Installed a OME suspension this week

[Heloman78]

I used mostly FCB's list to order parts (thank you!) most everything went well, I changed The rear shackle hangers because they seemed bent but I think I might actually have a bent axle !
One shackle hangar bolt broke off and one nut plate fell apart, so I installed a nut in the frame rail .

Here it is before and after:

v2/14/11/28/4944da5b99580059b30ff14e8cd7e1c8.jpg[/IMG]
I had two inch lift springs on it the OME springs had a 1/2 inch more and the new shackles are longer so I'm one to two inches taller now.

I got the Rocky Road from skid plates, they are very nice!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Heloman78]

It rides much smoother, I used the 36Rs all around, I hoped to be able to get by without new front brake lines due to the fact that I already had two inch lift springs but they are not long enough now. In fact, I suspect they weren't long enough before!

So I'm suspecting I might have a bent axle-tube... When i mount the axle to the springs it pushes my springs out of alignment! With the axle un bolted the springs sit perfect but the axle alignment pin is not where it should be I'm going to continue to sort that out when I have time... But I drove it for two minutes and was nicely surprised by how nice it now rides!

 

[Torxhead]

Are you referring to the center spacing distance between the rear axle mounting pads is further apart than the center spacing distance between the mounting pins on the leaf springs when the springs are mounted? This would push the leaf springs further apart when the axle is on the springs.

 

[Heloman78]

Yes, the hole seems a bit off, when I push it into place it tweaks the springs a bit. I loosened it all up and did my best with it but it's not quite right...



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Torxhead]

You can measure the center distance between the springs at the main rear spring hangar and it should be around 35 1/2". It should be the same for the rear of the springs and the distance between the mounting pads on the rear diff. From what I hear the later Jeep assembly tooling was getting pretty worn out and it is pretty common to have a wider hole spacing at the mounting pads on the diff, but this issue I thought was with the even later '86 CJs with the Dana 44 rear. With this issue, the rear spring shackles do appear to be bowed out at the bottom. This was how mine was, so I had the spacing corrected along with getting the pinion angle reset for the 4" lift springs. This way I was able to straighten out the spring bowing and I could throw away those shims that corrected the pinion angle. I did have to install a CV joint and shortened the rear driveshaft. This made for a steep pinion angle which helps keep the rear u-joint from the rocks, plus I get more ground clearance under the rear u-bolt pads, also there is no dropped Transfer Case .

 

[Heloman78]

How did you correct the spacing?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Torxhead]

Since I don't weld, took it to a local 4wd shop and wrote a big check. I also had them move the lower shock mounts to the diff housing as the rocks were banging up the oem shock mounts and breaking shocks.

 

[Heloman78]

Thanks for sharing! I was thinking of welding the mounts rather than bolting so I could correct the alignment, but I haven't had the chance to determine the actual cause of the issue. I had never heard that some came from the factory with an issue like this. I changed the springs without disconnecting any brake lines because I didn't have new ones on hand, but just ordered some so I'll pull the rear axle, check it for bent tubes and the mounts for alignment, and I'll post whatever I find.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk