rear end swaying

[flintlock]

I put a 6in lift on my xj a couple weeks ago, after an interesting trip to town to get it the alignment done
I've noticed the rear end kinda drifts and sways a little. And when you putt it in park and push on it, it seems to have a bit more roll back and forth than it did before? Any ideas? Is the roll just due to the bigger tires (33”) ? And is the drifting do to the rear axle not being square to the jeep? thanks!

 

[Ray H]

Not knowing what kind of lift or springs you have, my guess would be two things for the "rolling".
1). You probably removed the rear swaybar when the lift was put on.
2). The Jeep has a much higher center of gravity than it did.
The drifting is most likely due to larger tires and different steering geometry.

 

[flintlock]

yeah the rear sway bar is gone, the lift is a rustys 4.5" with shackles and spacers, full springs. The tires are General Grabbers Mud Trac. I'm going to put a tape on the rear to see if its square to the jeep this afternoon. Its not a DD its only going to be driven from the place i store it to the park so maybe 50miles each way.

 

[Ray H]

You are at 6", using short arms and factory steering components. Dont expect too much in the way of ride and handling. The extended shackles also add to the sway in the rearend.

 

[Goatman]

I put a 6in lift on my xj a couple weeks ago, after an interesting trip to town to get it the alignment done
I've noticed the rear end kinda drifts and sways a little. And when you putt it in park and push on it, it seems to have a bit more roll back and forth than it did before? Any ideas? Is the roll just due to the bigger tires (33”) ? And is the drifting do to the rear axle not being square to the jeep? thanks!

From personal experience, I've seen three things lessen swaying in the rear. One is a stiffer rear shock setting, another is stiffer front coils, and finally running the front sway bar. Most effective were stiffer coils and stiffer rear shocks.

I'm not familiar with Rusty's lift, so don't know anything about the shock valving or spring rates. I wouldn't bother with the rear sway bar, but definitely keep the front sway bar when driving on the road. If you don't like the handling, which can be a personal preference/tolerance thing, you might invest in some Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. You can adjust the shock setting for street or trail, for running with or without the sway bar. I'm going to guess that Rusty's shock valving is rather soft, and probably the front spring rate too.

 

[flintlock]

i drove it for about 50 or 60 miles today, i don't know if i was just getting used to it or the parts were starting to work together a little more but it seemed the longer i drove it the less sway and drift the rear end had.

Another thing how much rocking is normal, you can push on the body and get 4 or 5 inches of roll forward and back. the drive shaft is turning about a 1/4 of an inch, is that just slop in the drive line amplified by the tire size?