There are several posts above that confirm it's no myth. The right-rear spring sees the most torque from the engine.
Why would my passenger side lean an inch?
- Thread starter ejay
- Start date
I learned something new today.
Thanks for explaining that Blaine. Now I understand why lifted rigs are more susceptible.
OP
There are also several posts that suggest it's the rear sway or track. Or that's its just a problem that TJ owners have to deal with as new springs didn't help.
How often did you swap your springs out to correct your issue? I might just go Currie 4" springs if this is the route I'm heading.
In an earlier post you mentioned that you'd been told spring sag was a myth. Did you mean that spring sag of any type was a myth, or just that the right rear spring sagging due to torque was a myth?
I for one would have thought it was a sway bar issue, or that you were parked on uneven ground, but it does sound to me like Jerry, Blaine, and others in the thread I linked previously are confirming that the right-rear spring gets more wear and tear due to the 4.0 torque, and that it begins to sag earlier than the others.
If this is true, I reckon it might be one small perk for those of us with stock-height 2.5s.
You aren't swapping to fix the issue, you swap to diagnose the issue.
I think some people suggest springs sag over time and need to be replaced even though the ride height doesn't change, sag or change in height like you see obviously isn't a myth. The myth is that a spring that still holds the proper height needs to be replaced due to age. Some people will comment if your springs are old your ride might suck because the springs have sagged, implying there is some other thing the spring does that changes with age that allows the Jeep to bottom out or something, at least that's my take on the myth.
OP
I've got 9.75" of space on the driver side both front and rear from the inside of the tire to the top of the fender wells. The passenger side front and rear are 9" of space using the same parameters. So the spring sag, if it is spring sag, is even on both front and rear of that side. Or it's being presented as even lean on both front and rear of that side. This is measured on a level garage slab.
If it wasn't snowing outside I might consider swapping springs around just to see if that just makes it lean on the other side or evens it out but that's not practical right now.
Is it just the rear that takes the torque load or is it both front and rear evenly?
UKTJ
TJ Addict
The chassis basically rotates diagonally. Lowest load on a spring is left front, highest is right rear.
In order of heaviest to least weight on the spring under high chassis load.
RR
RF
LR
LF
Forgive me if I missed it in one of the earlier posts, but did you also already measure the springs themselves? Are they all sitting at equal lengths (well, equal in the front and equal in the back), and yet you still have this 0.75" difference that you describe here?
OP
I did not. I'd guess that if the vehicle leans on that side equally front and back that they springs would reflect that?
I was having trouble understanding why this would happen since torque load doesn't put anything close to the stress on the spring that going wheeling would, and it's nowhere near yield, so I started googling and learned about spring creep.
Apparently it's also influenced by temperature, and the right rear spring is right next to the tailpipe, so not only is it getting torqued on the highway but heated up when idling or wheeling. I'm not curious enough to tear apart my exhaust and do a long term test, but it is kind of interesting to wonder if putting the exhaust on the left would move enough of the creep to the other side to just get a general, slowly increasing sag instead of a lean.
Wind load on the chassis as the speeds get up around 60mph and higher is astoundingly high. Also why the mileage above 60 really suffers and the higher you go, the worse it gets. So, take a rig that has 100,000 miles on it at highway speed and that right rear has always been subjected to a higher load.
I don't really know the answer but here is something else interesting to consider if math doesn't scare you. The spring equation is essentially F = kx where F is the force, k is the spring constant and x is the displacement. As the spring wears due to whatever extra force, lets say heat or torque loading k gets smaller. When that happens every additional impact or movement with a force the same you get more displacement. So any small change in k as the spring ages is amplified not only by the initial imbalance but every bump and jolt after wears the weaker spring more. So for example if the spring overheats once and k is reduced it doesn't only suffer the heat damage, every bump in the road wears that damaged spring more due to the extra displacement.
Well, I just think that measuring the springs will tell you whether the lean you're seeing is due to spring sag or something else. Seems like the place to start when trying to diagnose any kind of lean.
Also, Blaine's post above does mention that right-rear and right-front springs get the most wear and tear, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was it.
Edit: I mean measuring springs while on the Jeep, of course, not when removed.
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I failed to mention all of it. If you take off from a stop, there is a fair bit of weight transfer onto the rear axle. That also happens under wind load but in addition to that which could be evenly split side to side, the reaction from the motor torque is what leans it over diagonally.
Gunnersmate
TJ Enthusiast
OME Springs are different for Driver Pass side
Maybe missing a coil spring Isolator pad
Coil spring may not be seated /indexed correctly, I believe they need to be clocked to fit in the bucket been awhile since I have had mine out
FWIW I run OME springs and shocks and have zero complaints about ride or stance,
Maybe missing a coil spring Isolator pad
Coil spring may not be seated /indexed correctly, I believe they need to be clocked to fit in the bucket been awhile since I have had mine out
FWIW I run OME springs and shocks and have zero complaints about ride or stance,