• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Help...nervous about new lift....

JeepXJ93

JeepXJ93

NAXJA Forum User
Location
CT
I finally am driving my 00 again...after installing re 3.5" superflex w/ sye and tom wood d/s. Had no money left so i ended up getting the DT3000's till i have money to upgrade to OME. Totally sucked off road tonight and handles like my super sport camaro on the road. First question is how long does it normally take to break in these shocks so i can actually flex in the trials..i mean even when i disconnected my swaybar...i had ZERO flex. Second question....whenever i came to a stop to talk w/ my buddies we smelt a burning rubber smell..not bad but enough to notice while standing outside the jeep....when i got home i was sniffing around....only smelt it in the rear and it was very strong near the leaf pack bushings....could this mean that its just new and wearing in or do i have bad bushings somehow?? Thanks for any thoughts.
 
the shocks arent whats making the ride so stiff.. its the new sprigs... they will take a while to break in but when they do they will flex great.. a rubber bushing wont burn without a heat source.. is the exhaust tip too close to the shackle?? quite posible that its not related to the lift at all.. but never say never....
 
Yea thats a good point...no its not the exhaust b/c i smell it on both sides...how do you think i go about handling this?? should i just see if the smell gets stronger?

P.S...sid did you ever see my post this morning about pming you...ur box was full
 
shocks will make it stiff on the trail and on the road but won't stop it flexing unless there binding. dont' know about that lift but they all break in after a few runs.
 
i'm with jjvande......when i put on my RE 3" + MJ shackles my Ebrake cables were maxed out . i do know that my passenger cable was pulled tight against my muffler and partially melted the housing off. fixed it with a pair of yj passenger side cables...plenty of room. i would put that on my list of things to check. good luck
 
If you flex it hard enuff to tear the cables up it will.
 
Goood thoughts...i'll go check the e-brake cable right now, thanks for the ideas...p.s...how would i know if the shocks are binding or not??
 
I checked my e-brake lines, they are clear of the exhaust...deffinatly are hanging down a little lower than i'd like so i'll have to figure out a way to hang em up higher....what i did notice though is i would imagine from when he installed the d/s and sye, there seems to be some sort of greese around the edges from the d/s and it looks like he got some on my catalytic converter...do you think that would resemble some sort of burning rubber smell after the exhaust gets hot?
 
the shocks might be binding, when you installed the SYE you adjusted your rear pinion right? well when you did this your lower rear shock mount also moved which might be creating the bind... I had that problem..
 
JeepXJ93 said:
some sort of greese around the edges from the d/s and it looks like he got some on my catalytic converter...do you think that would resemble some sort of burning rubber smell after the exhaust gets hot?
Click to expand...
Could be, I would also check how close your tires are to your rear leafs. On mine, 31x10's are about 1/2" away from the springs on stock wheels. Just a thought.
B.
 
Yea i looked at my tires too...they are pretty close but i deffinatly do have at least a half inch...no marks on the tires either. So w/ this lower shock mount problem, how do i fix it if thats the problem....and yes i adj my pinion w/ a 5 degree axle shimm.
 
I would drive it again and wait for the smell and then crawl around under it to see for myself. :repair: Most things that stink like that are actually hot so you can track it down by the heat as well. I would look for turning parts (pinion shaft, axle seals, transmission output etc..) if they are hot enough to steam a spray can of water there is a problem, something is binding, generating heat and stinking. After you figure out what it is, park it until you can fix it. I spun a pinion bearing (discovered it by the smell) it seized, caused a mess of problems. If I had looked at it from underneath that first night laying on the wet ground I could have saved hundreds of dollars in repairs. :rattle:
It sounds like you are just getting into the XJ game, knowing each and every scent, squeak and rattle on your jeep is the best advise I can possibly give ya. :lecture:
 
Yea i had a 93 before this that i sold, just got the 00 lifted about 3 weeks ago so ive really been paying attention to all of that. I'll get under there w/ a spray bottle when i get home from work tonight and give that a shot. Thanks for the info.
 
when I installed my SYE and adjusted my pinoin angle(6 degree shim) it created a bind in my shocks, it was twisting my shocks. So when I was driving it would be a really stiff ride.
So I heated the lower shock mount with a propane torch and bended the bolt with a long strong pipe...
now it rides a lot better...
 
One thing I did to break in my rear springs was to go out wheeling a few times with the front sway bar connected. It forces the rear to flex more. Almost felt like my old Toyota with IFS, little articulation in the front and major in the rear.
 
I'll deffinatly get out there and wheel more...would i actually be able to see w/ my naked eye if the lower rear shock mounts are bent?? As for the burning smell...i'm still smelling it...not worse but not less either...after i drove home from my buddies tonight..(about a 20 min ride) i crawled underneath...not w/ a spray bottle but i just felt the d/s at each end...where it meats the diff...and sye...both were warm to the touch but not actually hot at all....the sye was the same...just warm...along w/ my t-case and rear diff....all just warm to the touch. I did sniff the sye and my cat where there was a little bit of greese from the d/s...the sye smelled like rtv sealent...and the cat smelled the most to the burning smell...what do you guys think w/ that info.??
 
well on the lower shock mount- the best way to tell is to remove the upper shock mount and if it leans too far back to the point where it is almost impossible to mount back in place without much pressure. If that's the case, adjust the lower shock mounts.
Because it is easier for the shocks to compress and decompress when the shocks are as straight as possible.

I hope that helps......
 
seems like you answered your question to the burning smell. i would get under there and clean it off real well and see if you still smell it just to make sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Root Moose
Restoring a Uniframe
Replies
7
Views
143
DirtySouthXJ
D
I
Bought Son 2000 XJ, Need Help with RC Lift
2 3
Replies
45
Views
6K
Tim_MN
Tim_MN
M
New and need help
2 3
Replies
41
Views
9K
Evan03
E
X
being ready for the expected unexpected (hardware for broken/rusted susp components)
2
Replies
24
Views
7K
Xjin85
X
M
Rubicon Trail day trip Early Oct?
Replies
6
Views
604
blondejoncherokee
blondejoncherokee
Back
Top