Let me start by saying that I have already read numerous threads including planman's death wobble write up.

Here's the story. I have an unlimited X that is my daily driver (very little offroading)that came with 13/55 for the front and rear springs so it sat quite low with a very noticeable rake. I am running stock 255 tires on 17" wheels. About six months ago I added the teraflex spacer leveling kit and loved the results. It made my jeep sit a bit taller and eliminated the rake. Driveability was just like stock. Just like many of us I wanted it to be just a liiiiiittle bit taller so I picked up some 18/59 rubicon springs and shocks off of craigslist. I installed these, along with a tire rotation, and I noticed that my jeep was quite a bit taller than I had anticipated. After driving about 500 miles, it still sits at least 1.5" taller than it did with just the leveling kit. I have also noticed that the ride is quite a bit rougher (i'm assuming from the taller/stiffer springs). I do get an irritating shimmy from on the steering wheel and 2 cases of death wobble so far. I think the shimmy is from one of my front tires which has quite a bit more tread than the other. I will be rotating this to the back today. I have retorqued my track bar, but not my control arms yet. In addition to the added "roughness", my steering is also quite flightly now. I've read that this can be caused by having my caster off due to added height.

Due to these factors, I want to take the rubi springs off, and go back to my shorter/softer stock springs but leave the rubi shocks. I will also loosen, shake, then retorque my track bar and control arms.

My questions are do you think these are the right steps to get my highway driveability back? I'm ok with loosing the rubi spring height (it does get kind of annoying as I'm short and get in/out of my jeep all day long.)

Also, am I right to assume that the change in "roughness" would be more attributed to the springs than the shocks?

Finally, would lowering back down a bit help my flighty steering?

Thank you in advance for your help!
J

 

Did you loosen up all the control arms and track bar bolts before installing the springs and spacers? You can have bushing preloaded causing the rougher ride. You only tighten and torqued the arms and track bars after the Jeep is on its own weight (tires on the ground). What about an alignment?

 

Also what PSI do you have in the tires? Almost all cases of wobbles and shimmy's are tire related. You will want to have your tires road forced balanced. Are you running the stock BFG muds? In my opinion these tires ride like crap.

 

thanks for the reply. I think the bushing binding is a possibility as I didn't touch my control arms during either of the installs. Do I need to do my uppers in addition to the lowers?

I also have not messed with alignment, but it didnt' seem to be an issue before the spring install so I didn't think it would play a part in this.

I'm running the stock 255 wranglers. PSI is about 33. I think the issue could be one of the front tires. See, I originally did a 4 tire rotation, then switched to a 5 tire at 20k miles. after rotating this last time, the original spare is now on the front for the first time and of course it has a bit more tread than the other.

Should I move the tire, and retorque she suspension components before changing the springs? Or will the springs likely still be too rough?

 

Alignment would be my first step. Any time you change the vehicles height you should at least have it checked. Spacers or even a heavy bumper etc. can affect this. Also might look at a better steering stabilizer...they are inexpensive

 

Alignment will definitely be on the radar, but I think I'm going to put the shorter springs on first. This height is just a bit too tall for my taste.

 

Bushing bind or preload is a 100% true thing and can be felt when driving the jeep. You will need to loosen all arms both ends and track bars then re-torqued them. I would do this first it will only take a few minutes. Then have the tires re balanced. If it still rides rough then you just don't like the spring and should look for a softer spring rate or progressive rate springs.

For the steering its going to need the castor adjusted for the new lift. You can use cam bolts or adjustable control arms. If you don't off road cam bolts work fine.
Get an alinement so you know your number.

 

I knew exactly what you meant when you said "death wobble". got a newer jeep because of the wobble. 3 dealerships insisted there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. But I couldn't part with it. so i just use it for shopping locally. What would you do?

 

Great info. I'll loosen and retorque everything first. Are cam bolts something I'll need to get aftermarket, or will alignment shops have them?

 

Well I decided that I needed to lose a little lift in addition to fixing the ride, so I took off the rubi coils and put on my softer stockers. I dropped down a little over 1.5" in the front and rear! I still have the leveling kit on so the stance is good. I had no idea that the rubi springs gave me that much lift (I failed to
Before before install).

I also loosened all control arms and track bar, shook, and retorqued.

I have to say that my jeep now rides like a BMW compared to before. No wheel shimmy, smooth over bumps, and I can't get it death wobble in any situation.

I didn't get an alignment, but will sometime soon.

Thanks for everyone's help. I love the JK again.