Steering Stabilizer hitting Relay Rod

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EyeCruzr

EyeCruzr

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Threads
15
Messages
126
Location
SoCal
Just finished up a knuckle rebuild (definitely a rite of passage!) and TRE replacement. Just noticed that there were two scratch marks on the relay rod that correspond to the steering stabilizer nut and the top edge of the shock. Never noticed it with the original TREs. Anyone seen this problem or know what I should do to fix this problem? scratched a really nice semi-gloss paint job on the rod!!!

Also note the nice clean knuckle!! ooh lala!

rrod.jpg


T
 
The OME has been on there for last 1.5 yrs without scratching prior to replacing the TREs!

Trying to figure out what geometry changed to cause this.

Wondering if I can just flip the stabilizer around and mount it to the eyelet from the front.

T
 
hmm,
If the OME stabilizer is tilted (like it looks in the picture), water or mud or dirt will end up in the outer protective sliding part/shield and pool at the bottom, unable to drain if it is flipped the other way. I don't know if this is the case.
 
Nah that's just the camera angle.

See if you can wriggle the rods clockwise / anticlockwise. I'm trying to recall doing my TRE's but I don't recall being able to mess up the angles that much.
Did you rebuild your TRE's or get new ones?
 
Ome lift was installed 1.5 yrs ago (shackles/springs) along with the stabilizer, with no prior indications of scratching the relay rod.

TRE's were replaced with new 555's from Kurt, after knuckle rebuild.

Wiggled the rods a bit to move the pivot point (TRE bolt) to the knuckle arm in more of a vertical orientation, which moves the bar further away from the stabilizer, but after some driving it self adjusts to its current position.

T
 
That TRE looks real close to the spring clamp in that photo too.
Did you get a wheel alignment when you finished?
 
It is conceivable that the new aftermarket TRE link joint knob is just a hair longer than the one one it replaced. If the original allowed the OME stabilizer to just clear the relay rod, and the new one is just a millimeter longer, the new one would cause the OME hardware to rub.
 
I asked Kurt (Cruiser Outfitters), and he's never heard of this situation before, ugh! Will take it apart this weekend and see if the top bracket can be moved forward ever so slightly to clear the rod.

Thanks all for the feedback

T
 
I would stay your new leaf springs are couple MM shorter in the front which has dragged your front axle closer to the chassis connection of the dampener point or the springs are a little softer which is allowing the same thing to happen.
 
watrob,

Thanks for that analysis! I jacked up the front axle last night and took off both wheels to look at the whole picture.
The rubbing has been there since the beginning when the lift and stabilizer was installed, (had to dig through my photo archives to notice this). I was wrong when I said it was only after the TRE replacement.

And as for the steering geometry I came up with the same conclusion as watrob! The front leafs are CS005F with third leaf removed to make it a CS004F. And the rig has a stingkbug, so may reinstall the front leaf and/or move the mounting point further forward.

T
 
The problem lied in your shackles and the softer front springs, as your shackles moved forward it drags you axle forward which caused the hitting of your steering damper.

Moving the bracket is the easiest solution, if you ever change your front spring out you can move the bracket back to it's original position, well done?
 
funny though, the front springs are OME Heavy's, CS004F.
So not really "soft"

FYI, I also have a front ARB bumper.

Strange that no one else has ever had this problem.

now to locate that engine tick that I can't identify, ugh!

T
 
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