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Fed up with the Cherokee.

fdsa487

NAXJA Forum User
BTW I was trying to apply for a membership to NAXJA online via paypal and that is not working. Just to add to my frustration.

Here is the story.

1. Ever since I installed the TNT LA there has been a very loud and annoying clunking sound on the drivers side and I can not for the life of me figure it out. It even happens when driving over those reflective bumps in the road. I have tried everything. Wiggling the suspension & control arms & sway bar & track bar everything on the front end. Then I completely drooped the front and tried the same thing. Can not figure it out. Very annoying when dealing with these gigantic jam nuts and awkward bolt situations.

2. The first track bar that I had. Just a regular non-adjustable RE one pulled out of the socket making a right turn and gassing it out of a parking lot. I upgrade to a RE HD Track Bar with drop bracket and since then I have not been able to get the axel centered and have had countless alignments where they want to charge an arm and a leg to adjust it correctly so that they can get the steering right. There is no more adjustment left on the drag link collar to adjust. So I try it by myself and I come to the end of the threads on the adjustable track bar and the axel is still to far to the driver side WTF!!!. And the steering is off yet again after the track bar adjustment so I need yet another alignment. And now the track bar is at the end of the threads and will probably pull out again sometime off road. Im like what the heck its only got like 6" of lift.

3. The sway bar, when connected, is all up in the spring on the passenger side. The spring is all tore up now from having it move in there. The driver side is fine. I put up a post about that and someone said that I need to grind it down so that it will work but the drivers side is fine so I dont understand. the wheel base is 100.5" on the passenger side and 100.25" on the driver side. Should I go back more on the drivers side!?! I don't know how, or have to tools to measure the camber.

Im fed up and don't know what to do at this point. Loud annoying clunk in the front. Axel is off center, sway bar slams into spring camber and caster is off need alignment daily driver. All my problems are in the front end. I would like to put it in a shop and pay 1.2 million dollars for them to adjust and fix the clunking and all that bull Sh*t and align it but I don’t have the $ and the woman would not let me anyways. I have not driven the jeep in 3 days because im mad at it. I have been walking to work. (its only like 2 blocks) and she is mad because im mad that the jeep is messed up and I can not fix it... whatever. That’s my rant.
 
Man I feel your pain Ive had some nightmares with my simple 4inch lift and didnt drive my xj for 6 months till I couldnt put it off any more. Best advice I can give is to sit back and not touch it for a few days, get some buddies over with a 12 pack and just brain storm. I ended up finding 90% of my problems before we needed to hit a beer run and the fresh eyes on the situation caught all sorts of simple things I didnt discover on my own.
 
Well trade me for my drop brackets and re joints and you can have your siltent driving back.
 
Wow, you have almost exactly the same issues I do. 5.5" lift, TNT LA's, 33's, and much of the same swaybar, steering and suspensions annoyances.

I just installed Currie's HD steering, still got the weird clunk. I have TNT's LA, got the same annoying clunk right under the driver's seat. I think it ended up that the flex joint was at full twist when I was on level ground. I was able to loosen the ridonkulously huge jam nut and straighten that out, and for the most part the clunk is gone...but now the exhaust hits the TNT LA's in two places. It seems that I can loosen the bolts that hold the crossmember, slide it over .25" and it should clear everything fine. Still, what a hassle.

I'm doing what was advised above, I let it sit for about a month. Not going wheeling, not throwing money at it to fix problems, just prioritizing what needs to get fixed first. I finally got under there again the other day, and it was "voila", I can see all the minor problems that are easy solutions. For a while I thought i needed a whole new exhaust system, but a few bangs of the hammer and it's fixed. I thought my rear leafs were bad, but the shims are just kinda crooked and that's it.


Take some time off, come back to it in a few weeks. You can once again find it's 'happy place."

Chris
 
Bring it on over on Sunday and I'll fix the swaybar and clunking sound.
Rick R
Been there......done that!
Your track bar has two mounting positions....
Your motormounts are fried....
 
Last edited:
Dustin-

I can't be of much assistance this weekend (going to LA for a wedding), but I wouldn't mind coming over next weekend to help you check it out. Do you have BPE's? Also, just out of curiousity- do you know if your TNT LA's are set-up correctly, i.e. LCA's adjusted properly in conjunction with your UPA's?

Just a few thoughts there-

Did you get your rear shock mount fixed?

L8R,
Coullt

P.S. How is Mike doing with the white XJ?
 
Wow... I didn't know that there we that many people out there willing to take a look and help out.

Unfortunately I cant this weekend because its me and the wife's 1 year anniversary.

Next week on Tuesday Troy (steagall9301) and myself are going to be at his how turning some wrenches on it! :greensmok

We'll see if he's got the fine tuning suspension skills because apparently I dont.
 
That is the beauty of this orginization, I have learned that from the first day that I joined. My wife still tells me it is the best money that I have spend on my jeep.

my .02
 
Jump This said:
Bring it on over on Sunday and I'll fix the swaybar and clunking sound.
Rick R
Been there......done that!
Your track bar has two mounting positions....
Your motormounts are fried....
also check the lc mounts...arm may be moving back and forth...you can shim it with some FAT washers....now go kiss your xj and tell her you love her..||charles||
 
fdsa487 said:
Wow... I didn't know that there we that many people out there willing to take a look and help out.
Unfortunately I cant this weekend because its me and the wife's 1 year anniversary.

yep, that's is what's all about: Jeepers helping Jeepers,. and occassionally going wheelin....:repair:

Congrats on the 1 year anniversary! :yelclap:
 
rpraterxj said:
Congrats on the 1 year anniversary! :yelclap:

Thank you very much.

Im excited about it. Been saving for awhile to be able to afford to stay down on the boardwalk at Mission Beach. It should be fun. I seen a Fredricks of Hollywood box in the room last night. :roll:
 
fdsa487 said:
Thank you very much.

Im excited about it. Been saving for awhile to be able to afford to stay down on the boardwalk at Mission Beach. It should be fun. I seen a Fredricks of Hollywood box in the room last night. :roll:
PICS????

Just kidding.... Have fun and congratulations for the first year!

Aaron
 
One year???
Ahhh...I remember wayyyyyyyyy back then.....I think my back is still not right after that night!!!;)
One other item to look at....rubber bushings on your shock eyeletts...gone?
24 years and counting!
Rick R
 
fdsa487 said:
Next week on Tuesday Troy (steagall9301) and myself are going to be at his how turning some wrenches on it! :greensmok

We'll see if he's got the fine tuning suspension skills because apparently I dont.

Mofo has far more fabrication skill than most peeps seem to have given him credit for. If you guys don't find it have him call me while your still at his pad, I've had the 'under the seat' clunk a few times and played that game before. I left him my superflex tools and spare bushings to check your TNT kits superflex joints while your looking at it. Triple and Quadruple check your trackbar mounts at both ends, check the draglink upper end, motor mounts and transfer case crossmember.

-C
 
cal, give yer woman some attention....weren't we just at the Olde Shippe?
 
yeah, I've been twice more since then and am pondering going back over tonight. ;) Trying to give my liver a good working while I'm still a 20 something.
;)
 
I'd love to hear whatever the final solutions for everything is. I have the same clunks, same trackbar issues, my steering is straight but my steering wheel wobbles independently. Not death wobble, steering wheel wobble. I broke my rear upper shock mount as well. I've been told the bushings on my TNT Longarms may be loose or bad, thus causing the squeeking I get when turning. That might be something to check out.

Man we got the same jeep, and the same problems. Mo' money, mo' problems.

Chris
 
ckh550 said:
I'd love to hear whatever the final solutions for everything is. I have the same clunks, same trackbar issues, my steering is straight but my steering wheel wobbles independently. Not death wobble, steering wheel wobble. I broke my rear upper shock mount as well. I've been told the bushings on my TNT Longarms may be loose or bad, thus causing the squeeking I get when turning. That might be something to check out.

Man we got the same jeep, and the same problems. Mo' money, mo' problems.

Chris

You live in SD. You should come over to Troy's on Tuesday evening!!! Yes, Troy, im inviting people over to your house. :looney:
 
Cherikon said:
Dustin-

I can't be of much assistance this weekend (going to LA for a wedding), but I wouldn't mind coming over next weekend to help you check it out. Do you have BPE's? Also, just out of curiousity- do you know if your TNT LA's are set-up correctly, i.e. LCA's adjusted properly in conjunction with your UPA's?

Just a few thoughts there-

Did you get your rear shock mount fixed?

L8R,
Coullt

P.S. How is Mike doing with the white XJ?

Troys on Tuesday!!! =)
 
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