Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread

As some of you know, I am working on building a parts list for a shortened Dana 44, long radius arm with coil overs SAS. 5:13 gears to match my rear axle and an ARB, maybe an electric locker. I have a pretty good list so far. At the same time, I am going to swap out the rear drum brakes for discs off of a 99 Explorer.

Please note: The plan is to keep this project as simple as possible with mostly off the shelf parts. I am not a fabricator, just a decent welder with a what I would consider the minimum required tools (chop saw, cut off wheels, air tools, welder, etc.), who likes doing his own work. Your opinions are welcome, but what I really need is technical advice. I have been thinking about this for several years and now have the time and cash to make it happen. Please keep on topic with your advice and don't go off on a side track about how you would do it as a four-link, or caged arms, or leave the axle full-width because that is not what I want. I want a simple-ish set up that works.

 

[Kirby N.]

I have a missing 10mm shirt. Get comments from wrenchers, even got asked by a CT tech what it meant.

I am a big fan of Ridged tools. I have most of their 18 volt cordless stuff. Three impacts, 1/4" and two 1/2" drives. Biggest one runs my RV lug nuts right off.

I got rigid stuff for my dad- and got him a bunch of tools over a couple years for Father’s Day bday and Christmas. All because my contractor buddy said they were the best warranty. It’s lifetime you know. So we smoked his drill on my dads roof cutting holes in steel with a 4” hole saw. Had to finish with my makita. I took it in for the warranty and learned a couple things:

1. If you don’t register the tool, the warranty means nothing. You get charged for a repair- which in this case was more than a new bare drill.

2. Rigid is the orange version of ryobi. Same company and I have had some really bad experiences with ryobi quality over the years.

Moral of the story- we are stuck with rigid for my dads set. Really wish I would have went Milwaukee- thier quality is next to none- but it is too late and we have invested too much in rigid. So if you are stuck with them, register them religiously.

 

[410Fortune]

I agree Milwaukee is quality, some of their 12V tools are like super impressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dewalt is also very very tough, cannot kill their drills or impacts, however the 20V stuff is actually 18V if you read the package....all marketing gimmicks!!


Look at what roofers and framers use..... dewalt or miwaukee
Makita has always been goood!!

the same company that builds Milwaukee (TTI) builds ryobi and has something to do with rigid as well through a subsidiary

Power Tool Manufacturers and Who Really Owns Them - 2023

It may surprise you that only a handful of larger companies own your favorite power tool manufacturers. Here's who owns who...with lists!

www.protoolreviews.com

 

[Kirby N.]

Really interesting article. I would have never guessed that ryobi and Milwaukee are related. It makes me feel better about my Makita set. Honestly I think conglomerates are ruining a lot of products. Look at all the companies that used to be trustworthy and dependable and are now owned by trans American and have gone to crap.

 

[410Fortune]

me either! until a good friend of mine who used to work and sell Milwaukee tools told me about it......... makes sense all located under one roof at "the depot"

hoping the death wobble gets resolved. I cannot see how using an impact to install the rod end would kill it, I mean the hold down bolt dead ends on the center ball, it should not do anything to the liner/race/bearing assembly.
I have worked on a few jeeps with the death wobble............. not fun when that happens

 

[BKennedy]

I just got done with swapping out the track bar rod end. I can feel a little movement in the old rod end when pulling on it with my fingers. The new one installed has no play, and the little bump I could feel in the front suspension is gone when pushing the rig side to side. I think that I replaced the rod end with a bad one a few months ago, then spent a bunch of time changing out other bushings looking for the bump thinking no way could a brand new RuffStuff rod end be bad. I'm going to contact them and see if they will do anything about it, or if they have had any issues. I'm down to two spares, which is what I carry in the Explorer. Track bar and steering share the same 3/4x3/4 rod ends.

Having a OEM bushing in the lower mount should help the upper mount rod end last a long time just because the bushing absorbs vibration and shock. Wish I could buy just the lower bushings instead of a set. I've been trying to figure a use for the upper bushings for years. I have 4-5 of them here.

 

[Kirby N.]

I hope your death wobble is resolved too. That can be a pain to track down. I have chased it in Jeeps a lot too. Have found lots of remedies like balancing tires, deflating tires, adding toe. I think that’s the issue with it- there is a ton of sources.

 

[BKennedy]

The death wobble is still there. It's so bad it feels like it's going to come apart, violent shaking. It hits all at once when at about 45 MPH and decelerating, then continued down to about 25 MPH. It was after driving about a mile, then every time after that I got to about 45 MPH I could feel it wanting to shake. The last time, I accelerated up to 45-50, then let off the throttle and it started. It was so bad I was pulling over and down to under 25 before it stopped. I don't get it. It hasn't ever done this before, it's always been very solid. I'm trying to figure out what could be the cause. Suspension is tight, all new bushings and rod ends in radius arms, all new bushings and rod ends in track bar, steering is tight, ball joints don't seem like they have any play, wheel bearings don't have any wiggle.

I'm going through what I changed before the last trip. It started doing it on the way back to Williams from Sedona, but just once. It was after I pulled off I-40 at Parks and drove down R-66. I thought something broke so I pulled over and looked around the front suspension. That's when I noticed the play in the track bar bushing but that's all been replaced and feels solid. It didn't happen again the entire rest of the drive back to Williams, about 15 miles. I keep going back to the power steering pump, but just don't see how that could be causing death wobble. The steering wheel violently shudders when it happens. Can a power steering pump cause that?

 

[BKennedy]

I have had the track bar lower bushing blow out before. I had one that came apart and the only reason I noticed was I felt a clunk. No wobble from that.

Thinking about this some more. If it was a PS issue, than it would be RPM, not speed related. Going to have to get it up on Jack stands, get a pry bar and start shoving stuff around. Maybe run the engine up and let off the throttle and see if anything happens.

 

[410Fortune]

That sucks
Death wobble can be so hard to fix too
Start by rotating tires front to back
Check shock bushings top and bottom
Check the usual, tie rod ends, pitman arm, UBJ, LBJ
wheel bearing suspect too

"Death wobble is caused by something very simple - it’s the vehicles inability to absorb the natural vibration caused by driving,"

Did you lose any wheel weights? Any shocks leaking at the seals?

You would think it would be obvious with a front end shake down but it never seems to be that easy,......at least not on Jeeps (my death wobble experience is all with Jeeps, several of them) It is usually a control arm bushing, blown shocks, tire balance issue or a combo of those

good read here

What Is Jeep Death Wobble?

Quite simply, death wobble is the seemingly uncontrollable side-to-side shaking of a Jeep’s front end steering components and – by extension – its steering wheel. Here is how to diagnose and fix.

www.quadratec.com

 

[Kirby N.]

I know a ton of jeep guys would call adjusting the tire air pressure and replacing the steering stabilizer cover ups/ bandaids- but if it fixes it, it fixes it. Atleast it puts a bandaid over it until the actual cause is more obvious. Sometimes the slop is so small it is hard to find. Adding a steering stabilizer is an option that you can consider if you can’t locate it.

 

[BKennedy]

It's crazy. I've never had a issue before and it seems unusual for a extended radius arm suspension. I'll spend some time under the front axle this week.

Ever heard of coilovers causing death wobble? I drove 300 miles back from a trip with blown shocks when I had FOA's.

 

[410Fortune]

sure it can be the spring/shock combo because it is the inability to absorb vibration (the shocks job)

Had a friends Jeep death wobble....came to me told me they finally fixed it! Steering stabilizer! (I was thinking nope) sure enough couple of weeks later wobble is back. He now has it fixed with "new tires".... time will tell
Steering stabilizer is not going to fix it and a bad one is not the cause of it

 

[BKennedy]

I put the Explorer on jack stands under the front axle. Removed the front tires. When you try to push it side to side there is NO movement. I mean nothing. All the lateral movement is from the tires.

I went through the entire front suspension with a large pry bar and there is no movement except for a small amount from the wedgie bushings, which is normal. Ball joints are nice and tight. Wheel bearings have no wiggle. Shock heims have no wiggle, shock shaft has no play. Steering is ridiculously tight for rod end type steering. Track bar has no side movement. I ran the engine for 30 minutes to warm it up, then ran up the RPM's several times with no wiggle in the steering wheel. I did find out I need a new serpentine belt because this one squeaks at higher RPM. I think the new fan clutch is putting more strain on the belt because it's working correctly. Ordered a new belt (OK, I really ordered three because RockAuto has Motorcraft belts for $6.19 each and I'm a bit of a car parts hoarder) and a new tensioner for good measure.

I did find the passenger-side jam nut on the radius arm rod end was loose. I am not sure if this could be the culprit because I don't see how it could cause such violent shaking. Could a loose jam nut cause death wobble? I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

There is only one more option that I can figure, which would be to remove the coil overs and go through them. If I do that, I'll take them to a local place that does shocks and have them rebuild them. It's worth the money not to deal with that mess.

 

[BKennedy]

Death Wobble Solved!

Loose jam nut on the right side radius arm rod end. If that big rod end is allowed to wobble, it creates a serious death wobble. Glad it was something so simple.

 

[Rick]

Death Wobble Solved!

Loose jam nut on the right side radius arm rod end. If that big rod end is allowed to wobble, it creates a serious death wobble. Glad it was something so simple.

Glad it was something simple.

 

[Stic-o]

Glad you solved it. Most of the time it's something silly on these. I have had it happen on JP, just out of know where. Rare, but it feels like the front wheel is going to rip off. I slow down and speed back up and gone. It happens when turning out of a dip in the road, but completely random. Could not recreate it if I tried.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Glad you solved it. Most of the time it's something silly on these. I have had it happen on JP, just out of know where. Rare, but it feels like the front wheel is going to rip off. I slow down and speed back up and gone. It happens when turning out of a dip in the road, but completely random. Could not recreate it if I tried.

i heard it is a combination of the speed almost like a harmonics thing its a specific speed and what not, or at least so i heard. just enough to throw it out of whack then it keeps occurring until conditions are not right.

 

[Kirby N.]

Excellent. I wouldn’t have guessed that was it but for your sake I am really glad it was. I just bought new heims for my arms. They are a little worn and getting sloppy. $100 from duff was a little hard to swallow.

 

[410Fortune]

I just replaced the spherical bearings and spacers in my wife's front swayaways (now AFE)
I could not for the life of me find out what spacers where needed to go with the com10 bearings on the internet, so I ordered the stuff from AFE.... $180!!!! for four com10 bearings and 8 mis alignment spacers........ what a rip!!!
now i have them all measured out so next time I can go to grainger

 

[BKennedy]

$180, that's a lot for $10 bearings.