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14" rear travel

jjvande

NAXJA Forum User
the jeep is now sitting at 4.5-5" of lift with 14" of travel in the rear (8" of droop).

those of you with that much travel... have you had any issues with the driveshaft binding? this is with an AASYE and TW shaft.
 
just installed MJ leafs...new front mounts on the leafs. they gave about 4.5-5" of lift. as for shocks, i have 8.75" travel rancho 9000x. but with them disconnected the axle droops way down. I will be getting some bilsteins soon, and redoing all the shock mounts. nevertheless, the lift and bump stops will stay the same. I was hoping to make use of all the droop, but am curious as to how the TW shaft and AASYE combo will like it.
 
actually...i've been using them for limiting the droop for about 8 years...no problems here. the 4.5" rustys springs would droop about a half an inch more than the shocks would let them. Front too. i think the 900s have an extension bump built in. So, with the new springs, it's basically the same travel until i get new shocks. you bring up a good point...maybe the bilstiens wont have this extension bump and i should use some straps... I dont really jump the jeep all the time...just been doing more fast semi-whoop type trails.
 
I was having this discussion with Goatman last week. We decided to wait until this week to speculate some more. He's looking for 18".

I've known two people that had issues with 14" of travel. I don't know the exact specs beyond that. They were able to eliminate the binding by clearancing the CV where it was contacting. My concern is both were low speed crawlers for the most part. In a speed situation I wondered if the CV's would last.
 
im just curious here, and no i'm not trying to start any problems, but are you actually getting 14" of travel or 14" of articulation? Cause honestly unless you have you 8.75" travel shocks at a severe angle, i don't see how your getting 14" out of them.

Dingo
 
jjvande said:
just installed MJ leafs...new front mounts on the leafs. they gave about 4.5-5" of lift. as for shocks, i have 8.75" travel rancho 9000x. but with them disconnected the axle droops way down. I will be getting some bilsteins soon, and redoing all the shock mounts. nevertheless, the lift and bump stops will stay the same. I was hoping to make use of all the droop, but am curious as to how the TW shaft and AASYE combo will like it.

i just installed new springs...the old shocks are too short...i need new ones for the 14 inches of up-down travel that the new springs permit. sorry if this was unclear.

this is with 31" tires...so they stuff pretty well... up until the MJ springs are almost flat.

here is a pic with it about 12" of gap between the bumpstop and contact plate:

xeha8j.jpg
 
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jjvande said:
i just installed new springs...the old shocks are too short...i need new ones for the 14 inches of up-down travel that the new springs permit. sorry if this was unclear.

this is with 31" tires...so they stuff pretty well... up until the MJ springs are almost flat.

I can believe that 14" travel measurement... my MJ 'metric ton' leafpacks in SOA stretched out pretty far on extension, and when they flattened out, it was a good bit of uptravel.

As to the driveline bind issue, I think JJ needs to invest in a bottle/pen of "white out" (quickly dries and EZ to see) or a paint marker pen, steal momma's nail polish etc... apply to the suspect surfaces, note interference, clearance parts or replace with different, repeat as neccesary. I'd want to check the suspension in full droop/stuff on both sides as that is where the binds will be most glaring. Also note how much driveshaft spline is engaged at full droop & that there is no 'push' at full compresion.
 
Umm, is the XJ in question going to be jumped?

If not, then why worry about clearancing the yoke. The odds or number of times that both tires/springs will be at full extension while wheeling are few and far between.

At my friends shop, we often see driveshafts that bind, but only on full extension.

If you want to stop it, put in a limiting strap at the center of the axle. It will still allow the axle to articulate, but not go to full extension of the springs on both sides, and the DS won't bind.
 
I have to say that i dont plan on jumping it, but if you drive fast in the desert, you're likely to hit something at some point that you dont anticipate and catch some air.

the main purpose of the MJ springs was increased verticle travel and a softer spring rate, so i would like to get all that is possible out of this setup.

I'll go see what kind of clearancing needs to be done.

High Angle Driveline has a 1350 shaft with 32* operating angle...i wonder if it is possible to get new yokes and run this type of shaft?
 
jjvande said:
I have to say that i dont plan on jumping it, but if you drive fast in the desert, you're likely to hit something at some point that you dont anticipate and catch some air.

the main purpose of the MJ springs was increased verticle travel and a softer spring rate, so i would like to get all that is possible out of this setup.

I'll go see what kind of clearancing needs to be done.

High Angle Driveline has a 1350 shaft with 32* operating angle...i wonder if it is possible to get new yokes and run this type of shaft?

Dude, read it again, what I wrote.

If it MIGHT happen, have the limiting strap there, and it will keep the driveline from binding, because it won't reach full extension.

BUT, the limiting strap will still allow each side of the axle to utilize all of the articulation that you were hoping to get by switching to the MJ leafs.

A limiting strap is WAY cheaper than getting new yokes and u-joints.

Check out what the desert racers are doing. Limiting straps, but one on each side. Just put one in the middle. It'll hold the axle, but allow articulation.
 
i read it again... not sure what im looking for.

why would i spend all the time and effort in going to mj springs...then limit the droop i just gained with straps? i want the 14" of travel to soak up whoops better. I fully understand the purpose of the center vs. outer limiting straps and i may use one or the other to act as a "soft limit" on the lower end of travel.

I took a look. the yoke starts to interfere with the CV at the 12.5" travel ....so i figure that carefully grinding about 1-2mm of metal off the yokes should get me to the 14" mark w/o binding. I will try this and see.

Thanks
 
For your info, the RE shaft I just removed had a max angle of 30*, the High Angle Drive Line I just got has a max angle of 35*. Both in 1310.
 
thanks! i just might have to call them and see what can be done after some measurements.

I've seen some, and tried searching, but does anyone have some pictures or links to methods of relocating the upper rear shock mounts inside the vehicle? im curious about how to run them through the factory shock mount brace.
 
just found this while looking for people with 15" travel shocks...however to your question.

What is the angle of the driveline compared to output in that picture, and compared to the pinion? Find the max YOUR driveshaft will allow at each of it's joints and see how much of that travel you can actually use without getting new parts made up. It seems very easy to tell if you're going to bind or not.
 
gearwhine said:
just found this while looking for people with 15" travel shocks...however to your question.

What is the angle of the driveline compared to output in that picture, and compared to the pinion? Find the max YOUR driveshaft will allow at each of it's joints and see how much of that travel you can actually use without getting new parts made up. It seems very easy to tell if you're going to bind or not.

yea, in the post a few up i found that there was 12.5" of travel (with this specific bumpstop setup) to where hte shaft is just starting to bind.

I'm waiting for a while to do the longer shocks in the rear...it's going to take some exhaust work, some cutting, welding, and a few weekends of time for me to do it and i like having the jeep out of the garage right now (just waxed the Honda and it looks real nice) then im leaving for a week on vacation....work....and stuff...so it's gonna be a while. Not to mention i am drooling at the chance to take it out after i just installed the ax-15, TNT stiffeners, DIY Posi-lok, clutch...etc. i need to wheel this thing!

Thanks
 
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