Hi I'm Rob

When I pull away from a stop, my shifter wobbles somewhat violently left-to-right. The slower I accelerate, the less it shakes. My educated guess is that the motor mounts are shot. I ordered some new ones for pretty cheap (<$30 shipped for two). You guys think I'm on the right track?

Also, there's a vibration in my steering column from 15 to 20 mph. I think this may be different than the motor mount vibration (if that's what the first issue is, in fact), but I'm not sure. It seems that the steering column vibrates up and down. I don't think it's an alignment issue because the vibration is not in the steering wheel, if that makes sense. In other words, usually (in my experience, anyway) an alignment issue would cause the steering wheel to vibrate left-to-right and the steering column is unaffected, however in this instance, the wheel stays true, it's just vibrating up and down with the column. I've not experienced anything quite like this before. Any ideas?

Motor mount , trans mount or drive shaft.
Drive train issues can cause this.
Have you lifted it recently?
Does it do it in 4 wheel drive?
Was it gradual or did it come out of nowhere?

I did a 3" suspension lift a few weeks ago. Maybe a month ago now. I've read it could be the driveshaft wobbling, but doesn't that normally occur and/or get worse at higher vehicle speeds? I was also told during inspection that my ball joints are worn, however I tried shaking the wheel with the front end up in the air and it seemed nice and tight. I've been fed BS lines before during inspection from shops looking for work. So I dunno. I think that ball joints being worn typically rear their heads at higher speeds also, no? Really at all speeds, but I think the vibration would increase with speed.

In 4WD the vibrations are much less significant. I think it was gradual? But hard to say. I've not had this thing for very long.

You did a 3 inch lift and did you install a transfer case drop or a silp yoke eliminator ?
Ball joints won't do that.
What was included in lift ,track bars ,or brackets?, did you get an alignment.
Not that alignment will do that but incorrect tracking of wheels
combined with lack of or improperly adjusted drive shaft angle will.
Rear drive shaft will do that
What was done to it? 3 inch lift but what was included and did you do it yourself.

Thanks for the help, Mark.

I did the lift myself. It's from Zone. I got their combo lift, but haven't yet done the body lift. They include a track bar relocation bracket for the rear and for the front track bar they have you drill a new hole at the axle end 3/4" towards the driver's side. I did all that. After that, I did the "homemade alignment". I forget whose site it was, but I was linked to it from jeepforum. You measure the difference from front to rear on the tires and adjust the tie rod between the spindles to get the difference within 1/8". I think some toe in? was suggested. A very slight amount. Anyway, it's super smooth once I'm over 20 mph. I've got it up to 60 on the speedo, which I think with these tires is around 66mph actual. It stays smooth the whole way.

All of thatn sounds fine but did you lower skid plate .

No, was I supposed to?

I thought the name of the game was to raise your clearances..?

I have only done the suspension lift, no motor mount lift, body lift or transfer case drop yet.

With 3+ inches of lift, it's HIGHLY suggested to do a TC drop kit (usually 1 inch) in order to keep the driveline- comprised of the engine, tranny, transfer case, and drive shaft- in line. By NOT using a TC drop, you're putting a lot of stress on those components, most notably the rear driveshaft which is now at a much harsher angle. That stress is absorbed by the u-joints in the shaft which then cause the vibrations while driving.

At this point you either need to install a TC drop, of which many guys on here could probably give you for free, or you need to order a new CV driveshaft with a Slip Yoke Eliminator (SYE) for your transfer case. If you decide to go with the latter of the two (SYE/CV) you're looking at about $400 and a Saturday of work. This is also the appropriate solution, vs a TC drop which is more temporary.

I've still got my BDS T-case drop. If the YJ one is the same as the TJ, then it's yours if you want it. (I believe it is)

I believe I've got a transfer case dr.op already. The SYE is an eventual plan. You think the drive line angles are causing my low speed vibrations? I appreciate the offer for a transfer case drop. I'm going to double check, if I don't have one already, I'll take you up on that

Rob Cote wrote:You think the drive line angles are causing my low speed vibrations?

Driveline angles, bad u-joints, etc. Sure. When I went to 35s and my new axles, I had vibes from 35-38 MPH. Adjustable control arms, a driveshaft rebalance, etc later, and it was fixed. Now I've got an SYE/CV. But my 3" lift when first installed ran a 1" TC drop.

Ah. Did a bit of research, Zone claims a TC drop is not required with this lift. Sooo...

Well, good sir, according to the problems you've been describing - it is! Don't forget that EVERY jeep is different. Some people require a TC drop with 2 and 2.5" of lift.

You basically have three options:

1. SYE/CV kit - the proper way of fixing this. Check out Adams Driveshaft from Vegas. $375 for a kit with lifetime warranty.

2. 1" TC drop from Geoff, Clayton, Pat, etc. Probably free.

3. Go to The Man Store (Home Depot) and get some grade 8, 1/2" washers. Stack them between the skid and the frame rail to drop the skid by minute amounts until you have no vibes.

Nice. Thanks all for the help. Who wants to get some free beers in exchange for a drop?

Ooh ooh ME!

Just let me know when you want to pick them up and I'll leave them out for you!

(While appreciated, don't worry too much about the beer part. The drop is just taking up room in my parts box that I need to pack up soon anyhow!)

pm sent, sir

I kinda thought it might be some sort of driveline issue.
Hope every thing works out for you.
Mark

Markmmaark wrote:I kinda thought it might be some sort of driveline issue.
Hope every thing works out for you.
Mark

You agree with my diagnosis and treatment, correct?

I was hoping it wasn't that, but in the back of my mind, it seemed probable.

Diagnosis and treatment is spot on Ryan.

I forgot to include that when I downshift into second, I get that same vibration as I ease the clutch out. Also, there's a rattle. Sound like it's underneath the floor just to the left of the transfer case shifter? Hard to pinpoint. It sounds like something is rattling in time with the shifter flop. It's probably part of the linkage, I'd guess.

I'm guessing all these points help confirm your diagnosis, doctors?

If I'm feeling saucy, just might get this done this weekend. When are we going wheeling?

Sounds like transfer case shifter liknkage rattle, very common.
Saturday or sunday will probably be my last time to wheel for a couple of months , hope not.
Going in for surgery monday, we will see what happens.

Obviously I'm going to address these issues, but are they anything to be overly concerned about? I mean, it's safe to drive, right? I've just not been beating on it too hard, taking it easy when the light turns green and such. It doesn't seem like it could be very dangerous, but this stuff is partly new to me. Haven't really played with driveshafts and stuff (not full-scale, anyways):





Good luck with your surgery, sir. I hope all goes well.

Thank's. ROB.
I hope it is safe to drive.
I am going to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted.
Sorta like a pacemaker only it is to control pain.
If you happen to be in my neighborhood any time soon as in the next few days
i could probably tell you what's wrong with your jeep.
I am located in Haverhill.
Mark.

Sooo

I picked up a transfer case drop from Geoff and when I went to install it, I spun 3 of the nutserts inside the frame. I didn't bother touching the other three (was too frustrated at the time, figured it best to just walk away), but let's assume those spin also. Have any of you welded on these frames before? I know at least one of the nutserts has rot around the hole (approx. the size of a half dollar? it's hard to tell, the skid plate is still in place). I'm thinking of cutting out a section on the bottom face of the frame rail, long enough to remove all 3 nutserts, and welding in a new strip with nuts welded to it. I might do a channel instead of just a strip. I've got to get the skid plate out and get a good look under there first. For now I'm just trying to formulate a tentative plan of attack/solution. Any advices?

I'm not in a huge rush as I've got another car to drive, but ideally the Jeep will be my winter vehicle. I want to wheel it some more too before it gets too frigid.

EDIT: Just did a quick search on q-tech and found these:

http://www.quadratec.com/products/56011_9052_07.htm

A little more costly, but probably much better than fabbing something meself.