Front drive shaft touching on bell housing

[redbo]

Took the jeep out of storage from the winter and got her on our first good ride today.

Noticed she wasn't handling that well. New suspension has been on my to-do list...

A quick look under her and saw that the front drive shaft was right on the right side of the bell housing. I've never noticed this before, but did put a new motor in last year and haven't driven her much since. Some last fall and then was in storage all winter. Motor mounts are good.

Jacked her up and it doesn't look like there has been any major damage to the drive shaft or bell housing yet. I hate to think about all the impact and strain.

I had run in her 4WD briefly a few weeks ago for a few min so there are some circumferential marks on the drive shaft.

Thinking about options:
- New suspension/leaf springs, which I need anyways, but really not sure if I need some more clearance, maybe do a 2.5 inch lift in addition?

- Just take out the front drive shaft and deal with it later

- Run a two piece driveshaft

Am I the only one out there that has had this happen? It's a little embarrassing!

 

[Torxhead]

Taking out the front driveshaft would help prevent any disaster until you get the issue resolved. A suspension lift with extended bump stops just might work.

 

[tarry99]

Take a reasonably long bar........and wedge it between the motor and frame and check all those rubber mounts including the tranny............looks can be deceiving.

 

[Hedgehog]

So, you are not running a stock engine (Vortec V6). Does it use the same bell housing and motor mounts? One way or another either your motor needs to move to the left or your Transmission mount needs to go to the right. You have new motor mounts, did you do anything with your Transmission mount? Or I suppose the motor could be lower/to low in the frame....

 

[Lumpy Grits]

A suspension lift has nothing to do with this contact point.
YES- Check P/S motor mount!
You may well have to notch the BH for clearance.
Can you post a few pictures, so we all can see what you're deal'n with?
LG

 

[redbo]

So I have two bad pics. I didn't get more because it started pouring when I was working on taking off the front drive shaft.

When the weather clears up I'll get under her and take some more.

The rubbing is actually on the motor and not the bell housing, it's right where they meet. That makes me less inclined to notch it. When I jack her up there is lots of clearance.

The mounts on the motor and tranny look like they are ok but it's really hard to tell white on the dirt driveway while it's pouring. I couldn't really push and shove hard enough to get any movement.

The motor mounts are new, pushed back a few inches, the Transmission mounts are original.

I'm frustrated that I didn't notice this sooner. Even if there was clearance before (after the new motor got in), it would have been tight.

Definitely needs new suspension, so I'll pick up a kit with new leaf springs as well and maybe add a few inches.

Ugh!

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Torxhead]

Thanks for sending in those pics, it does appear that there is some sort of clearance provided on the bell housing. Hedge might have a good suggestion there by altering the motor and Transmission mounts to add additional clearance.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

You can notch out the BH some.
Also look into raising the rear of the tranny and drop'n the tranny skid plate some.

LG

 

[redbo]

Thanks for all the replies!

I think for now I'll triage 4wd and I'll work on replacing the shocks and leaf springs. Try to make it at least a little more stable to drive above 35 mph.... With that in mind I'm nervous about adding a lift. How much would that help with clearance?

I've got that front drive shaft out for now but don't have a shop where I can get help with the mounts.That might need to wait until August.

The to-do list seems endless! Also need to replace the seals on the leaky Transfer Case ....

Does it ever end?

 

[Torxhead]

You could lift up your CJ using jack stands and bottle jacks on the frame to see just what that 2 1/2" lift will look like and what kind of clearance you would get. If there are problems with how the Jeep handles you might want to take care of those first. Like there could be tired steering linkage items and the wheel alignment toe-in should be addressed. Loose wheel bearings and proper tire pressure can also be a factor on how the steering feels.

 

[redbo]

Great suggestions. I did get a new steering linkage in last year but I should def do an alignment and new tires. Hadn't considered the wheel bearings.

Took her on a nice trip to go hiking this weekend. Perfect jeep weather and all around trip, and we made it home!

 

[redbo]

Put the new suspension in the front today. Took about 10 hours....

I'm glad I did this. The struts I took out had no rebound.

Going to do the back tomorrow and see about the front drive shaft.

So the lift was supposed to be 2.5 inches, although it looks a bit more. I think even with factory parts I would have gotten some relative lift.

It appears the steering needs to be adjusted. When the driver side tire is straight the right one is turning left just a bit.

I imagine I need one of those drop Pittman arms I've read so much about?

Are there any adjustments I can do in the meantime?

Thanks!

 

[redbo]

Basic Jeep Front End Alignment

The internet answered my question!
I'll do this tomorrow.

 

[redbo]

All done!

When I measured everything side by side the leaf springs didn't look that much larger in the front, maybe 2 inches, but the back seems to be much higher. Wondering if if was sagging before and now it is not sagging plus the lift. I'll get a better idea when I get her on a flat and level hardtop, not my uneven gravel driveway.

It is a bit higher than I would have wanted but, which isn't terrible, just might need to figure out how to mount some steps to ease getting in and out.

The worst part was getting the old plow frame off and out of the way. It took a brake line and a finger nail with it as collateral damage.

So now to fix the brake lines and then to figure out the alignment. After the brake lines I’ll see how that front drive train lines up.

Cheers!

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Drive over a few trails to let the springs 'settle' some.
LG