Help with stiff ride
03-16-2010, 04:31 PM
#18
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Year: 1997
Model: Cherokee
Engine: I6
it rides stiff because of your lower control arm angles. chances are in spring of 09 the truck got the shocks that came with the lift kit. they should still be good.
if you look under your truck you will see the lower control arms, the arms that go from the body of your truck to your front axle. from the factory they are almost parallel with the ground. since you lifted it they are on a decent angle now. now every time you hit a bump, they still bend upwards as normal, but since theyre angled, some of the impact is sent straight into the truck body, instead of the coil springs.
rough country actually sells a fix for this, with good results i hear. its their control arm drop bracket. drops the upper and lower control arms. $189 iirc.
if you look under your truck you will see the lower control arms, the arms that go from the body of your truck to your front axle. from the factory they are almost parallel with the ground. since you lifted it they are on a decent angle now. now every time you hit a bump, they still bend upwards as normal, but since theyre angled, some of the impact is sent straight into the truck body, instead of the coil springs.
rough country actually sells a fix for this, with good results i hear. its their control arm drop bracket. drops the upper and lower control arms. $189 iirc.
03-16-2010, 06:31 PM
#20
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Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0I6
poly bushings are harder than OE rubber bushings. it will tighten things up a bit but not make it softer.
have you checked other simple things first like air pressure in your tires?
A long arm kit would be nice, however that will not fix the stiffness of leaf springs.
have you checked other simple things first like air pressure in your tires?
A long arm kit would be nice, however that will not fix the stiffness of leaf springs.
03-16-2010, 06:45 PM
#21
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Year: 1998, 1999
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Mud Digger, the lift you have is known to be good riding. Do you get a jerking motion (bump steer) when you hit bumps? If you bounce up and down on your bumpers do the shocks stop the motion quickly?
I have the RE monotube shocks and realy like them. They control the suspension very well. I bought mine off a vendor on this forum and they were hardly any more than cheapo shocks.
Did you say you have an adjustable control arm?
Do your front tires seem centered sid-to-side?
If you grab your rear shocks and shake them are they loose at all?
The guy that said to check your tire air pressure had a great thought. No matter what it is I'd do an experiment and take a few psi out. See what that does. It's free.
Post a few pics of your setup... Maybe we can spot something amiss...
Mike
I have the RE monotube shocks and realy like them. They control the suspension very well. I bought mine off a vendor on this forum and they were hardly any more than cheapo shocks.
Did you say you have an adjustable control arm?
Do your front tires seem centered sid-to-side?
If you grab your rear shocks and shake them are they loose at all?
The guy that said to check your tire air pressure had a great thought. No matter what it is I'd do an experiment and take a few psi out. See what that does. It's free.
Post a few pics of your setup... Maybe we can spot something amiss...
Mike
03-16-2010, 08:22 PM
#22
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Year: 1997
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03-17-2010, 12:25 AM
#23
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Year: 1987
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I bet your shackle angle is also causing the stiff ride. If it is at a 90 degree angle all the force from your rear is going straight up into the body. And drop brackets are real nice too worth the money.
03-17-2010, 11:47 AM
#25
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
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I have same lift.. the superflex 4.5 .. PO put on.. it does ride pretty stif.. but it does ride nice.. And would like tad softer for the GF.. so... with what i have seen in this thread.. im gona say.. ill be going drop brackets.. and ill prob fab some up...SO to the OP... id say the cheapest easyest thing would be to fab up some drop brackets... Anyone have pics of them to post on this thread for the OP and me ?
03-17-2010, 02:02 PM
#26
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Year: 1996
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first thing first...what do you expect from your XJ? Just because Malibu Barbie drove a Jeep, doesn't mean they soft to begin with. XJs are not Caddy's. Do you have experience with other XJs? Is yours much worse?
If so, I agree with a previous poster who said to post pics and give details with what you've got. Was the lift installed professionally? Do you have a receipt/record? And what do you mean by stiff (e.g., feel every minute bump in the road, get jarred with every major bump, etc.)?
s
If so, I agree with a previous poster who said to post pics and give details with what you've got. Was the lift installed professionally? Do you have a receipt/record? And what do you mean by stiff (e.g., feel every minute bump in the road, get jarred with every major bump, etc.)?
s
03-17-2010, 03:00 PM
#27
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Model: Cherokee
When I first installed my RE 3.5 superflex kit it was noticeably more stiff when it came to railroad tracks, good size bumps, holes etc but it was not something that really bothered me. I have since installed JKS longer rear shackles, JKS coil over spacers and just got the new RE upper control arms installed today. It is not a lot different but with the addition of the new control arms I think its noticeably better.
Also, after installing everything and getting the alignment done it drives and handles like it did before and has no vibrations, bump steer or anything else.
Also, after installing everything and getting the alignment done it drives and handles like it did before and has no vibrations, bump steer or anything else.
Last edited by INDIANA-XJ; 03-17-2010 at 03:32 PM.
03-17-2010, 03:07 PM
#28
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Year: 1997
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?
Mud Digger, the lift you have is known to be good riding. Do you get a jerking motion (bump steer) when you hit bumps? If you bounce up and down on your bumpers do the shocks stop the motion quickly?
I have the RE monotube shocks and realy like them. They control the suspension very well. I bought mine off a vendor on this forum and they were hardly any more than cheapo shocks.
Did you say you have an adjustable control arm?
Do your front tires seem centered sid-to-side?
If you grab your rear shocks and shake them are they loose at all?
The guy that said to check your tire air pressure had a great thought. No matter what it is I'd do an experiment and take a few psi out. See what that does. It's free.
Post a few pics of your setup... Maybe we can spot something amiss...
Mike
I have the RE monotube shocks and realy like them. They control the suspension very well. I bought mine off a vendor on this forum and they were hardly any more than cheapo shocks.
Did you say you have an adjustable control arm?
Do your front tires seem centered sid-to-side?
If you grab your rear shocks and shake them are they loose at all?
The guy that said to check your tire air pressure had a great thought. No matter what it is I'd do an experiment and take a few psi out. See what that does. It's free.
Post a few pics of your setup... Maybe we can spot something amiss...
Mike
i do kind of get a jerking motion when i hit bumps. but i also dont have a front sway bar. i have been looking everywhere for one and cant find a junkyard with one for me. yea the shocks stop motion pretty quickly. i posted 2 pics of my jeep for you guys to see. i just got the tires for it. 32" BFG Mud Terrain KM2. Thanks guys
03-17-2010, 08:39 PM
#30
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Year: 1998, 1999
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Mud Digger:
Take closer pics of the actual suspension so we can look at that.
Did your problem start when you put the new tires on? Try 27psi in them.
The front sway bar is a component you don't want to do without. Glad your going to get one. The sway bar has more to do with the cornering than bump control as far as I know, so I wouldn't think you'd see the ride improved by installing that.
Did you try and measure your tires side-to-side to see if they are centered? Let's get the system you have optimized before we spend any money.
Mike
Take closer pics of the actual suspension so we can look at that.
Did your problem start when you put the new tires on? Try 27psi in them.
The front sway bar is a component you don't want to do without. Glad your going to get one. The sway bar has more to do with the cornering than bump control as far as I know, so I wouldn't think you'd see the ride improved by installing that.
Did you try and measure your tires side-to-side to see if they are centered? Let's get the system you have optimized before we spend any money.
Mike