a researched vibe question

ok, so i went through the motions to diagnose my vibes on my 89xj. my pinion and t case angles were off, so i 4* steel shimmed(forward since no sye) and now use a yj slip yoke with a lengthened rear shaft, the angles are close to good as i can get according to my angle finder. im at 3.5" lift, and i still have vibes. they dont start until about 55mph, but they arent fun.
is it possible to get vibes from a bad wheel bearing, or do you just get noise?
everything seems tight up front, the control arms can be moved slightly with a little side to side play, would that be enough to cause vibes if those bushings are going out?
could axle shaft u joints cause vibes?
im on 33x12.5's , and the local les schwab says they are balanced...
im stumped now and sick of spending cash.
ive read the front driveshaft could cause vibes, but i dont get how if its not turning, i have the CAD axle so i though i couldnt get vibes from the front shaft...

Usually with the XJ (at least non disconnect ones) the front shaft is always turning if your driving. I'm not sure when they switched to the non-disco, but if yours is like mine (a 96, definitely non-disco) the front shaft will turn. Hence the market for manual hubs.

yah, thats my main question, does the front shaft turn, and if so could it give me vibes? the guys at les schwab said my front shaft doesnt turn when in drive. i though only the 242's turn all the time? i a little unsure. i have the 231.
i run two 33" m/t's up front with 3k and 2 33" tsl swampers in the rear, i wonder if recently this difference is finally working my drivetrain too hard...

They might be off by maybe an inch absolute most heighth wise, but on the street in 2wd wouldn't make an impact. The front driveshaft turns, but isn't driven. It never gets disengaged. It creates a little extra drag and hurts mpg. If its out of balance it might cause some vibes, but from what I can figure, it shouldn't be too bad since it already runs the CV driveshaft like people usually swap to when doing a slip yoke eliminator in the rear. In fact some people will actually use the front shaft in the rear with an SYE.

yah, thats what i thought about the front shaft...
and i just checked the wheel bearings, the tires are solid on there, no play. remeasured rear driveshaft angles too. everything checks out fine. no play in the trac bar either. all steering components seem tight. just added the zj tie rod even. it was used though, is there a way to know if the tie rod ends are bad? would that even cause vibes anyway?
i think i might pull the front shaft and try it anyway without it anyway.
i just swapped in a xj 44 in the rear, i run that with 4* shims and a tcae drop and the angles look perfect. im thinking it could be the tires outta balance even though they said they where fine?

also tire pressure is good all around, and the rear u joint is at about 5* and the t case output is at about 7-8*. also there is a little play in the tie rod back if i twist it, but not side to side. isnt that normal for the tie rod or should i not be able to move it at all? if my wheels dont move my ball joints are still in good shape then huh? could my axle shaft u joints be doing all of this?

i hate to "hi-jack" this thread but i am in the same boat with you buddy.

i have only 2" lift on 31x10.5 and i have NO vibes at all when my front D.S. is out.
(94xj, 231, 8.25, D30front)

had the front D.S. completely rebuilt with new u-joints and that "DoubleCardon" joint with the wierd ball in the middle. Vibes still there when its in and NONE when its out.

?? bad axle bearing on the end that the D.S. goes into??? or T-case bearing issues???? there is a slight moisture around the seal where the shaft comes out of the front of the T-Case. but not enough for it to spill all the fluid out.

i am curious to see what the fix is on yours as well, maybe together we can get our problems resolved.

What is your exact pinion angle at the axle? This is a good link
http://www.4xshaft.com/header1.html

the pinion angle is 5 the tcase output is like 7 i believe

actually i remeasured, the angle on the pinion u joint was 1.5-2*, the angle on the t case u joint was 6*, so i had over shimmed. i had the driveshaft so the u joint caps were facing straight down. so i pulled my t case drop tonight after this to get the t case angle back up to around 3* or so, that way it would have the pinion u joint angle 1.5-2* below the t case output angle. but the problem is now i have a weird clunking kinda noise almost like something is rubbing or overworking now that i pulled the t case drop , i think it might be the exhuast rubbing on something though, but it almost sounds like the sound when you put brake pads on backwards( dont ask how i know what that sounds like) its only when i start up and when im slowing down. does anyone have any experience with this after pulling the t case drop?