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Front coil problems

CaliXJ

CaliXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Oceanside, CA
Ok so I have the RC longarm kit with RE 5.5 coils. Passenger side coil has the dreaded "C" shape to it. Where as the driver side look pretty straight. UCA are both the same as well as the lowers. Passenger side coil wasn't to bad till I added a front bumper. Now it's really noticeable. Any one else have this problem? At this point I really wish I could go back to a short arm kit.
 
Yeah. With the added weight on there it's really noticeable now. I'm at the point of tearing it down and starting over.. I've had nothing but problems with this damn kit.
 
if the arms are the same length and there are no weird driving characteristics or any real issues, i say just run it. my coils are the same way with my RE DB's.
 
I think i'm going to tear into it Sat at a friends shop. Just for peace of mind. Just seems really odd that its just the P side.
 
You didn't say what year you have, but many XJs have a different castor angle from right to left. Mine does, 1.5°, which is enough for a straight coil on the driver and bent shape on the passenger side. This is the second one that has had that, verified by an alignment shop. Check the castor and you will find that when they made the axel housing, they put everything on then press the tubes together and if they are off, everything on the tube is off with it. You can put a little more castor in it and straighten it out.
 
Bad coil? see if you can measure the angle of the upper ball joint cap (put a big socket on it to get a flat surface) and compare both sides. If they are the same then it's probably your coil. You can also visually eyeball the angle of the bump stop tower to the bumpstop pad below and see if both are the same.

From my experience measuring and setting caster, I couldn't get the uppers at the same length and bolt it on. It just wouldn't fit so the driver's side upper arm is a bit longer than the passenger's.
 
I didn't think yr would have mattered? But it is a 91. I will try the socket on the ball joint trick to see where I'm at before I tear it a part though.
 
I had the same problem on my RE short arm kit with the 5.5" coils. Called Rubicon Express and they said it is a very common problem with XJs (passenger side) but they did not know why. Solution for me was to rotate the spring until it looked straight. Worked for me.
 
rocknxj said:
I had the same problem on my RE short arm kit with the 5.5" coils. Called Rubicon Express and they said it is a very common problem with XJs (passenger side) but they did not know why. Solution for me was to rotate the spring until it looked straight. Worked for me.
Click to expand...

Rotate the spring? Shorten my UCA on passenger side? I'll be measuring my wheel base too. I think I need to lengthen my lowers a little to get me back to 101.4.
 
One simple check would be to verify that first of all they're installed right-side-up (that is, tapered/narrow bend in coil at top, free-floating coil end at bottom). I know, sounds dumb, but worth verifying.

Second, verify that the bottom end of the spring is rotated into the little nook in the axle spring perch. Get weight on it and then tighten the spring retainer. I almost missed the little nook on the passenger side when installing my coils because it's toward the front of the axle and a little difficult to see at a glance.
 
Maybe it's the way the spring is seated in the slots. The driver's side end of the spring is seated in it's slot towards the rear, the passenger's side end of the spring is seated in it's slot towards the front. The are opposite of each other and maybe that's what causes the bow in the passenger spring and not the driver's side. If you take the coil and sit it on a flat surface (bottom side down) it has a lean to it cuz the bottom isn't completely flat.
 
anthrax323 said:
One simple check would be to verify that first of all they're installed right-side-up (that is, tapered/narrow bend in coil at top, free-floating coil end at bottom). I know, sounds dumb, but worth verifying.

Second, verify that the bottom end of the spring is rotated into the little nook in the axle spring perch. Get weight on it and then tighten the spring retainer. I almost missed the little nook on the passenger side when installing my coils because it's toward the front of the axle and a little difficult to see at a glance.
Click to expand...

Yes the coils are installed correctly. I double and tripple checked that the springs are sitting in the "nook" on both sides with spring clips installed.

muddeprived said:
Maybe it's the way the spring is seated in the slots. The driver's side end of the spring is seated in it's slot towards the rear, the passenger's side end of the spring is seated in it's slot towards the front. The are opposite of each other and maybe that's what causes the bow in the passenger spring and not the driver's side. If you take the coil and sit it on a flat surface (bottom side down) it has a lean to it cuz the bottom isn't completely flat.
Click to expand...

This is one of the things i thought of too.
 
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