Coil touching bumpstop--but only on one side!

Moose_God · 09-01-2008, 10:18 PM

I know this was sorta covered in another thread, but I didn't want to hijack it because my issue is a little different...just a little...anyway...

I'm running 3" Rusty's coils, 2" spacers, and Rusty's adjustable LCAs...the lowers are both the same length, adjusted to the specs in one of the tech links for 5" of lift, and it's been aligned...but one coil is right on the bumpstop, while the other one is right where it should be.

As far as I can tell the axle isn't bent and it's the same length from the rear axle to the front axle on each side...do I just need to grab the BFH and try the whack-the-crap-out-of-it method on the bumpstop? Here are some pics to kinda clarify:

First, the healthy side:

And now, the one that's making me pull my hair out in frustration:

bikedude189 · 09-01-2008, 11:39 PM

take the tire off so we can see the whole spring...it looks like it isn't seated where it should be.

Moose_God · 09-01-2008, 11:52 PM

Okay, I'll get some pics up tomorrow with the tire off...

1990JEEPXJ · 09-02-2008, 12:14 AM

x2 on not seating correctly. could also be the LCA's are not adjusted the same

89SAFARIXJ · 09-02-2008, 01:00 AM

alright.... i posted that other thread and had the same problem on the same side.... but fixed it earlier today.

look at the 3rd rung down on your coil... it's actually hung on the metal part of the bumpstop. what i did with mine wsa take a wrench and pry the coil away from the bumpstop by using the metal part of the bumpstop to pry against. the coil shoulp pop around and seat itself corectly. i did mine with the tire off the ground to try and take as much pressure off the coil as possible.

it's worth a shot... just get the back end of a wrench (or another peice of metal good for prying)

AND PRY AWAY!

let me know how it goes.

bikedude189 · 09-02-2008, 01:01 AM

the previous thread (that had this problem) said he fixed it with big wrench as a pry bar...sounds like an unseated coil on the axle end...

Moose_God · 09-02-2008, 12:08 PM

Okay, snapped some more pics...the coil is definately seated, but way f'ed up looking...maybe a faulty coil? It is from Rusty's, afterall....

89SAFARIXJ · 09-02-2008, 02:16 PM

might be, but it doesnt look seated in the lower cup to me.... check that. if not, put the wheel back on and set it on the ground with full weight. if it's still messed up you have a crappy coil.l

XJLI · 09-02-2008, 05:25 PM

i cant really tell 100% but it looks like your pinion angle is waaay off.

**Jason, aka: Jeepin.com** · 09-02-2008, 05:40 PM

looks to me like the coil is just bend to hell, or possibly not seated corrected on the axle pad, though even if that was the case it shouldn't cause a bow to that extent. My money's on FUBARed coil spring.

FWIW, those swaybar endlink center sections are about 2" too long too, and the bolt connecting it to the swaybar is loose.

1offroadin4x4 · 09-02-2008, 06:01 PM

I seriously doubt you can bend a coil spring to where it's forward or backwards rearing like that. One, the spring looks like it's not seated on the perch correctly at all....Two (XJLI is correct) that pinion angle is all sorts of messed up. The shock is leaning towards the driver, should be straight up and down. Also, look at the top ball joint, it's facing towards the rear of the jeep also. You need to extend out your upper control arms or shorten the lowers big time. You've got the face of your axle tilted back and it should be farther forward. The spring should never come close to touching the shock like that unless you're fully stuffing a tire up in your well !!! Look at your sway bar...that should be level with the ground, not tilted at all like that.

bikedude189 · 09-02-2008, 07:11 PM

i would definately say check the pinion angle, but i don't think thats it (only one side on a solid axle...i don't think so...) and dont worry about the shock...it is going from point a to point b, no amount of axle angle is going to change that. i still vote it is not seated correctly.

here's what you do. remove the spring. sit it on a flat surface and roll it. there should be no 'bounce', this will tell you if it is straight or not. CAREFULLY re-install the spring making sure to get the ends exactly where they should be and that the whole load bearing surface is seated all the way in the bucket on both the frame and axle end. and make sure that rediculous spacer hasn't moved either...

but it definitely does not look like it is seated correctly.
good luck!

p.s. doesn't look like the other side is seated that well either...

**Jason, aka: Jeepin.com** · 09-02-2008, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1offroadin4x4

I seriously doubt you can bend a coil spring to where it's forward or backwards rearing like that. One, the spring looks like it's not seated on the perch correctly at all....Two (XJLI is correct) that pinion angle is all sorts of messed up. The shock is leaning towards the driver, should be straight up and down. Also, look at the top ball joint, it's facing towards the rear of the jeep also. You need to extend out your upper control arms or shorten the lowers big time. You've got the face of your axle tilted back and it should be farther forward. The spring should never come close to touching the shock like that unless you're fully stuffing a tire up in your well !!! Look at your sway bar...that should be level with the ground, not tilted at all like that.

I've bent a coil spring, and yes, it can sit like that when bent.

The upper ball joint should be canted towards the rear (correct caster angle), though his does appear to be a bit excessive.

Bent or not, I do agree that it's probably not seated correct on the axle correctly, but that alone shouldn't cause that much of a bow. The front coils on both our Jeeps unseat on the axle pads every time we go out, but ours are RE and DPG coils, not Rusty's. I have run Rusty's in the past, but that axle has the OEM retainer clips on the axle, so the coils never came unseated on the axle.

1offroadin4x4 · 09-02-2008, 08:09 PM

I'm sorry, but even w/ the "solid axle" you can get exactly what you see there w/ the control arms on one side being shorter than the other. When you get into some bigger lifts and different supsension components maybe you'll realize that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikedude189

i would definately say check the pinion angle, but i don't think thats it (only one side on a solid axle...i don't think so...) and dont worry about the shock...it is going from point a to point b, no amount of axle angle is going to change that. i still vote it is not seated correctly.

here's what you do. remove the spring. sit it on a flat surface and roll it. there should be no 'bounce', this will tell you if it is straight or not. CAREFULLY re-install the spring making sure to get the ends exactly where they should be and that the whole load bearing surface is seated all the way in the bucket on both the frame and axle end. and make sure that rediculous spacer hasn't moved either...

but it definitely does not look like it is seated correctly.
good luck!

p.s. doesn't look like the other side is seated that well either...

Moose_God · 09-03-2008, 02:54 AM

I'm pretty sure it's seated in the coil bucket:

...it's a little fuzzy in the extreme closeup, but it's in there.

So how do I check/adjust the pinion angle? Just move the lowers back in? I'm still running stock uppers (yeah, I know)... Plus, yeah, those swaybar discos are crap and I'm intending to replace them pretty soon anyway. I'm thinking maybe longarms are in my future...

But it's not a DD though, so for now I just want to get it working acceptably and do a bit of wheeling here and there (just recently got the 4wd swap done after years of having half a Jeep)....

I'm guessing this is the main reason my XJ rides like crap though...the solid axle leaf sprung 1 ton 4x4 wrecker I drive at work rides like a Cadillac compared to my Jeep, and that can't be a good sign...