Truck shudder/jarring

Hi guys. God I feel like such a newb…

I was dismantling a rough country block and spacer lift the previous owner had installed. 2.5 inch spacer and 2 inch block I believe. Tires are 285/70/17. Truck is a 2006 DC 2WD SR5 by the way

What I’ve done is removed the front shocks and installed 5100s on the second perch from bottom. Confirmed perch seat is in correct position. LCA Cam bolts were loosened to help. I did tighten them back up pretty hard. Replaced driver side outer rod and pass. side sway bar and lower ball joint.

Here’s the issues…

1. Drivers sway bar is partially unbuttoned and nut seized ( will have to cut out)

2. Pass. sway looks to have slight bent at the bottom boot housing

3. Rear passenger Pin that holds the leaf springs together is not sitting in its hole. U bolts also aren’t flush because of this

4. Biggest Issue : Truck now has insane shudder/jarring when moving. Best I can describe is it sounds like either axle/shaft is experiencing heavy torque before turning over. Sounds like something may break.


Now mind you this did not happen yesterday. It only happened after passengers ball joint and sway was installed and after rear was dropped with blocks removed.

Confirmed the struts are fine. Ball joint was installed properly as I know. Only thing I can think of is the tires are insanely too big now to move or the rear leaf spring pin issue is causing it. Surely it isn’t a sway causing this much havoc but who knows. Thinking about towing to a shop and giving up. Any help is appreciated very much.

 

#1 split/cut the nut, once it's split it should spin right off.

#2 could be a result of that Rough Country lift, is the spacer 1"-1.5" thick, or actually 2.5" thick? Unfortunately if you lifted 3" in the front, and they didn't install extended swaybar links, this would've created extra strain on the swaybar, and it probably would bend. We've had other RC lift users in here with bent knuckles, for example. Warnings are out there.

#3 that's a problem, but easily solved, if you loosen the u-bolts, you should be able to use a come-along to pull the axle back/fwd until it drops in the slot, the axle should naturally right itself once it drops in; video reference below. This is not uncommon to experience, but most people know better than to leave it like that, or to tighten the u-bolts with it still like that. Live and learn.

#4 - I think this is your issue - Did you do anything to lift the rear at all, or are you squatting ass right now? Also, did you verify whether your truck actually had OEM wedges to correct your pinion angle? Did you look around for clearance, see anything obviously rubbing, tire against strut, for example? Check the rear driveshaft its full length. What shape is the carrier bearing in? (Edit: I doubt it's the bearing, I'm betting it's driveline angles, but you should still check every joint in the driveline)

My first thought is you've reduced/changed the angle of your ass-end by pulling the blocks, and your truck might've had the wedge (which I swore I warned about before), and with that geometry change your driveline is fucked up. I dunno how large of a discrepancy you've got due to the leafs, but you should correct that before rolling the truck anywhere.

Skip to 3m46s mark on this one, I'm not saying it's the right way, I'm just saying it a way, you should never tighten down your leafs if they're not in-pocket - this is the first thing you need to do. And you should also hear this: "it's not wise to re-use u-bolts" (due to stretch etc.):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xatplUX-pI#t=3m46s​

 

(and with that, I've got a date with LBJs in the next hour, then running to go plant some trees, so I won't be replying again probably for several hours)

 

1. Yeah that will be a pain, but relatively easy.

2. Spacer was a guess. It’s whatever is in their package for our trucks. I believe is closer to 2” thick.

3. Noted the axle can stand to come toward the nose of truck but the pin is also slightly to the right of the hole as well. Do you suggest come alongs for that as well or would a BFH with a few knocks to the left?

4. The wedges were confirmed for the 4WD. I didn’t see anything for the 2WD. The drivers side u-bolt, retainer and leads are perfect. It’s just this side. It did still have its rubber stop caps that goes over the leaf pins and guides the U-bolts. The block was so thick I couldn’t see it yesterday. Truck isn’t ass to ground. It’s “normal” with a slight rake, is the 5100s are at the 2nd rung from bottom. It’s what I expected.

I’m hoping if I can guide it back in I’ll be ok. Thanks for you help so far. And thanks for others chiming in, in advanced.

 

It’s gotta be the leafs. If they’re not set on the pin. They’re literally just floating on the axel. Which means your rear axel is free to move back and forth.

It’s overly simplified but our bed is connected to the leafs. The leafs are u-bolted to the rear axle. Those pins keep the leafs from sliding on the top of the axel.

you have the answer to your own question. Button bad boy up proper. If things persist then chime back in. Also the German torque spec of “guuht n tight” I would not recommend for suspension components unless they’re in places where a torque wrench simply can’t be put. Go to HarborFreight. They got sales going on right now.

 

You should be able to locates the leaf spring pin into the perch without to much fuss. Just make sure to loosen up the U bolts on both sides of the axle first (and not just one side)! And use whatever you happen to have on hand to located the axle housing where it needs to be, come-a-long, a few swift kicks of the foot, pry bar, big hammer, tie down strap, ratcheting tie down strap, ect. But if you loosen up all 4 U bolts first, you should be able to located the axle very easily by hand. No need for excessive force for something like this.

 

Those guys ^^

Fix that leaf then reassess. And yes, once the pin is lined up front-to-back, a swift BFH tap should tap it to drop in. Heed the warnings supplied ^^

 

I plan to use some ratchets tomorrow and report back. Hopefully it’s as easy as the video shows. Standby

 

If it's not moving for some reason, it's probably b/c you failed to loosen something up.

 

Update: was able to ratchet her back in. After set up it took maybe 5 minutes. I’ll keep an eye on drivetrain and go from here. Thanks for everyone’s help. Hopefully this was my only noob moment.