Wits End! Should I sell my KJ?

I've been working almost daily (after my day job and weekends) upgrading parts on the '02 Liberty. Mostly repairing the rust (successful) and chasing the elusive 50mph Vibration (unsuccessful).

Thinking the vibes could be the tires, I just put new 245/70 R16 Destination AT's on it. After 7 months and over $3,500, It looks great! But still vibrates!

I've put a lot of love (B,S,&T) into this Jeep, but was told by a reputable car salesman "You won't get that money back and it won't be worth any more if you are just replacing old parts with new." Heartbreaking....

My tenacity to solve the vibes, now has me tempted to fork out another $900 to rebuild the NP231 Transfer Case. But, no one has told me if that will fix the vibration or not. I'm losing my perseverance and this is wearing me down. My fingernails haven't been clean since December. Should I try to sell it to someone willing to buy it with vibrations or keep going?

First thing I would is to have new u joints put in the rear driveshaft and have it balanced as well as an inspection of the front driveshaft to make sure none of the boots are torn. As for rebuilding the transfer case you would be better off going to a junk yard and buying another one for around $50.

renegade 04 said:

First thing I would is to have new u joints put in the rear driveshaft and have it balanced as well as an inspection of the front driveshaft to make sure none of the boots are torn. As for rebuilding the transfer case you would be better off going to a junk yard and buying another one for around $50.

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After checking those uj's I would remove the forward driveshaft and see if the vibration stops. Also check whether the right hand front inner cv joint moves up and down a lot on the intermedaite shaft connecting it to the diff.

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Hey I been kinda in the same boat since my lift. I replaced everything except the lower arms. But the Clevis bushing was done. Uppers JBA , tie rod ends sway bar end links brakes bearings intermediate shaft cv shafts front drive shaft etc and I still get a small clink on driver side over bumps and vibration over 65.
Tires rotated and alignments done. Drives me nuts.
About to install same lift on my other kJ and hope it doesn’t turn into a mess too

renegade 04 said:

First thing I would is to have new u joints put in the rear driveshaft and have it balanced as well as an inspection of the front driveshaft to make sure none of the boots are torn. As for rebuilding the transfer case you would be better off going to a junk yard and buying another one for around $50.

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Thanks Renegade. Since December: New Front shaft, professionally balanced rear drive shaft, tried new greased U-joints, switched to new greaseless moog U-joints. Vibration: Same

Do I need that big harmonic balance disk on the spline slip joint? I'm suspecting that also. I also have a 2" OME spring lift, so I also suspect pinion angle, but everyone says no.

Mangate said:

After checking those uj's I would remove the forward driveshaft and see if the vibration stops. Also check whether the right hand front inner cv joint moves up and down a lot on the intermedaite shaft connecting it to the diff.

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Thanks Mangate, I'll check the right CV. I just replaced the Left one last weekend with the lower ball joint.

Thanks Aceofspades: I feel for you, I've done much of the same. Someone recently told me to check the Front differential mounts. I'm hearing a slight intermittent drumming clunking rumble in the front while on the road, so with the Left CV and intermediate shaft replaced, I'll be checking the right CV and differential mounts next. Maybe pull the front shaft, then rear shaft to see if I can isolate this issue. Good luck

SAString said:

Thanks Aceofspades: I feel for you, I've done much of the same. Someone recently told me to check the Front differential mounts. I'm hearing a slight intermittent drumming clunking rumble in the front while on the road, so with the Left CV and intermediate shaft replaced, I'll be checking the right CV and differential mounts next. Maybe pull the front shaft, then rear shaft to see if I can isolate this issue. Good luck

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Intermediate shaft is on the right side ( passenger ) So was it and the right side CV replaced ?
Sounds like you have had tires rebalanced, u-joints replaced on rear driveshaft and rebuilt (?) front driveshaft.
At only 2 inches of lift pinion angle may be off a bit but should not cause a significant amount of vibration all the time

I'd be checking the rear bushings and pinion angles,if those rear angles are not within 1 or 2 degrees your going to get vibs.

Or..........................................


Just don't drive 50mph:gr_grin:

Front differential mounts is last on my list because I can’t find replacements.

Pinion angle - mods in sig. didn’t hear anyone discuss this when lifting I have an angle finder in the garage somewhere. How do we correct this if tbis is an issue ?

Aceofspades said:

Front differential mounts is last on my list because I can’t find replacements.

Pinion angle - mods in sig. didn’t hear anyone discuss this when lifting I have an angle finder in the garage somewhere. How do we correct this if tbis is an issue ?

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If you look at the driveshaft, where it comes out of the transfer case and into the rear diff should be same angle / same level
But again at your height most times, very few I have found that does that create a real issue, only occasionally.
Front diff mounts are found in the same place as hens teeth:gr_grin:

Aceofspades said:

Front differential mounts is last on my list because I can’t find replacements.

Pinion angle - mods in sig. didn’t hear anyone discuss this when lifting I have an angle finder in the garage somewhere. How do we correct this if tbis is an issue ?

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THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION Aceofspades! Everything I've read here so-far says you can't adjust the pinion angle on the KJ and it "self adjusts" due to the Rear control arm arrangement. My rear ride height is .75" higher than the front and the pinion angle difference is 2.75°. How do we correct this?

SAString said:

THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION Aceofspades! Everything I've read here so-far says you can't adjust the pinion angle on the KJ and it "self adjusts" due to the Rear control arm arrangement. My rear ride height is .75" higher than the front and the pinion angle difference is 2.75°. How do we correct this?

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You have to add adjustable parts in the rear like the JBA 4 link setup or make custom adjustable LCA's which by the way is not as hard or expensive as one might think.

Hey Ace! How's it going for you and the vibes? I had a "clink" in the front also, the shop said it was UCAs so I replaced with new JBAs for lifted KJs and had it aligned. The clink is gone. I bought a completely new rear shaft...it still vibrates! I also bought a JBA Y-link extension but I have not installed it yet. I'll let you know if that changes anything.

Send it to scrap before it’s too late

Update: Most of the vibes (75%) reduced by removing the heavy harmonic balance ring on the yoke. Going after the engine mounts over Christmas vacation to get the other 25% !