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Guest
So I finally have been able to spend some quality time under the Jeep. A few months ago, I sprang for the Tom Wood's Rubicon 1/2 ton CV driveshaft. Went in without a hitch, a truly awesome driveshaft. Came with those new TW "Gold Seal" u-joints.
I also installed a pair of rear RE adjustable upper control arms to get the pinion angle where it needs to be. No problem, thought I had it under control with a decent angle finder....
But then a month or so went past, I was still having slight vibrations up at around 70 mph. I tried EVERYTHING- even trial and error pinion adjustments going up or down 1/2 turn at a time. I was even finding a difference if the soft top or hard top was on. The Tera springs I have are soft, so I figured the rear end dropped a little with the hard top.
Then I saw the rear trac arm bushings- and that was the problem. The rotation of the axle with the adjustable arms was causing the trac arm bushings to bind badly and holy shit was the middle of the trac arm close to the gas tank!
As a solution, I found the RE1602 rear trac arm relocation bracket. This one is made for CV applications where the pinion has been rotated up. It's just like a usual relocation bracket, except it has some extra bend in the topmost part when the trac arm mounts to account for axle rotation. The specs say this one works with 3-4.5" of lift and the added angle in the bracket worked! Vibrations gone.
The point- if you have a TJ with SYE and CV ds or a Rubicon with a CV ds, get this bracket (unless you're using an adjustable trac arm that accounts for axle rotation). My frame-end rear trac arm mount was pretty bent and eventually would have broken off the frame.
I also installed a pair of rear RE adjustable upper control arms to get the pinion angle where it needs to be. No problem, thought I had it under control with a decent angle finder....
But then a month or so went past, I was still having slight vibrations up at around 70 mph. I tried EVERYTHING- even trial and error pinion adjustments going up or down 1/2 turn at a time. I was even finding a difference if the soft top or hard top was on. The Tera springs I have are soft, so I figured the rear end dropped a little with the hard top.
Then I saw the rear trac arm bushings- and that was the problem. The rotation of the axle with the adjustable arms was causing the trac arm bushings to bind badly and holy shit was the middle of the trac arm close to the gas tank!
As a solution, I found the RE1602 rear trac arm relocation bracket. This one is made for CV applications where the pinion has been rotated up. It's just like a usual relocation bracket, except it has some extra bend in the topmost part when the trac arm mounts to account for axle rotation. The specs say this one works with 3-4.5" of lift and the added angle in the bracket worked! Vibrations gone.
The point- if you have a TJ with SYE and CV ds or a Rubicon with a CV ds, get this bracket (unless you're using an adjustable trac arm that accounts for axle rotation). My frame-end rear trac arm mount was pretty bent and eventually would have broken off the frame.
