Rough ride (I am at a loss at this point)

Blake Stamper

Blake Stamper

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2021
Messages
417
Location
Boise, Idaho
Hey guys, I know this is a thread that typically overpopulates the forum, I have a 99 Wrangler SE, and It's ridden like a lumber wagon since I bought it. I have been through 4 different shocks, and 2 different sets of tires, I run my tires at 24 year-round. My last pair of shocks were Rancho rs5000x, I swapped them for Skyjacker black max and I felt almost no change in how it rode. It is a base package SE it's about as light as you can get from the factory but it has a full-size spare, steel fenders, a winch, and a big front bumper, I thought for sure these shocks would help but it still doesn't ride good, axles cycle fine, I pulled my springs and cycled the suspension when I put the shocks on. They have about 6 inches of up travel front and rear, currently don't have bump stops because my local 4x4 shop didn't have any, so I'm waiting for them to come in. Does anyone have an idea of what's going on? On road, I can feel every bump on the road, and offroad on washboards it feels like Im going to bounce off the trail, I run with a bunch of guys in Tacomas and I do not want to believe that it's just a matter of IFS vs solid axle, and I really don't buy into the adage of it rides like a jeep, I just don't know what else to do other than going full blast with boarded custom-tuned shocks.
 
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There's nothing else to try except outboard and tuned shocks.

Jeeps aren't for everyone.

Drive a friends Toyota. See what you think.

Make a decision and follow through.
 
Something's not right if you're still getting that rough of a ride on 24 psi in 35" tires and you've even tried the RS5000x shocks from Rancho. Can you take a good photo of the shocks and springs with the weight of the TJ on the axles/tires on the ground? And hopefully you don't have boots on the shocks, we need to see the exposed strut length.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Something's not right if you're still getting that rough of a ride on 24 psi in 35" tires and you've even tried the RS5000x shocks from Rancho. Can you take a good photo of the shocks and springs with the weight of the TJ on the axles/tires on the ground? And hopefully you don't have boots on the shocks, we need to see the exposed strut length.
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Again, I’m waiting on bumps to get here, commercial tire tore up the tie rod when I took it in for an alignment, another thing to note is something knocked it out it really out of alignment.
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It has a dropped pitman arm that definitely doesn't belong and I have a replacement I'm just needing to find time to get a shop to do it.
 
Iv'e also noticed that the ride quality is much better when the swaybar is disconnected, which has made me strongly consider an antirock, but it still feels like something is off that I just haven't been able to figure out
 
One easy thing to try is add weight and see what it does to the ride.

Get your biggest friend and throw a couple 5 gallon buckets of hydraulic oil or some steel or sandbags.

Roll it across a scale before and after too...data will help...and measure from the ground to a set point like the bottom of your fenders.

A lot of springs are sold assuming folks will throw said spring sellers entire catalog of body armor at the Jeep.

-Mac
 
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Blake Stamper said:
..., I pulled my springs and cycled the suspension when I put the shocks on. They have about 6 inches of up travel front and rear, currently don't have bump stops because my local 4x4 shop didn't have any, ....
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How much down travel on the shocks? What is the physical limit to travel on the up travel side?
 
Ill have to measure down travel, I believe around 4-5 but ill go double-check, the body is the limit in the rear, I need to move the rear flares up about an inch, and shock travel is the limit in the front.
 
jjvw said:
How much down travel on the shocks? What is the physical limit to travel on the up travel side?
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4.5in in the front and 6 in the rear, I might get some extended mounts for the rear to balance out bias a little better but nothing that is alarming to me
 
Blake Stamper said:
Ill have to measure down travel, I believe around 4-5 but ill go double-check, the body is the limit in the rear, I need to move the rear flares up about an inch, and shock travel is the limit in the front.
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If it's 4-5" of down from ride height, then you have 10-11" travel shocks. Is that accurate?
 
jjvw said:
Those are odd numbers, unless you have built you own shock mounts.
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How come? I definitely could have mis measured, what would be wrong with those numbers, I measured them out before I bought them instead of buying one for a specific lift.
 
Stock rear doesn't have as much travel as front.

What kind of bushings are in those control arms, rubber or poly-something?
 
Blake Stamper said:
It has a dropped pitman arm that definitely doesn't belong and I have a replacement I'm just needing to find time to get a shop to do it.
Click to expand...

Before coming to any conclusions this will have to be fixed
Blake Stamper said:
Iv'e also noticed that the ride quality is much better when the swaybar is disconnected, which has made me strongly consider an antirock, but it still feels like something is off that I just haven't been able to figure out
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It should handle better with the swaybar connected. It will not handle better with an AR.

Reading the new information you provided, it sounds like you need to get several things fixed, including alignment, before giving up on it. Try to set your caster around 6. 6-7 is better.
 
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