Two weeks ago I took my FJ62 to the shop and pulled out thrashed 18 year old stock leaf springs and installed a set of parabolic leaf springs. I also put on a set of BDS shocks, anti inversion shackles and all new hardware. I netted six inches of lift and lost my 1/2" cruiser lean. Upon first test drive I noticed a vibration of semi epic proportions. I kept going knowing that I needed to get some settling out of the way so I went about 10 miles and then pulled back in to the shop. I recheck all my nuts and bolts and such, centered my steering wheel and called it a night.
Some back ground. The truck has nearly 150,000 miles on it. I bought it stock and have been treating it like a red headed step child for two years with 33x9.5r15 BFG's on stock rims. It rode and drove ok, no vibrations etc. I did 400+ miles including eight hours of trail the weekend before the install. My back hurt badly from the harsh ride of old crap and I developed a new clunk (ended up being a broken spring eye on the left rear spring frame mount side) when changing directions an off to on the gas on the highway. Since purchase I have completely rebuilt both axles with all new bearings and seals. I have all new steering except the box which works as intended. I have a lunch box locker in the rear. The tires have 5-6000 miles on them and have been rebalanced. I have all new precision universal joints in the driveshafts since the lift and the shafts are in phase. My angle finder shows equal angles at the rear t-case output and the rear pinion flange. I have tied up the LSPV rod to give me full rear brakes and adjusted the shoes properly. I have installed new calipers and pads in the front.
I have put almost 200 miles on the truck experimenting with correcting the vibration and have only made it worse. The suspension has settled to the six inch mark (three more than I wanted over stock but the ride is AWESOME) so I loosened all the bolts, greased all the shackles, springs etc (yep, bling hardware) and retorqed everything including u-bolts. I still have a bad vibration, it is shaking the WHOLE truck, not just the rear, not just the front. The truck runs great, shifts great and 4x4 high and low work as intended.
IF you read that much I appreciate it. IF I had hair I would be pulling it out but I don't have much. FYI I'm not a backyarder and know this should be a routine thing. I have searched and tested, checked, tinkered with all suggestions found on mud except shimming and/or installing a CV rear shaft which the suspension manufacturer says is absolutely not needed. He says there is no way I should need shims either. My angle measurements confirm this. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.
I'll pay a years mud membership to anybody who hit's the proverbial nail in the head. Now, who is going to save a perfectly good FJ62 from getting drown in the river????
Thanks MUD!
Some back ground. The truck has nearly 150,000 miles on it. I bought it stock and have been treating it like a red headed step child for two years with 33x9.5r15 BFG's on stock rims. It rode and drove ok, no vibrations etc. I did 400+ miles including eight hours of trail the weekend before the install. My back hurt badly from the harsh ride of old crap and I developed a new clunk (ended up being a broken spring eye on the left rear spring frame mount side) when changing directions an off to on the gas on the highway. Since purchase I have completely rebuilt both axles with all new bearings and seals. I have all new steering except the box which works as intended. I have a lunch box locker in the rear. The tires have 5-6000 miles on them and have been rebalanced. I have all new precision universal joints in the driveshafts since the lift and the shafts are in phase. My angle finder shows equal angles at the rear t-case output and the rear pinion flange. I have tied up the LSPV rod to give me full rear brakes and adjusted the shoes properly. I have installed new calipers and pads in the front.
I have put almost 200 miles on the truck experimenting with correcting the vibration and have only made it worse. The suspension has settled to the six inch mark (three more than I wanted over stock but the ride is AWESOME) so I loosened all the bolts, greased all the shackles, springs etc (yep, bling hardware) and retorqed everything including u-bolts. I still have a bad vibration, it is shaking the WHOLE truck, not just the rear, not just the front. The truck runs great, shifts great and 4x4 high and low work as intended.
IF you read that much I appreciate it. IF I had hair I would be pulling it out but I don't have much. FYI I'm not a backyarder and know this should be a routine thing. I have searched and tested, checked, tinkered with all suggestions found on mud except shimming and/or installing a CV rear shaft which the suspension manufacturer says is absolutely not needed. He says there is no way I should need shims either. My angle measurements confirm this. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.
I'll pay a years mud membership to anybody who hit's the proverbial nail in the head. Now, who is going to save a perfectly good FJ62 from getting drown in the river????
Thanks MUD!
