2024 rubicon x vibration after gears

[JT Nate]

But....but....but.....you cant run caster low (in spec)......you will die in a violent fiery crash if you don't have at least 6°!!!!???

All your driveline angle numbers are just confusing......What you are looking for it a 0° operating angle (or as close as possible) on that front joint. Also keep in mind that the vibration may come and go with loads changing or as the springs settle in.

Congrats on that victory!

You’re absolutely right my bad. I fixed it. I have a pinion angle of 2 degrees and operating angle of 9.3 degrees. Earlier my pinion angle was .2 degrees and operating angle was 10.5. Sorry if I was using wrong terminology earlier. All new to this. My bad. But she is happy here. I’ll be testing everything this weekend on the trails! Thanks for all the help. And yeah my favorite comment was “doesn’t sound right” about a caster lower than 6 haha

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[JT Nate]

That doesn't cause vibration - tire balance or driveshaft - with that many changes, the lift, the driveshaft swap. How many have we seen here with vibrations after a driveshaft swap?
Several for sure.

Also it’s the upper control arms you adjust. The lower is for axle placement. To add to his logic.

 

[JT Nate]

So a little update and the true fix/ caster angle needed to run a 3.5” lift (with 1350 CV driveshaft) on 24 and up gladiators without driveline vibrations. Still was having slight vibrations once everything settled with an operating angle of 9.3° and caster of 5°. So went back to the alignment shop and had them move the caster to 4° which is the lowest I’ll go. Left me with an operating angle of 7.7°…Finally!!!!! No more driveline vibrations at 60mph. No more driveline vibrations once so ever at any speed. The steering still feels great. Maybe the return to zero isn’t as good but I stopped noticing after the first drive. Tracks straight and does not wonder. Hopefully this helps the people with 24 and up who were lost like me. I truly believe this is the best caster for 3.5” lift on 24 and up gladiators without a FAD.

 

[scramblerracer]

Happy to hear your solution, I’m going to try 4.5 degrees of caster and reinstall the Metal Cloak driveshaft, then I can remove my limit strap and use all the down travel my long shocks allow. Thanks

 

[CrazyCooter]

I just put 5.13's in a 2023 this week with a 3.5" MC lift, 1310 driveline, and a visually excessive universal joint operating angle @ the pinion. Vibrated like crazy on/off the throttle at 35mph+! There was already play in the slip shaft too.

Truck only has 6K miles on it, so driveline can't have that many miles on it yet.

 

[JT Nate]

Happy to hear your solution, I’m going to try 4.5 degrees of caster and reinstall the Metal Cloak driveshaft, then I can remove my limit strap and use all the down travel my long shocks allow. Thanks

Like last time… vibration came back. It’s definitely less. It’s still worth the sacrifices to steering running the lower caster for a better operating angle. I started digging into the 392 wrangler forums since they have been dealing with this issue longer. The true fix is getting a high pinion axle housing or a new high pinion Dana 44/ Dana 60 complete assembly. Also modifying the existing housing. All super expensive. It boggles my mind that some major company hasn’t came up with a sub 1k solution for this issue. Teraflex makes a high angle Rzeppa front driveshaft for JK’s that would solve all the problems. It would be awesome if they would make it for JT’s and JL’s. Or if someone would make a FAD completion kit. But I bought this Adam’s driveshaft without knowing it would cause other problems. All the lift companies should be pushing for a solution.

 

[JT Nate]

I just put 5.13's in a 2023 this week with a 3.5" MC lift, 1310 driveline, and a visually excessive universal joint operating angle @ the pinion. Vibrated like crazy on/off the throttle at 35mph+! There was already play in the slip shaft too.

Truck only has 6K miles on it, so driveline can't have that many miles on it yet.

Shouldn’t the 23 have a FAD? Are you talking about the front driveshaft?

 

[CrazyCooter]

Shouldn’t the 23 have a FAD? Are you talking about the front driveshaft?

Yes....it had the FAD. In this case after a new gear install, I always run the vehicle on the strait highway in 4wd so that it gets a heat cycle before delivering it to the client and I know everything is happy and will live.

Only vibrates in 4wd. If someone dialed in 6-7° caster, it definitely could be more optimized. She already has that MC/Rocksport death wobble tendency though...... There a spot on the roadtest that I've been hitting for the past 22 years that will set off a death wobble 90%+ times if the vehicle has the issue lying in wait.

 

[JT Nate]

Yes....it had the FAD. In this case after a new gear install, I always run the vehicle on the strait highway in 4wd so that it gets a heat cycle before delivering it too the client so that I know everything is happy and will live.

Only vibrates in 4wd. If someone dialed in 6-7° caster, it definitely could be more optimized. She already has that MC/Rocksport death wobble tendency though...... There a spot on the roadtest that I've been hitting for the past 22 years that will set off a death wobble 90%+ times if the vehicle has the issue lying in wait.

That makes sense. I was gonna say you must have been in 4WD. This must be why I see so many gladiators running Dana 60’s with 3.5”+ lifts. High pinion Dana 60’s. Just don’t feel like spending 25k more. Btw that’s awesome that you’re in the forums and do such thorough testing. Shops around me slap ya on the ass and say good luck unless u wanna throw more money at it.

 

[imallcrawl]

...Shops around me slap ya on the ass and say good luck...

Do they really slap you on your ass? That's uh...won't say it Kidding.

 

[JT Nate]

Do they really slap you on your ass? That's uh...won't say it Kidding.

 

[Splenda]

I really do learn something new every day. I've had my Gladiator for a year and thought it had a FAD. That's what I get for watching all those old YouTube videos and assuming that the 2024 was the same as previous years.

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