Suspension Problems

rauljr98

New Member
Joined
May 21, 2019
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24
Location
Central Valley, California
I’ve been having a bit of trouble with my Jeep lately and I’m hoping I can get an idea of how to proceed. Sorry if my post is a little confusing I still consider myself new to all this Jeep stuff.

This month has been 2 years with my Jeep and so far I’ve only dealt with normal vehicle repairs (water pump, starter, clutch, etc). About a month ago, the rear upper control arm mount snapped while I was a driving. I got it towed home and ended up getting it welded back in place but it’s opened my eyes to a few possible problems. Lately I’ve grown sick of the rough ride quality that people have told me was “just a Jeep thing”. That being said, I took it in for a suspension inspection and it turns out the control arm bushings are worn out and it’s causing the rear axle to shift while driving.

My Jeep is modified and looks like it was done professionally. It currently has a 6 inch lift from what I assume is Rubicon Express and it’s also running 35s. So I would like some advice on how I could go about upgrading my current setup for daily driving and occasional trails in the future.

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My Jeep doesn't ride rough at all. There is no reason to accept the rough ride as being a "Jeep thing". Yes, they'll always ride like a solid axle vehicle, but they can be setup to ride really well.

So the biggest thing I see here is it has one of those shitty Rubicon Express long arm lifts from what I can see. I could be wrong, so it would greatly help if you could post photos of the underside. I say shitty because Rubicon Express isn't what I would consider to be a good brand. Will it work? Yes, of course. However, their long-arm lift (like so many others) is poorly designed because it tries to package a long arm setup in a "bolt-on" package, which simply can't be done.

Rubicon Express also uses crappy, low quality bushings which fail much sooner than something like a Johnny Joint. But, you get what you pay for, and a lot of people just cheap out and go with a brand like this because if all you're doing is cruising the mall, who really cares, right?

Anyways, what are you trying to do here? Are you happy with the tire size and the lift height or are you wanting to go down in lift height and tire size?

For ride quality, the major determining factors are going to be tire load rating (a C rated tire will always ride better than an E rated tire), tire pressure (most people are running their tires way too high at over 30 psi, when you should in reality be around 26 psi), and lastly, but most importantly, shocks. The best riding "off-the-shelf" shock I've found is the Rancho RS5000X (and I've tried almost all of them). You can fit a much better shock (i.e. Fox 2.0 smooth body factory shocks) if you outboard the shock mounts, as you can custom tune those shocks. However, that's a big project and certainly not cheap ($1500 just for the shocks, and another $1000 or so for the labor to outboard).

So, you have to tell us what you're wanting to do, how much you're willing to spend, etc.
 
Well you have a RE long arm for sure. Maybe some pics of the rear suspension to see which version would help. Also would help to know what shocks they used as well. Can you also measure the height of the springs so we can figure out what lift height you have.
 
My Jeep doesn't ride rough at all. There is no reason to accept the rough ride as being a "Jeep thing". Yes, they'll always ride like a solid axle vehicle, but they can be setup to ride really well.

So the biggest thing I see here is it has one of those shitty Rubicon Express long arm lifts from what I can see. I could be wrong, so it would greatly help if you could post photos of the underside. I say shitty because Rubicon Express isn't what I would consider to be a good brand. Will it work? Yes, of course. However, their long-arm lift (like so many others) is poorly designed because it tries to package a long arm setup in a "bolt-on" package, which simply can't be done.

Rubicon Express also uses crappy, low quality bushings which fail much sooner than something like a Johnny Joint. But, you get what you pay for, and a lot of people just cheap out and go with a brand like this because if all you're doing is cruising the mall, who really cares, right?

Anyways, what are you trying to do here? Are you happy with the tire size and the lift height or are you wanting to go down in lift height and tire size?

For ride quality, the major determining factors are going to be tire load rating (a C rated tire will always ride better than an E rated tire), tire pressure (most people are running their tires way too high at over 30 psi, when you should in reality be around 26 psi), and lastly, but most importantly, shocks. The best riding "off-the-shelf" shock I've found is the Rancho RS5000X (and I've tried almost all of them). You can fit a much better shock (i.e. Fox 2.0 smooth body factory shocks) if you outboard the shock mounts, as you can custom tune those shocks. However, that's a big project and certainly not cheap ($1500 just for the shocks, and another $1000 or so for the labor to outboard).

So, you have to tell us what you're wanting to do, how much you're willing to spend, etc.

I’ll be sure to take pictures first thing in the morning! Since I bought my Jeep it’s been my daily driver, with only a few off-road trips to the mountains and some light mudding during the rainy season. I’ve been wanting to try real off-road trails but I want to make sure my Jeep is in tip top shape.

I do like the way it sits right now though 6 inches does feel like a bit much. I don’t have a large budget but I would rather spend money on quality parts.

I stuck with the 15s for the C rating and have been running about 26psi in my tires since I first came across the post on this site. The shocks don’t have any branding so I can only assume they are old Rubicon express shocks.
 
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Well you have a RE long arm for sure. Maybe some pics of the rear suspension to see which version would help. Also would help to know what shocks they used as well. Can you also measure the height of the springs so we can figure out what lift height you have.

I’ll make sure to measure them in the morning and report back here with specs and pictures!
 
Shocks, shocks, shocks

Also...no reason to be running 26 psi.

Drop down to 20-22 psi on those 35's and get some better shocks.
SJ black max will ride good. Rancho 5000x ride good.

Thing is with shocks...it's all in your butt and what you prefer. While someone might love shock (a)...you hate it and prefer shock (b)

Off the cuff I'd say stay away from bilstein 5100 and anything 200psi charge or higher. (Fox)
 
I’ve been having a bit of trouble with my Jeep lately and I’m hoping I can get an idea of how to proceed. Sorry if my post is a little confusing I still consider myself new to all this Jeep stuff.

This month has been 2 years with my Jeep and so far I’ve only dealt with normal vehicle repairs (water pump, starter, clutch, etc). About a month ago, the rear upper control arm mount snapped while I was a driving. I got it towed home and ended up getting it welded back in place but it’s opened my eyes to a few possible problems. Lately I’ve grown sick of the rough ride quality that people have told me was “just a Jeep thing”. That being said, I took it in for a suspension inspection and it turns out the control arm bushings are worn out and it’s causing the rear axle to shift while driving.

My Jeep is modified and looks like it was done professionally. It currently has a 6 inch lift from what I assume is Rubicon Express and it’s also running 35s. So I would like some advice on how I could go about upgrading my current setup for daily driving and occasional trails in the future.

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If you fill out your profile so we can see all your mods, it will allow us to be more specific. We will all go straight to shocks, c load tires and 24-26psi, but that’s a general answer (not to diminish its importance), but once you’ve fixed those three things, what else do you have?
 
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Mine also rode very tough runnig 275/70/r16 tires. Once i jumped to small tires with dodge caravan steelies it became very soft and comfortable. Was it tire psi problem or previous wheels were too big? I tried to play with psi of previous tires but it all felt very tough, any small bump and everythin inside jeep jumps making noises.
 
My shocks are ranchos, i dont think i can find something more smoother than that in my country. They sell chinese "australian" old man emu,ironmans are they worth it?
 
My shocks are ranchos, i dont think i can find something more smoother than that in my country. They sell chinese "australian" old man emu,ironmans are they worth it?

OME shocks ride harsh, I wouldn't replace a Rancho RS5000X with an OME Nitrocharger Sport.
 
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I’ll be sure to take pictures first thing in the morning! Since I bought my Jeep it’s been my daily driver, with only a few off-road trips to the mountains and some light mudding during the rainy season. I’ve been wanting to try real off-road trails but I want to make sure my Jeep is in tip top shape.

I do like the way it sits right now though 6 inches does feel like a bit much. I don’t have a large budget but I would rather spend money on quality parts.

I stuck with the 15s for the C rating and have been running about 26psi in my tires since I first came across the post on this site. The shocks don’t have any branding so I can only assume they are old Rubicon express shocks.

Okay, so it sounds like you've got C rated tires which is a good thing, and if you're running them around 26 psi, that takes care of that as well.

So, about the only thing at this point you can attribute the crappy ride to would be the shocks. Those Rubicon Express shocks ride stiff and harsh. Replace them with a set of Rancho RS5000X shocks and you'll be amazed at how much better it rides, I promise.

There's a reason those shocks are so well liked on this forum. Yes, you can get a better shock, but not unless you're going to spend well over $2000 to outboard the shocks and go with something really expensive like the Fox shocks I mentioned.

That being said, your best bet for the stock setup are the Rancho RS5000X shocks.
 
Hearing that the rear upper control arm mount snapped led me to rust issues but after you mentioned Rubicon Express and I see that you're in California I'll forget about rust.

Letting us know what caused the upper control arm mount to snap might help others avoid it.

I hope whoever welded it did a decent job and I wonder if the side that didn't break might need some help before it breaks too.

That's all I got, everybody else seems to have the ride quality improvements under control.
 
Which mount failed? Several things I can see are that you need to do a bolt check. You have at least one bolt loose on the tcase skid and one missing. The rear lower shock mounts were welded on so that the bushings are in a bind which will not per se made a difference in the ride but it will decrease the life of the shocks. Those look like RE shocks as well which are not the best riding either.

Are your plans to stay on 35s? If it is I would look at ditching the RE coils and shocks and go with a 1-1.25 inch body lift and some new 4 inch coils and shocks to work with the new coils. That may also require getting a different front track bar and a stock pitman arm as well but I believe that you would be much happier in the long run.
 
Okay, so it sounds like you've got C rated tires which is a good thing, and if you're running them around 26 psi, that takes care of that as well.

So, about the only thing at this point you can attribute the crappy ride to would be the shocks. Those Rubicon Express shocks ride stiff and harsh. Replace them with a set of Rancho RS5000X shocks and you'll be amazed at how much better it rides, I promise.

There's a reason those shocks are so well liked on this forum. Yes, you can get a better shock, but not unless you're going to spend well over $2000 to outboard the shocks and go with something really expensive like the Fox shocks I mentioned.

That being said, your best bet for the stock setup are the Rancho RS5000X shocks.

Does Rancho make a 5000x for a Jeep lifted this high? I’ve tried looking in the past with no luck.
 
Does Rancho make a 5000x for a Jeep lifted this high? I’ve tried looking in the past with no luck.
So you will need to measure your installed length and then the distance between you axle and bumpstop cup so we can come up with a compressed length.
 
Hearing that the rear upper control arm mount snapped led me to rust issues but after you mentioned Rubicon Express and I see that you're in California I'll forget about rust.

Letting us know what caused the upper control arm mount to snap might help others avoid it.

I hope whoever welded it did a decent job and I wonder if the side that didn't break might need some help before it breaks too.

That's all I got, everybody else seems to have the ride quality improvements under control.

I’ve read that this could be caused by a bad design from RE.

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Which mount failed? Several things I can see are that you need to do a bolt check. You have at least one bolt loose on the tcase skid and one missing. The rear lower shock mounts were welded on so that the bushings are in a bind which will not per se made a difference in the ride but it will decrease the life of the shocks. Those look like RE shocks as well which are not the best riding either.

Are your plans to stay on 35s? If it is I would look at ditching the RE coils and shocks and go with a 1-1.25 inch body lift and some new 4 inch coils and shocks to work with the new coils. That may also require getting a different front track bar and a stock pitman arm as well but I believe that you would be much happier in the long run.

I would like to stick with the 35s. Are there any particular brands you recommend for coil springs, body lift, and track bar? Also, how would that work with the current long arm setup?