Help me diagnose a driveline vibration - Slinky 3" lift

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Through all this the one thing you haven’t done is to go to a different caster solution.
I tried four sets of arms - factory with OME bushings, Slee arms, Delta 4" and now running Delta 3". I tracked the effects of each in this thread. No I did not try plates, don't want to cut up my brand new axle housing.
 
I tried four sets of arms - factory with OME bushings, Slee arms, Delta 4" and now running Delta 3". I tracked the effects of each in this thread. No I did not try plates, don't want to cut up my brand new axle housing.
so I went back and found your post about using factory arms with OME bushings and the truck ran flawlessly. Given the fact that no other option other than arms is acceptable to you, that is the solution.
 
Reading this thread makes me nervous about swapping my Dobinson Flexicoils for Dobinson Tapered coils.

I recently replaced my Dobinson 4" Flexicoils in the rear due to their lack of weight handling and control. I installed 3" Dobinson Tapered coils and actually expected a 1" drop. Silly me, the truck remained at the exact same height in the rear with the 3" springs. When I go to swap the front springs 3" Flexi to 3.5" Tapered, I really hope the truck isn't lifted further affecting caster.

For caster correction, I cut off the front of my radius arm axle mounts and made new ones. I have 3* of caster. I don't mind the radius arms but do not like the reduced clearance and will eventually cut the mounts off the axle and make new ones to bring the mount points higher.
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Reading this thread makes me nervous about swapping my Dobinson Flexicoils for Dobinson Tapered coils.

I recently replaced my Dobinson 4" Flexicoils in the rear due to their lack of weight handling and control. I installed 3" Dobinson Tapered coils and actually expected a 1" drop. Silly me, the truck remained at the exact same height in the rear with the 3" springs. When I go to swap the front springs 3" Flexi to 3.5" Tapered, I really hope the truck isn't lifted further affecting caster.

For caster correction, I cut off the front of my radius arm axle mounts and made new ones. I have 3* of caster. I don't mind the radius arms but do not like the reduced clearance and will eventually cut the mounts off the axle and make new ones to bring the mount points higher.
View attachment 2623539
Those 3.5” Dobinson tapered springs are TALL. They are suitable for people looking to run 37” or bigger. They do ride nice and have fantastic small bump compliance.

I wish there was more real world feedback on the 2” - 2.5” tapered springs.
 
This thread is bizarre because literally no one I’ve read in the last 7 years has encountered this much trouble solving front driveline vibration issues.

@lumbee1 declares fear of Dobinson tapered coils. @tacocat says the the 3.5’s are “tall” and can find no real world data on the the 2.5” version of the tapered coils. Mud mania is thriving just as well Covid mania.

I run 3.5/3.0 tapered coils with 1”/30mm spacers on 37’s. My lift is basically 5”. That means the spring alone is about 4” instead of what’s advertised. Is 4” really that insanely tall? Some experienced members think that 4” is the sweet spot. It could be assumed that on a rig of average weight following modifications the 2.5” tapered coils would render about 3” lift and ride just as well as the 3.5’s.

New readers should not take this thread to be the norm because lots of 80’s are fitted with the same springs that @digitalmarker is running with out the seemingly impossible to overcome driveline vibration problems.

In my opinion the problem is a reluctance to ditch AWD and revert to what 4wd vehicles always were before auto makers decided to market this type of vehicle to people who don’t go off road anyway.

At 4” plus you can have good strong castor numbers for stable road manners or you can have a vibe free front driveline, one or the other. I didn’t mean “sufficient” castor angle because that implies an opinion. I meant strong castor numbers like 4 or 5 degrees. If 1-2 degrees is “sufficient” for you then you can also probably enjoy a smooth running driveline at higher speed with a 4” lift.

A unique characteristic of the tapered coil design is that we can cut a turn of wire off and drop 1/2”, or so, per turn of wire removed until we arrive back at a single rate spring. :flipoff2:
 
This thread is bizarre because literally no one I’ve read in the last 7 years has encountered this much trouble solving front driveline vibration issues.

@lumbee1 declares fear of Dobinson tapered coils. @tacocat says the the 3.5’s are “tall” and can find no real world data on the the 2.5” version of the tapered coils. Mud mania is thriving just as well Covid mania.

I run 3.5/3.0 tapered coils with 1”/30mm spacers on 37’s. My lift is basically 5”. That means the spring alone is about 4” instead of what’s advertised. Is 4” really that insanely tall? Some experienced members think that 4” is the sweet spot. It could be assumed that on a rig of average weight following modifications the 2.5” tapered coils would render about 3” lift and ride just as well as the 3.5’s.

New readers should not take this thread to be the norm because lots of 80’s are fitted with the same springs that @digitalmarker is running with out the seemingly impossible to overcome driveline vibration problems.

In my opinion the problem is a reluctance to ditch AWD and revert to what 4wd vehicles always were before auto makers decided to market this type of vehicle to people who don’t go off road anyway.

At 4” plus you can have good strong castor numbers for stable road manners or you can have a vibe free front driveline, one or the other. I didn’t mean “sufficient” castor angle because that implies an opinion. I meant strong castor numbers like 4 or 5 degrees. If 1-2 degrees is “sufficient” for you then you can also probably enjoy a smooth running driveline at higher speed with a 4” lift.

A unique characteristic of the tapered coil design is that we can cut a turn of wire off and drop 1/2”, or so, per turn of wire removed until we arrive back at a single rate spring. :flipoff2:
IME nearly all advertised lift heights are .5"-1.5" lower than the real world application. Just the way it is. There are also pretty large variances between what one company considers "medium" weight or "heavy" weight or whatever, further adding to the confusion.
 
This thread is bizarre because literally no one I’ve read in the last 7 years has encountered this much trouble solving front driveline vibration issues.

@lumbee1 declares fear of Dobinson tapered coils. @tacocat says the the 3.5’s are “tall” and can find no real world data on the the 2.5” version of the tapered coils. Mud mania is thriving just as well Covid mania.

I run 3.5/3.0 tapered coils with 1”/30mm spacers on 37’s. My lift is basically 5”. That means the spring alone is about 4” instead of what’s advertised. Is 4” really that insanely tall? Some experienced members think that 4” is the sweet spot. It could be assumed that on a rig of average weight following modifications the 2.5” tapered coils would render about 3” lift and ride just as well as the 3.5’s.

New readers should not take this thread to be the norm because lots of 80’s are fitted with the same springs that @digitalmarker is running with out the seemingly impossible to overcome driveline vibration problems.

In my opinion the problem is a reluctance to ditch AWD and revert to what 4wd vehicles always were before auto makers decided to market this type of vehicle to people who don’t go off road anyway.

At 4” plus you can have good strong castor numbers for stable road manners or you can have a vibe free front driveline, one or the other. I didn’t mean “sufficient” castor angle because that implies an opinion. I meant strong castor numbers like 4 or 5 degrees. If 1-2 degrees is “sufficient” for you then you can also probably enjoy a smooth running driveline at higher speed with a 4” lift.

A unique characteristic of the tapered coil design is that we can cut a turn of wire off and drop 1/2”, or so, per turn of wire removed until we arrive back at a single rate spring. :flipoff2:
When I picked up the Dobinson taper, it was pretty early into their release, and not much information was available. They were referred to as 3” tapered springs as illustrated here.


Dobinson: That is absurd. These springs aren’t taller than 3”!!!! I’m a grown man! Yeah, I remember that they’re actually taller than 3”.

Gradually, they became 3.5” front and 3” rear. However, those measurements are very conservative. I’d love to see a rig rolling the C97-146VT/147VT combo. They are awesome springs.

I agree, if I were keeping my rig, Aisin hubs and a center spool all the way.
 
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IME nearly all advertised lift heights are .5"-1.5" lower than the real world application. Just the way it is. There are also pretty large variances between what one company considers "medium" weight or "heavy" weight or whatever, further adding to the confusion.
Did you mean that most springs on the market these days lift more, not less, than advertised? More has been the case. I have had a few 4wheel drives Over the past 30 years and never have I had an easy time nor did I expect the modifications to happen without unexpected problems that require more time and usually more money to solve. The 80 series with its coil springs is easier and cheaper than a leaf spring set up and the 80 series after market is actually very accommodating. If it were any easier to build a Landcruiser it would be boring. Think jeep. Perhaps the RC truck world would interest those who want a cheaper way to “drive” in the dirt.
 
Did you mean that most springs on the market these days lift more, not less, than advertised? More has been the case. I have had a few 4wheel drives Over the past 30 years and never have I had an easy time nor did I expect the modifications to happen without unexpected problems that require more time and usually more money to solve. The 80 series with its coil springs is easier and cheaper than a leaf spring set up and the 80 series after market is actually very accommodating. If it were any easier to build a Landcruiser it would be boring. Think jeep. Perhaps the RC truck world would interest those who want a cheaper way to “drive” in the dirt.
Oh of course, they have been conservative measurements. It’s so much simpler these days. All the people who complain about ride quality these days have never felt the joy of a Rancho 9000 shock.

Dobinson - great spring, but my ride height experience mirrored this guy.

They’re great springs, just be aware they are pretty tall. My first 4x4 was a 1995 Jeep YJ with a 2.5, so my baseline of ground clearance, lift height, engine, and axle size starts in the gutter.
 
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IME nearly all advertised lift heights are .5"-1.5" lower than the real world application. Just the way it is. There are also pretty large variances between what one company considers "medium" weight or "heavy" weight or whatever, further adding to the confusion.
My experience is the exact opposite. The 75mm slinky springs I run today produce a 4” lift, even with bumpers/sliders and a full second fuel tank. The 4” Slee springs I had before were closer to 5”.
 
When I picked up the Dobinson taper, it was pretty early into their release, and not much information was available. They were referred to as 3” tapered springs as illustrated here.


Dobinson: That is absurd. These springs aren’t taller than 3”!!!! I’m a grown man! Yeah, I remember that they’re actually taller than 3”.

Gradually, they became 3.5” front and 3” rear. However, those measurements are very conservative. I’d love to see a rig rolling the C97-146VT/147VT combo. They are awesome springs.

I agree, if I were keeping my rig, Aisin hubs and a center spool all the way.
I am running the C97-146VT 2.5" coils and getting 3" of lift, I'm using Land Tanks 4" caster plates and have Run from 3" to 5" of lift with no vibes with DC front drive shaft. I have the largest battery you can fit 80LBs 10k winch, heavy front bumper & sliders still getting 3" of lift from the 2.5"advertise spring 🤷‍♂️.
 
Did you mean that most springs on the market these days lift more, not less, than advertised?
Yes exactly.

My experience is the exact opposite. The 75mm slinky springs I run today produce a 4” lift, even with bumpers/sliders and a full second fuel tank. The 4” Slee springs I had before were closer to 5”.
I agree. I said the advertised lift height is lower than the actual, real world height...i.e. the springs are almost always higher than how they're advertised. Maybe not the best wording on my part.
 
I am going through the same thing as the OP and have also decided to go down to a 2.5 inch lift + oem arms and offset dobinsons bushings.
Ordered the dobinsons C97-147VT and 146vt. They are actually taller than my 3” icon springs but when I installed them compressed to a perfect 2.5” of lift in my stock weight 80.
all that castor drove great, but vibes were too much.
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I am going through the same thing as the OP and have also decided to go down to a 2.5 inch lift + oem arms and offset dobinsons bushings.
Ordered the dobinsons C97-147VT and 146vt. They are actually taller than my 3” icon springs but when I installed them compressed to a perfect 2.5” of lift in my stock weight 80.
all that castor drove great, but vibes were too much. Delta Arms for sale. View attachment 2624659View attachment 2624660
Do you still have your 3” icon springs?
 

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