Hey all, new to the forums and a new tj owner. 04 columbia edition 89k miles, 4 inch lift, 33x12.5 tires. Recently took a trip up to Devils Nest here in nebraska as my inaugural wheeling trip. Jeep did great but at highway speeds (60+ mph) I'm getting what I think are driveline vibrations. The u joints on it currently are greasable so I'm assuming theyve been replaced at least once. I know tire balance can cause this too, but looking underneath I have what appear to be stock control arms. Pinion angle seems to be too much. My question.....is it possible to mitigate with just adjustable control arms if it is in fact not tire balancing? Cheaper cost and easier to do than an entire SYE system. Appreciate any input. Thanks!
SYE vs adjustable control arms
- Thread starter Ders816
- Start date
first, I would try rotating and balancing the tires first for sure. If it is your pinion angle is causing driveline vibs, adjustable control arms alone can get your pinion back into an acceptable degree of angle, but your drive shaft may be not be the right length for full flex at that point. getting a magnetic angle finder will be a good start. That way when people ask you your pinion angle you can tell them. Later if you go through with the SYE and CV drive shaft you will need one anyway. I know this does not directly answer your question but maybe a start to more discussion. I know the guys here helped me though all that along with a belly up kit. PS> as long as my tires are balanced , rotated , and proper air pressure i can drive 70mph without vibs. ( but i usually i drive between 55 and 60 on highways)
With a 4” lift like you have you need both adjustable control arms (upper and lower, front and rear) and a SYE, and a double cardan driveshaft.
No way around that at 4” unless you want one hell of a transfer case drop (I’m talking over 2”).
No way around that at 4” unless you want one hell of a transfer case drop (I’m talking over 2”).
I'd like to keep my clearance so I think a diff drop is out. I've only had the tj for a month or so, so I'm slowly working through all the little things PO didnt get to. Appreciate it.
I'll definitely start with a balance and rotate. Adjustable arms will be next. SYE will be after that. Gotta work within the budget, be nice if I didnt have a mortgage
Transfer case drop you mean
But yes, sounds like you’ve got your head in straight. You definitely don’t want a transfer case drop if you can avoid it.
Hahaha yes. Dunno what I was thinking there. T-case is what I meant lol thank you. Plan for now is balance and rotate, get some new adjustable arms and probably some new u-joints while I'm at it. Want to keep this thing for the long haul, so trying to follow everyones advice and really get it set up correctlyTransfer case drop you mean
But yes, sounds like you’ve got your head in straight. You definitely don’t want a transfer case drop if you can avoid it.
I do have a set of adjustable control arms from Core and ther are working fine , they also have Johnny joints on them too. I also have a set of Savvy aluminum double adjustable control arms .
IF you do go through with all the recommendations super short SYE, control arms CV drive shafts, ya might think about doing a 1" body and motor mount lift and a belly up skid plate. I did that and gained way more clearance !!
Your just above the point where most folks will say sye, and definitely at the point for adjustment in the control arms. Look around lots of options. I did jks on mine years back but they got $$$. Sometimes used ones come up too
If everything you said is true, forget tires. Your driveline vibes are no doubt pinion related. That much lift requires an SYE/DC and at least rear CA’s. The pinion needs to be adjusted so it is pointing directly at the SYE.
Chris is right. I went through what you are going through and it is the only way to cure this. I finally built a double cardan shaft and installed adjustable rear control arms both upper and lower Savvy"s. The double adjustables are costly but as far as I'm concerned they are worth every penny. I do believe I could have slid by with just the uppers but at least it is done right. good luck
you can tell the difference between tire and driveline vibes. A tire imbalance shakes at what feels like about the speed of a tire rotation, and a driveline vibe is about 3-4x that fast. It's more of a buzz in your seat, making your mirrors blurry.
Its definitely more of a light buzzing with the associated blurry mirrors. And it doesn't seem speed related in that once I cross about 60 it's a constant buzz that doesn't change pitch or speed like a tire vibration would....I figured it was driveline vibs. Ordering a couple adjustable rear upper control arms to get my pinion angle better and I will update
I don't know what you plan on using but I can't say enough good things about the aluminum UCA's I just put on from Savvy Offroad. Double adjustable is awesome, and I know with Johnny joints I have the best joints in them as well.
Does your t-case skid already have a drop on it? Is your rear drive shaft factory? Do you already have a motor mount lift?
From what I can tell, everything is stock except the 4 inch lift from PO. Dont have any of these things you mentioned as far as I can tell. Hoping to get rid of the vibrations with adjustable rear uppers for now. I know I have tons to do to make it right. But I'm constrained by budget
With a typical 2 ujoint drive shaft, like what you have now, the t-case output yoke and the rear diff yoke need to be parallel to each other. Pick up one of these beauties,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T6YZ0K6/?tag=wranglerorg-20
It will help fine tune your settings. You may find that your yoke relationship is good but the driveshaft operating angles are too step to keep your ujoints happy. A MML will help with that without sacrificing ground clearance by lowering the t-case skid.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T6YZ0K6/?tag=wranglerorg-20
It will help fine tune your settings. You may find that your yoke relationship is good but the driveshaft operating angles are too step to keep your ujoints happy. A MML will help with that without sacrificing ground clearance by lowering the t-case skid.
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