Man on a ledge

[Jhumphrey]

The wrenchfest is at my place on June 15th.

It takes me an hour to get from my place to LaVergne.

Express only had 4 XJ's when we were there on Saturday. We can try to keep a lookout for a good one. You really don't need a jack or jack stands just get some buds together and "manhandle" it outta there. Mark and I yanked an Explorer 8.8 Saturday in less than two hours, start to finish.

As long as I'm not working that day, I'll definitely try to make WrenchFest. Maybe getting several sets of eyes on it can track this down. Plus, with all that knowledge in place, there has to be a good chance of finding the problem.

I've looked at express' inventory, but once again it comes down to removal of the part. I don't have enough buddies that are reliable enough to go manhandle an axle out from under a jeep...it's just a fact. I'm planning to order a new brake setup (calipers, rotors, pads) and see if that takes care of it. My money is on that it won't, so if you come across a good d30, please let me know.

 

[PacificEd]

Mark and I will keep an eye out for you on the D30.

 

[Jhumphrey]

Mark and I will keep an eye out for you on the D30.

Thanks. I'll also get more info from you about WrenchFest when it gets a little closer to time. My work schedule fluctuates, but Im hoping to have that off.

 

[Jhumphrey]

Quick update: I ordered all new brake components this morning (loaded calipers and rotors). Fingers crossed this is it...

I do have a question about the rear axle. Im not sure if this would matter or not, but the PO swapped in a C8.25 (it had a d35). When he did this, he didnt pull the ABS fuse, could that have caused any issues? I pulled the fuse shortly after getting the XJ. Since I know ABS systems "read" for any issues, I was thinking that maybe this caused a caliper (or rear brake - which is a drum - ) to stick? Is that possible?

 

[LetsGoMuddin85]

Re: Re: Man on a ledge

Quick update: I ordered all new brake components this morning (loaded calipers and rotors). Fingers crossed this is it...

I do have a question about the rear axle. Im not sure if this would matter or not, but the PO swapped in a C8.25 (it had a d35). When he did this, he didnt pull the ABS fuse, could that have caused any issues? I pulled the fuse shortly after getting the XJ. Since I know ABS systems "read" for any issues, I was thinking that maybe this caused a caliper (or rear brake - which is a drum - ) to stick? Is that possible?

No, the abs isnt a factor. The system will see that the rear sensor is missing due to the swapped axle and disable itself and turn the light on. Have you checked out the rear at all? It is entirely possible to have a broken leaf or loose u bolts that would cause torque steer which coinsides with your comment about it going left braking and right on the throttle. Just my two cents.

 

[Original_MudButt]

Please post up if you come across any resolutions to your problems. I have a few of the same symptoms and would like to see what solutions you come up with.

I was going to post here that rotating the tires solved my problem of pulling to the right, but I see you purchased new tires...

TIA...

 

[Jhumphrey]

No, the abs isnt a factor. The system will see that the rear sensor is missing due to the swapped axle and disable itself and turn the light on. Have you checked out the rear at all? It is entirely possible to have a broken leaf or loose u bolts that would cause torque steer which coinsides with your comment about it going left braking and right on the throttle. Just my two cents.

Last Sept or Oct I put a lift kit on. The kit included new leafs and hardware. I torqued everything to spec. It had these symptoms before and after the lift. During the lift, I put on an adjustable track bar and bolted it to spec as well. I think that eliminates torque steer.

Please post up if you come across any resolutions to your problems. I have a few of the same symptoms and would like to see what solutions you come up with.

I was going to post here that rotating the tires solved my problem of pulling to the right, but I see you purchased new tires...

TIA...

Yes, I got new a/t tires and had them balanced (of course). I plan to post up the results of the brake change in this thread to hopefully help those that are having the same issues. My parts should arrive today and if I get home with enough daylight tonight to do the swap, I will. If not, it'll be this coming weekend.

 

[Jhumphrey]

Wanted to update everyone: I changed the calipers (fully loaded) and rotors.

No change.

Yep, same ol road behavior. So, the only thing left that hasn't been changed is the axle and upper control arms. I did manage to locate a d30, so I have my fingers crossed this is the one and this is the solution. I know changing the axle is a lot of work and will require yet another alignment, but I pray this fixes it.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Wanted to update everyone: I changed the calipers (fully loaded) and rotors.

No change.

Yep, same ol road behavior. So, the only thing left that hasn't been changed is the axle and upper control arms. I did manage to locate a d30, so I have my fingers crossed this is the one and this is the solution. I know changing the axle is a lot of work and will require yet another alignment, but I pray this fixes it.

Whole axle swap is really not all that bad. With short arms it makes it more difficult. But, in theory only thing that would need to be adjusted is the toe.

 

[Jhumphrey]

Whole axle swap is really not all that bad. With short arms it makes it more difficult. But, in theory only thing that would need to be adjusted is the toe.

By short arms do you mean stock uppers? I have extended lowers that I bought from Fat Bobs when I bought my lift kit. I was told back then that since I was just doing 3" of lift that I wouldnt need longer/adjustable upper arms.

I plan to do a backyard alignment when I do the axle swap, of course. Thats just until I can get it to an actual alignment shop. With my new tires, I dont want to eat through the tread and Im not very confident in my alignment abilities...I know everyone says its easy, but I still don't trust myself

Im having a buddy pick up the axle today since I couldnt get off work. I hope to get the swap done this weekend...if this doesnt alleviate the issue, Im out of ideas as to what it could be.

Anyone else care to theorize what it could be if the axle swap doesnt fix it?

 

[Jhumphrey]

Well, after several months of searching, I finally laid hands on a d30! The plan is to do the axle swap tomorrow. Its a shame, I just put new ujoints/ball joints in the old one :-/

Isnt that the way it always goes?

I plan to post up the results of the swap.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

By short arms do you mean stock uppers? I have extended lowers that I bought from Fat Bobs when I bought my lift kit. I was told back then that since I was just doing 3" of lift that I wouldnt need longer/adjustable upper arms.

I plan to do a backyard alignment when I do the axle swap, of course. Thats just until I can get it to an actual alignment shop. With my new tires, I dont want to eat through the tread and Im not very confident in my alignment abilities...I know everyone says its easy, but I still don't trust myself

Im having a buddy pick up the axle today since I couldnt get off work. I hope to get the swap done this weekend...if this doesnt alleviate the issue, Im out of ideas as to what it could be.

Anyone else care to theorize what it could be if the axle swap doesnt fix it?

The stock suspension setup is considered a "short arm". You do not need a different setup for the small lift. I was just stating that it is much easier to do with mid/long arms , at least in my experience.
As far as alignment on our heeps. Camber can only be adjusted with offset/adjustable ball joints. Caster is adjusted by the shoe/shims in the LCA mount. Toe is adjusted with the tie rod, typically if you set this right tire wear on heeps is usually good.

Well, after several months of searching, I finally laid hands on a d30! The plan is to do the axle swap tomorrow. Its a shame, I just put new ujoints/ball joints in the old one :-/

Isnt that the way it always goes?

I plan to post up the results of the swap.

You can swap them. 3 bolts on each side for the unit bearings/shafts.
Guessing you are planning on using your current brake setup, partially to not have to flush the system? Depending on the new to you axle/brake parts the unit bearings/rotors need to match.
You could also swap ball joints, or pull them and save them.

 

[Jhumphrey]

You can swap them. 3 bolts on each side for the unit bearings/shafts.
Guessing you are planning on using your current brake setup, partially to not have to flush the system? Depending on the new to you axle/brake parts the unit bearings/rotors need to match.
You could also swap ball joints, or pull them and save them.

Since I put on new calipers yesterday, I plan to attach those to the "new" axle. I am going to swap the rotors (also new) onto the "new" axle. Since most of the items are relatively new on the "old" axle, I want to swap as much as I can...after all no sense in having wasted the money.

As far as pulling the axle shafts from the old axle and putting them in the new one, is that advisable? I would think that if the axle tube was bent on my old axle, wouldnt that have somehow damaged the old shaft? Im actually thinking of just unbolting the old axle, plopping the new one in, and taking her for a drive to see if the issue is fixed. Then start swapping components from there...is that a bad idea? Dont get me wrong, having all the items on the new d30 is great, but they are in "worse" condition than my practically all new parts.

Oh, the unit bearings are not new on the old axle...thats one thing I never swapped.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Swapping and driving it is not bad, just make sure when you swap the brake parts that the rotors/unit bearing "match" What year is the axle you are swapping in?

The axle shafts are not directly connected to the axle housing, If the housing was bent a lot, then it might affect the shafts. You can always pull and inspect it tho.

Hope it works for you.

 

[Jhumphrey]

Swapping and driving it is not bad, just make sure when you swap the brake parts that the rotors/unit bearing "match" What year is the axle you are swapping in?

The axle shafts are not directly connected to the axle housing, If the housing was bent a lot, then it might affect the shafts. You can always pull and inspect it tho.

Hope it works for you.

My xj is a 98. The new axle came from a 99.

When I had the shafts out to change the ujoints, the shafts looked fine (the "fins" weren't bent, good oil coverage, etc).

 

[Johnnie Walker]

If the unit bearings are the same then you wont have to worry about swapping them. measure the lip of yours and new one. If the same then you are good. If not, and you use the newer rotors on your current one then you will need to swap unit bearings or buy some that match.

 

[Jhumphrey]

If the unit bearings are the same then you wont have to worry about swapping them. measure the lip of yours and new one. If the same then you are good. If not, and you use the newer rotors on your current one then you will need to swap unit bearings or buy some that match.

I was looking at replacement bearings (just curiosity) and they show the same part number for a 98 & a 99, so it's initially looking like they're the same.

 

[PacificEd]

Your unit bearings and brake parts should all be the same on the 1998 and 1999. The quirky years are the Renix - knuckles, rotors, calipers and unit bearings are all unique.

Follow Johnny's advice and compare them and that should tell you.

Let us know how it goes. If you can wait, we can swap it at the WrenchFest. I have a 2-post lift in the shop that makes the job a whole lot easier.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Re: Re: Man on a ledge

Your unit bearings and brake parts should all be the same on the 1998 and 1999. The quirky years are the Renix - knuckles, rotors, calipers and unit bearings are all unique.

Follow Johnny's advice and compare them and that should tell you.

Let us know how it goes. If you can wait, we can swap it at the WrenchFest. I have a 2-post lift in the shop that makes the job a whole lot easier.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=243395817&postcount=3

Mid-1999 there was a change. So follow the link and you will be fine.

 

[PacificEd]

I didn't know about that change, Johnny. Thanks for the link to clear it up.