Suspension woes

I test drove the rig for the first time on Saturday and I all most brought it home on a wrecker!!! The body roll was so bad that I thought I would lose it and end up in the ditch. Everything is tight and installed by the book. CJ5 on Rancho 2.5 in lift springs with Prothane bushings and RS5000 shocks. HD replacement shackles on front and back. These springs are soft but this is crazy. I can push on the roll bar and lift the body 6 inches or more sitting in the shop. It's like it riding on marshmellows

 

Sounds like you need a sway bar on the front. Or maybe replacing the shocks might help. The softness will allow for GOOD articulation out on the trail though

 

I wish my springs were that soft

 

One possibility is to go with less lift and stiffer springs. You can likely sell the new springs for most of what you paid for them. Stock length shackles? Who sold you the springs?

 

Tim, I bought these from 4wd hardware. The shackles are are maybe an inch longer than stock but I got them for the heftyness more then the length.

 

Try stiffer valved shocks, might help a lot. Re-drill the shackles to make them closer to stock length, look into a sway bar. I also get a lot of body/suspension movement when pushing on the roll bar, but it rides well. It might just be a matter of getting used to the way the new suspension rides and handles and adjusting your driving habits.

 

I am running what sounds like the exact same suspension and I can jump (180 lbs) on my bumpers and it won't move more than 1/2 inch. Climbing in doesn't move it at all.

 

I had Blake do just that. Most of the movement is in the spring bushings and some is the spring itself. This rig starts shifting back and forth about 35 mph and won't stop until I came to a complete stop. I don't need a lift kit that bad to risk an accident. I can't imagine anyone "getting used to" this condition either. I'll get the front end lined up first before I pass final judgement. I just did a tape measure alignment to get by until I can get it to town.
Checklist:
1.All hardware tight
2.Correct PN for leaf springs, bushings and shackles by application
3.Tire pressures at 35psi
4.All tie rod and steering link ends are tight
5.New steering shaft installed and tight
6.Ball joints tight

Everything is new and it drives like a carnival ride.:?

 

Frame cracked or anything. Seems awfully wierd that it would act like that.

High5

 

I weigh 275lbs and I can use my bumper as a spring board. How can there be so much difference in the same equipment???

 

I won't need disconnects, it won't be off road. That's what Casper is for (avitar).

 

Caster problem? Loose bushings or cracked frame (both mentioned above) or something like that?

 

Frame is solid. It was media blasted and checked before the POR-15 was applied.

 

What are the bushings made of? Polly or rubber? Not to be Capt'n Obvious but something is not right........

 

My question too. What are the bushings made out of? Bushing are made to be flexible, bot not that flexible. Is there any slack in your steering box? Steering stabilizer?

 

My SoftRide suspension scares anyone that rides with me, it leans around the corners that bad. I've gotten used to it, and it works really well on and off-road.
It does sound like there is an underlying problem with your rig.

One thing I noticed is your tire pressure. I really doubt you need 35psi to carry the wieght of a CJ. I run 35x12.50x15 Swampers on mine and I never have them about 25 lbs, street or trail. your tires will probably suffer from what looks like an over-inflation problem eventually.

Heres how to tell the correct pressure (on any vehicle).
Use a long, hard surface, as smooth as you can find. Parking lots wok good.
draw a chalk line across all 4 tires, parallel with the ground.
Drive or roll foreward enough to erase part of the chalk line. No cornering!
when the tire pressure is correct for that vehicle, the chalk line will be scrubbed out all the way across the tire.
If its gone in the middle, the tire is over-inflated
If its gone on the outside, but not the middle, then the tire is under-inflated.
Adjust accordingly to all 4 tires. its possible to have 4 different pressures in the 4 tires, but choose an average for all of them (or each axle pair if necessary) to make life easier. You might have to repeat the lines until you get it right...

HTH!