Signs of bad u-joints

[psinsyd]

Hey all,

Well, got the Rusty's coil lift on. I've got a slight vibe from what seems to be the rear driveshaft. Only happens when on the gas, and seems to be more present the harder the engine is working. Stops when I let off the gas. The vibe is coming up through the seat and not the steering wheel, so I'm confident that the wheels/tires are balanced.

Soooo, whatdya' think? Ujoints? I'm thinkin so. I've got an appointment with the stealership on Saturday morning. Was just lookin to see if anyone had to replace their u-joints and what the symptoms were.

Thanks!
:-s

 

[JeepJeepster]

Have you gotten under the jeep and looked at them? Twist the drive line and look for any play or anything?

Get some good serviceable ones if they are bad. Ujoints are kinda cheap anyway.. Compared to a cv joint at least.. O

 

[CRD4Liberty]

A little vibration is normal with any lift as you change the rear axle to ******/transfercase angles. You can live with it, or buy a set of rear adjustable control arms that will center the rear wheels back in the wheelwell and bring your rear axle angle closer to stock. The arms usually add a little more flex to the rear also.

 

[psinsyd]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I haven't gotten a chance to crawl under there yet to check it out. I'm kinda thinking it's u-joints because even before the lift, I would occasionally hear almost like a driveshaft clank when shifting to reverse when parking in the parking garage at work. Also, I had noticed that the truck was kind of jerky when just letting off of the brake and not hitting the gas, like there was play in the u-joints.

For the vibe, I'm just concerned that it will do harm in the long-run. I have 68k on it right now. Who offers the rear adjustable control arms?

I talked to Rusty's today, and he (maybe Rusty) said that they have not gotten any reports of vibes after the coil lift. He also said that maybe the u-joints had a certain wear pattern before the lift and that the lift may be amplifying the bad u-joints.

I'll keep everyone posted as to what the stealership says! Any responses on the rear control arms would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!