty's conversion either, so I went with Bullet proof steering from Performance Unlimited. A little salty, but darn well worth it. Now I just got to find some sucker to buy Rusty's...here comes my brother, he'll buy anything.

flexj said:

A loose track bar usually give you DW.

Click to expand...

I disagree. The track bar on my '88 got so bad I could barely keep it in one lane, but it didn't cause any death wobble. Just let it wander all over the road.

Improper wheel balance causes death wobble, not track bars.

Ditto on the steering. I didn't care for Rusty's conversion either, so I went with Bullet proof steering from Performance Unlimited. A little salty, but darn well worth it. Now I just got to find some sucker to buy Rusty's...here comes my brother, he'll buy anything. [/B][/QUOTE]


does your brother need two? LOL. i guess you can sell just about anything on ebay though.

yeah, i love that bulletproof steering stuff. i wish i had just spent the extra loot to begin with. i'll be posting when i have my xj yard sale soon.

i think i may have posted this a little prematurely. sorry. i'm gonna take flexj's advise and wait till i get the ass end straightened out before i worry about this steering stuff. i was looking at my tires and they look pretty badly worn, so i'll just chalk this one up to wheel balance until i get my 33's on.
thanks for everyone's help though. you guys are great.