OCD

I am new to Jeep, posting and off-roading. So here goes. . . I have a 2007 Rubicon JK Unlimited. I picked it up yesterday from a local off-road shop that added a 3.5 inch lift, with shocks. They also put on Procomp Extreme MTs 315/70R17. I took it up some local trails. Got home and looked under the Jeep only to see that my rear right shock was snapped (metal snapped about one inch above where it connects at bottom) and that my front right sway bar (?) connect was hanging loose at the top connection.

I was on mild trails and did not do anything that I had not done dozens of times when it was stock Rubicon.

Any thoughts on cause?

Thanks!

blackjkrubi

first welcome to the addiction !!! when they installed your lift, did they also installed either an adjustable rear track bar or a bracket relocator for your stock track bar? On my first Jeep I broke 3 rear shocks before finding out that my rear axle was out of whack !!
for your front swaybar you will have to get longer ones, I got the teraflex rear extension swaybar and put the stock rear ones on the front as they are longer. If you do a search on this forum you'll find tons of good info about this fix.

Hope this help, just don't rely strictly on my advise, I might be totally wrong, but I had the same problems and this is what I did.

OCD

Thank you! It is an addiction. I think they installed a brackect relocator on the back. They put on a Rubicon Express kit. I was told I did not need a long arm suspension because the JK is already long, so they installed the Superflex Short Arm Suspension.

Thanks again. When they open Monday, I will have the shop look at it also.

gcg

I just had the 3.5" RE lift installed on my 07 Rubicon, too. There appears to be a problem at the right rear that may have contributed to your shock problem. As part of the lift, new bump stop brackets are bolted to the rear axle. On mine, there is an interference problem in which the bolts on the track bar extension bracket hit the new bump stop bracket. I can see three different points of contact. In my case, I heard a loud "clunk" when going over bumps and tracked it down to the contact. I'm having this fixed tomorrow. I don't know if this might have contributed to your situation, but it's worth looking into while they are making the other repairs.

One thought - and it's just a thought - is that the installer may have noticed the interference problem and simply left the bump stop bracket off or used the stock one. In that case, you may be bottoming the shock on big bumps and that could have caused the shaft to snap.

blackjkrubi

do you have any driveline issue with the 3.5 RE kit?

OCD

Thanks for the information. I was actually making a left turn on the highway coming home when I heard a very loud "clunk." Sounds like I could have the same problem you did with contacts. I will check underneath to see what they did.

I am not sure about any driveline issues. Anyway, I think I am with a reputable dealer (4 Wheel Parts in Laguna Hills), so I am hopeful I'll get it taken care of without any problems.

gcg

I have a driveline vibration that shows up between about 40 mph and 50 mph (speedometer speed - actual is higher due to 35s). It goes away around 50 mph until I get to somewhere around 80. I don't really drive much faster than about 70 or so, so that part isn't really a problem. The vibration between 40 and 50 is annoying. It's not terrible, but definitely noticeable.

I noticed a slight vibration at around 40 or so when the Jeep was new, prior to any modifications. The one I have now seems to be pretty much the same thing, just a little more intense. I guess this makes some sense since the driveline angles are steeper, the original driveshafts had two CV joints each and the replacements are a single dual cardan type and they are probably a bit heavier. It would be nice to get rid of it, though!

gcg

Just a couple more thoughts on your problem. I mentioned the clearance problem that I have with the right rear bump stop bracket. When I had my lift installed, I replaced the rear driveshaft with a dual cardan style shaft. This required the rear axle to be rotated up to align the pinion shaft with the driveshaft. Rotating the axle up appears to aggravate the clearance problem (as it also causes the bump stop bracket to rotate rearward towards the track bar extension bracket). If you didn't replace your driveshaft, then they probably didn't rotate your axle and you may not have the clearance issue that I have.

Also, I think the only way you would have snapped the shaft on your shock is if you bottomed it out. This could have come about from the bump stop issue, but it could also be the result of the wrong length shocks. Did they install the RE shocks or use some others. It's possible they simply used a length that is inconsistent with the lift and that caused them to bottom, even if you don't have the bump stop bracket clearance issue.

Finally, one of the other posts mentioned that you would need to replace your sway bar links with longer ones. The RE kit comes with longer links so you should be fine. My sway bars are both sitting level with the RE links. The fact that one of your links came loose at the top is probably the result of someone not properly tightening the bolt. On mine, the upper part of the link is secured with a bolt and a lock nut. If it were properly installed it's hard to imagine how the lock nut could work it's way completely off the bolt (loosen, yes. Come off, no).

Good luck and let us know what you find out!

Renegade

Post some pics so we can see the damage.

OCD

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Here are the photos. Back right shock (Bilstein) and Front Right sway bar.