Drove 3 hours, lifted, and now a vibration on throttle.

Boiler · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:35 am

Friday I drove up to Toledo (cruising around 75-80 mph) and got a hand from Tom and Chris lifting my Liberty. I went with OME HD front and rear and Rancho RSX shocks and struts. The usual stuff. In the front we did no clevis, but did put in a 3/8" shim above the top plate. In the rear were going to put one extra isolator in the top but I forgot them at home, so we put in two extras in the bottom thanks to Mudd's Auto Salvage & Swap.

I think Tom measured that I was 23 from flare to wheel center in the rear and 22 in the front. Due to time constraints we left it like that. I plan to let it settle in and then make the call to add conduit nuts, change rear isolators, or not.

Here is the problem: On accelleration I've got a new vibration. I don't think it ever occurs at braking, just when on the throttle. Tom correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we experienced it when sitting still if I rev'd the engine. I forget...

I didn't drive it saturday or sunday because I was cleaning off new-road concrete spray (

) and waxing it. Today I drove it to work and was reminded of the issue.

Has anyone experienced that when they disconnected the battery? I've had mine disconnected several times and never felt this. Does it always behave differently after a disconnect? How long / far does it usually take to get back to normal? I was thinking about disconnecting it again to see what happens but I didn't want to waste 200 miles of it "learning" if that's how it works.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:06 am

Yes it did it when we were stopped at a light as well.

We didn't do anything with the lift that would change the way the motor runs. :wink:

Well except for removing the battery, but I never pay any attention to that as I know whithin a few miles it will be running the same

also with that many miles on the plugs ( over 50,000) I would suspect them , could it of been doing it before and you just didn't notice it?

From experience I have found that people after having work done hear and feel all kinds of things afterwards.

Boiler · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:11 pm

Only way I'd guess I didn't feel the vibration is that maybe the old suspension masked the vibration? Seems kind of far fetched.

I am going to change the plugs out once I figure out which plugs are the correct ones to use. :lol:

Has anyone else had a rough running engine like this after disconnecting the battery?

OHIO04KJ · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:19 pm

Mine did it before the lift/ battery disconnect. Now all is good so far. Still think I need new plugs.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:14 pm

prob the plugs, it could have started happening so gradually over 50k that ya never noticed it until you did the lift and subconsciously started paying attention to every little thing

Boiler · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:07 pm

Maybe. I was going to change the plugs anyway so I'll hope it is that. I was paying attention Friday but today it was obvious and made me say "oh yeah...." when I pulled out of the driveway.

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:17 pm

Depending on the amount of time the battery is disconected, a few minutes No change ;but a few hours, or days, may or will trigger the PCM int a re learn mode. In some cases it will have effects on engine performace. usually a standard re-learn may occur at 25 to 50 miles of engine running time(Driving) within that time the re-learn should take place and all things should return to normal.By adding a lift will not change the efficiency or performance off your engine. Neither was it masked by a poor suspension. Give it a couple of days before you start pumping $$ into it.

Boiler · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:25 pm

I'm about 600 miles in now. It might be getting fainter, but it sometimes not. I'm feeling like it is driveshaft bind with the rear axle. Is 23" in the rear too high?

I'm still going to seafoam and change plugs tomorrow as a first try, as they could probably stand to be done anyway and it is cheap.

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:32 pm

I would say at 600 its done. It could be the rear angle. I have been at 23.5 up front and 22.25 in the rear for a while with no issues . But you know as well as I do not all th KJ's are built equal. How are your u joints? Maybe if you had one ready to go the angle had its effect on it.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:41 pm

Unbelievable .....thats all I can say. :roll:

Mines been higher and is higher than yours Chip. If you think thats what it is pull one lower isolator out on each side. I installed two due to you saying you had bought four to use!

It could be a ujoint which was starting to go bad before like LIV stated but REMEMBER we felt it sitting still at a light! Not moving at all so no suspension parts were moving at that time.
Have you installed the new plugs yet? With over 50,000 on the originals it has to run like crap right there! :lol:

If you don't find what it is (and think its the lift) I will drive down to your driveway and replace it all back to stock ! :wink:

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:00 am

Ill go with Tom, if you felt it standing still and have 50 G's on original plugs, then that presents a totaly different picture. Not going into detail aon a few changes that may take place after altering the suspension hight.. Go get some new plugs and drop them in, clean your valve body, change the air filter, and while you have your colis loose do a test on them with a meeter Primary Resistance 0.6-0.9 Ohms, Secondary 6,000-9,000 Ohms

Boiler · **Posted:** Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:43 am

tommudd wrote:

Unbelievable .....thats all I can say. :roll:

Mines been higher and is higher than yours Chip. If you think thats what it is pull one lower isolator out on each side. I installed two due to you saying you had bought four to use!

I had looked at the "measure your lift height" thread after I measured mine to report my numbers at the start of this thread and saw that many people were higher than me in front but few if any broke 23 in the rear.

You've got to understand Tom, I'm an engineer and have an overly analytical brain. I ask my doctor, local mechanic, vet, dentist, everyone a million questions. I never have something done without attempting to be educated on what I'm doing. That said, I've been thinking about this on and off all week while waiting for saturday to change my plugs. I've been working until dark and have young'uns to see in the evening, so I had to wait, leaving me to contemplate whats going on. Not once have I thought "Tom messed up my Jeep".

tommudd wrote:

It could be a ujoint which was starting to go bad before like LIV stated but REMEMBER we felt it sitting still at a light! Not moving at all so no suspension parts were moving at that time.

I've been test driving it all week and I'm having trouble feeling it when stopped. So my revisionist memory is questioning what we really felt sometimes. In fact I couldn't remember where we were when we made the determination that it shook while stopped.

tommudd wrote:

Have you installed the new plugs yet? With over 50,000 on the originals it has to run like crap right there! :lol:

If you don't find what it is (and think its the lift) I will drive down to your driveway and replace it all back to stock ! :wink:

Like I said a post ago, I'm seafoaming and changing the plugs out tomorrow. I'm just getting ahead of myself and questioning what to try if plugs don't cure it.

Please don't take this too personally, I'm just thinking out loud. Tony and a mechanic at work are all like "oh man thats too tall I bet it is your driveshaft" telling me to take one or both isolators out. I do not want to take ANY of the height out, I'm loving it where it is at. I keep telling them that everyone does it this way but it still makes me think about it. In fact I'm ready to add to the front...

Boiler · **Posted:** Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:14 pm

It seems like the vibrations got a little better over the course of the week, still happening when accelerating past 50 mph. If I'm in a gear that produces about 4000 rpm at 50 its very noticable.

So yesterday I seafoamed and changed the plugs. It seemed to be the same at my 1 am test drive, so I unhooked the battery. I'll give it a week to work in unless it gets worse. I don't expect it to by the way it behaved last week.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Nov 08, 2009 2:41 pm

mine is higher than yours and have had no problems at all.

also you stated you were adding skids, gas tank skid , rock rails, some tools etc so wanted the extra height so when it settled from the weight it would still be alright and not lower in the rear. My tool box alone drops mine 1/4 inch at least

Like I said I will drive to your house and remove whatever you want, then I am done!

Also letting ones who have never seen a lifted Liberty or did one tell you that it is too high is like me telling you how to do a cad drawing.
Chris and I took a day off to help out a fellow LOST member ( like we have a ton of times) but now....

Boiler · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2009 2:38 am

Boiler wrote:

It seems like the vibrations got a little better over the course of the week, still happening when accelerating past 50 mph. If I'm in a gear that produces about 4000 rpm at 50 its very noticable.

So yesterday I seafoamed and changed the plugs. It seemed to be the same at my 1 am test drive, so I unhooked the battery. I'll give it a week to work in unless it gets worse. I don't expect it to by the way it behaved last week.

To be crystal clear Tom: I'm not blaming you or the lift for the vibration. I just wanted to give a status update after what I tried. Since the only real noticable vibration is coming only when I'm doing 50 in a particular gear, I can't see how that would come from being too high.

I'm sorry if my discussions of the matter have caused bad blood between you and I. I didn't intend for that to be the case and I want to make sure that we're ok. I chose my lift and I like where my jeep sits now. Further, I'm grateful for your and Chris' help getting it there. Thank you.

VoodooMann · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2009 2:58 am

check the bolts on the driveshaft

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2009 2:15 pm

OK Boiler

no hard feelings at all

But I did turn on a switch remotely this morning on a device that was installed on your KJ when we did the lift.

Basically what this will do is shut your KJ off at the border. Any road that you try and come into Ohio on, it will disable the KJ until it is pushed back across into Indiana ! :twisted:

you missed that install didn't you! :twisted:

Boiler · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2009 3:32 pm

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:33 pm

I like to see that, making up

All kidding aside, vibe's at 50mph give and take a few miles, give it some time and let it break in. But consider, A: how many miles you have on the KJ, thus comimg up with the equation of , the condition of you front CV's and axel, as I said earlier, your u-joints, tie rod end, front say bar busshings, lower control arm bushings, ect. You know where Im getting at. In the Stock conditions these factors may not have even been a concern for the KJ, but know that its reaching for the sky it has placed a different type of strain on the parts. Also regardles all KJs are not created equal. Means that it can happen to some and not others. Oh and dont forget to get it aligned. I saw the pictures, it looks great, save up for tires and have fun with it. Oh and by the way, if I knew nothing about KJ's, and I needed someone to help me, there would only be two guys on here I would trust, and Mr Mud is one of them

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:42 pm

My alignment guys aligned it ten minutes after we were done! Of course he will have to have it done again but we got him running straight down the road ! Well as straight as Boiler can drive :wink:

Thanks Liv for the words of...... encouragement ! :lol:

Now who is next for a lift ???

Wait it could be ME!!!! :shock:

Drove 3 hours, lifted, and now a vibration on throttle.

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