Colorado Safety Ranger

[Peas]

Thanks for the info. I was worried that might be the case. Do others with lifted rears just deal with it or is there a “fix”?

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[Pinepig]

Thanks for the info. I was worried that might be the case. Do others with lifted rears just deal with it or is there a “fix”?

There is a " shim kit " for the center bearing on the driveshaft. You'll likely have to trial/error the different thicknesses of shim before you get it just right. Thankfully you could probably swap out a set in under 3 minutes time. I see no reason why you couldn't get it perfect in less than 30 minutes with drive test time included, just bring your socket wrench and the shim kit with you and a small chuck of carpet to lay on while you do it.

 

[Peas]

There is a " shim kit " for the center bearing on the driveshaft. You'll likely have to trial/error the different thicknesses of shim before you get it just right. Thankfully you could probably swap out a set in under 3 minutes time. I see no reason why you couldn't get it perfect in less than 30 minutes with drive test time included, just bring your socket wrench and the shim kit with you and a small chuck of carpet to lay on while you do it.

Good to know and thanks for the advise. Do you have a link to a kit?

 

[AdamHarris]

Safety is my absolute TOP priority when executing a build. I removed my crash bars cause I was worried someone would stick their hand in the wheel well and cut themselves or jam their wrist. Can't happen now. A win for Safety!

 

[D Fresh]

If you lift the rear, then your driveshafts (there are two on the Rangers) will be at different angles than stock, preventing the transmission output and the rear axle from being parallel. This will create vibrations at specific speeds.

"May" create. Many of us are lifted with no issues.

Thanks for the info. I was worried that might be the case. Do others with lifted rears just deal with it or is there a “fix”?

Carrier bearing could be a problem. But it could be any number of things.

My bet is your tires though. Problem arose after installing them. Seems pretty obvious.

 

[Peas]

"May" create. Many of us are lifted with no issues.

Carrier bearing could be a problem. But it could be any number of things.

My bet is your tires though. Problem arose after installing them. Seems pretty obvious.

Thanks for the advise. I luckily have a full sized spare on a stock sport rim to match my other four I can use to see if it is the tires before monkeying with my center bearing.

 

[Pinepig]

Thanks for the advise. I luckily have a full sized spare on a stock sport rim to match my other four I can use to see if it is the tires before monkeying with my center bearing.

It's not the tire " lift " that causes the problem with the driveline/center bearing angle, it's the longer shackles that change the angle between the rear end/driveline because you have dropped one half of the leaf spring. You have rotated the rear end to a new location ( angle ).

 

[Peas]

Confirmed this morning that it is not the tires/wheels. Swapped around my full sized spare. Onto shims for the center bearing. Stay tuned.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

Confirmed this morning that it is not the tires/wheels. Swapped around my full sized spare. Onto shims for the center bearing. Stay tuned.

I am not sure how you can say this determined it wasn't the tires. If you have more than 1 tire out of balance, (there are a lot of ways this could be, even if the machine says it's okay) you can't determine it's not the tires by swapping one out. Where did you have the tires installed? Can they do a road force balance? Road force takes the heavy spot in the tire and heavy spot in the rim and puts them 180 degrees from each other. Heavy spots in tires, especially on larger and more aggressive tires, make a huge impact on vibrations.

Did you drive the truck on stock tires after the lift?

 

[Peas]

I am not sure how you can say this determined it wasn't the tires. If you have more than 1 tire out of balance, (there are a lot of ways this could be, even if the machine says it's okay) you can't determine it's not the tires by swapping one out. Where did you have the tires installed? Can they do a road force balance? Road force takes the heavy spot in the tire and heavy spot in the rim and puts them 180 degrees from each other. Heavy spots in tires, especially on larger and more aggressive tires, make a huge impact on vibrations.

Did you drive the truck on stock tires after the lift?

I did drive it with stock tires and did not notices any issues which would suggest its a tire issue. I appreciate you suggesting I circle back to the tires. I'll follow up with my shop and see if they balanced the tires using road force balancing. If not, I'll head down that road first.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I did drive it with stock tires and did not notices any issues which would suggest its a tire issue. I appreciate you suggesting I circle back to the tires. I'll follow up with my shop and see if they balanced the tires using road force balancing. If not, I'll head down that road first.

If you live near a Discount Tire, they can road force the tires, but will charge if you didn’t buy from them. It’s a long process, though not overly difficult. Always start easy. Tires will be easier to fix than driveshaft angles.

 

[Peas]

Safety update: wobble fixed after a road force balance of the tires (slight improvement) and an alignment (actual fix). Of note it turns out the shop that did my initial alignment after my I installed the front lift didn’t actually do an alignment (even though they charged me for it). The front was really towed out and resulting in the wobble. I live in a small town so there will be more to come once I talk to the original shop owner.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

Safety update: wobble fixed after a road force balance of the tires (slight improvement) and an alignment (actual fix). Of note it turns out the shop that did my initial alignment after my I installed the front lift didn’t actually do an alignment (even though they charged me for it). The front was really towed out and resulting in the wobble. I live in a small town so there will be more to come once I talk to the original shop owner.

Sucks that they didn't do the alignment, but I am glad that you figured it out and got the wobble solved.

 

[Peas]

Next safety upgrades: more lights!

Cheap Amazon 7” spot light bars (white and amber) mounted with four 3” L brackets using existing mounting points. Have not wired them up yet but will eventually be tied to my Lightforce Switch Facia. Test fit for compliance with the ACC sensor. No issues.

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