Aftermarket front driveshaft noise

[Troop]

Hey all, thanks for all the great replies and info. I'm sending some of it to the shop that did the lift and new driveshaft. Hoping they can resolve the issue soon. All this snow is making me want my 4WD.

So if I got a driveshaft with a double Cardan on both ends if such a thing exists would that alleviate the issue. The Rough Country only has a double at the transfer case.

The kit only came with longer lower control arms. What if I got some longer upper control arms? Would that lift the pinion angle and therefore reduce the angle on the front u-joint?

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[ShadowsPapa]

The kit only came with longer lower control arms. What if I got some longer upper control arms? Would that lift the pinion angle and therefore reduce the angle on the front u-joint?

You don't want to change the caster unless it's way too high.
If you go adding longer uppers, or rather adjustable uppers, you take away caster which can lead to wandering and poor steering or handling.
It's fine to mess with pinion angle on the rear, but to change it on the front means taking away caster - which I'd never do unless it was too high which is unlikely.
Every degree you move that pinion up is a degree you take away from the alignment angle - "caster".

 

[Troop]

You don't want to change the caster unless it's way too high.
If you go adding longer uppers, or rather adjustable uppers, you take away caster which can lead to wandering and poor steering or handling.
It's fine to mess with pinion angle on the rear, but to change it on the front means taking away caster - which I'd never do unless it was too high which is unlikely.
Every degree you move that pinion up is a degree you take away from the alignment angle - "caster".

Thanks ShadowsPapa. The shop is actually ordering in Teraflex adjustable upper arms just in case a new driveshaft does not correct the issue. I will keep this info to show them should they want to go that route. I had death wobble back with my first Jeep, a TJ, but haven't had it since, so I really don't want my Gladiator to now have that issue.

 

[Troop]

UPDATE.

In case anyone is following this thread I just wanted to give an update. I finally got my Jeep back to the shop that did the work. Turns out the RC front driveshaft was defective, something about shape (sorry don't remember exact wording) and also had a bad u-joint maybe cause by the defective driveshaft or bad from the start, not sure.

Anyhow, I decided to upgrade to a Yukon with 1350 u-joints. The new driveshaft seems way more stout than the RC and it is nice and quiet. Nothing had to be adjusted or changed with the suspension lift, the new driveshaft did the trick.

Thanks for all those who offered advice and suggestions.

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