Installed Ironman lift yesterday, got a vibration now

Maxxpags

Bought an X
Got everything buttoned up yesterday on the Ironman lift. Took it for a test drive & absolutely love it, only issue I have is a slight vibration from 25mph to 30mph. It’s not there before 25 & completely gone right after 30. Took it on the highway & got it up to 100mph, never smoother, I’ll bet I could have stood a nickel on the dash at 90. What could that 30 mph vibration be? Any idea? I’ll have the alignment done but if it was that wouldn’t the vibration be there no Matter what. The steering wheel is more steady now than before the install
 

outback97

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, Utah
The vibration is one you can feel in the whole truck and in your seat, not just the steering wheel, right? You probably need shims for the rear axle.

IME speed specific vibrations are because of the pinion angle that you just changed. After my Old Man Emu install, mine had a very noticeable vibration between 30 and 40 MPH. It was absolutely speed specific and independent of engine RPM or anything else.

My '06 needed shims and '09 didn't, with the same exact Old Man Emu setup. I don't know why, but you don't always need shims with lifting via rear leafs. Often you do. IMO anyone selling Xterra lifts should at least mention the possibility of needing them.
 
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Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
You need to buy shims and new U Bolts. Jack up the truck, support the frame on jackstands so that the suspension can fully droop. This may require removing the tires. Remove the old U Bolts and throw them away. Install the shim on the spring perch between the perch and the leaf so that the larger end is facing the front of the truck. This tilts the axle housing upward. Install new u bolts and torque to spec.
 

ffxcores

[fully disclosed]
Supporting Member
Location
Virginia
Where do I get them & where do they go? Never had to deal with this before

Also available at Nisstec, AllDogsOffroad, etc. I don’t know if 2 degrees is the one you need, but the standard answer is a degree per inch of lift. 2 worked for me.
 

outback97

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, Utah
I know that best practice is to not re-use axle ubolts. That said, in my case, I used the same Old Man Emu ones when I added shims.

Since they were brand new and I would have had to re-torque them at least once, if not twice after putting some miles on them, it didn't make sense to me to get new ones just to add the shims. @Prime knows much more than I do about vehicle modding so I'm not saying you should re-use u-bolts, but it's what I did when installing shims.

@Maxxpags why not contact the dealer who supplied you the lift components to see if they stock the shims?
 
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Maxxpags

Bought an X
Ya, definitely gotta get them as soon as possible, wish I had known this when I was putting it together. I’m going to use the new u bolts that came with the kit,(super heavy duty & way long enough), I’ll be contacting Ironman today & get them on the way. Did a little YouTube research & simple enough. No better resource than here for information, thanks again everyone
 

ffxcores

[fully disclosed]
Supporting Member
Location
Virginia
Echoing @outback97 the stock ubolts at least stretch the threads, which is why you shouldn’t reuse them. The aftermarket ones that are much thicker and have nylock nuts according to some can be reused. We asked Ironman specifically about theirs and they said we could. (We had already cut them shorter though, so no chance to reuse without shredding the nylon from the nut.)

Also different torque specs for different diameter ubolts. I can post them when I’m back in the garage.
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
$29 for the shims on Ironman website, how can I be sure what degree I should get, or is it just a guessing game? The description for the 2 degree wedge says it changes the angle 1 degree. ???? Why are they named 2 Degree shims if it only changes it 1 Degree???? This is confusing at the least. I really don’t want to experiment at $30 a pop, or is that my only choice? And yes, the ones Ironman have do look well made. Advice on this, please & thank you
 

JeffPro4x

Hot Pipe
Super Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Glenside, PA
$29 for the shims on Ironman website, how can I be sure what degree I should get, or is it just a guessing game? The description for the 2 degree wedge says it changes the angle 1 degree. ???? Why are they named 2 Degree shims if it only changes it 1 Degree???? This is confusing at the least. I really don’t want to experiment at $30 a pop, or is that my only choice? And yes, the ones Ironman have do look well made. Advice on this, please & thank you
Quick rule of thumb is 1° per inch of lift. You could always measure your driveline angles to be 100% sure
 

JeffPro4x

Hot Pipe
Super Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Glenside, PA
I just finished putting my springs in. I'll update my build thread later. Removed the overload, added a leaf. Rides like a dream. Even with an empty cargo area, but I have a tire carrier and 35 hanging off the back
 

SledheadX

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
Rochester, NY
I’ll sell you my new 2 deg shims from Nisstec for $20 plus shipping. Never used them when I lifted. Bought 2 and 3 deg, used the 3 deg first and was good.
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
Picked up a pair of “Pro Comp” 2 degree shims, installed & vibration is exactly the same. I put a magnetic angle gauge on the driveshaft & rear end housing before the install (might have had the ass end of the truck on jack stands when I stuck it on, don’t remember), The driveshaft was 12 degrees & the rear housing was 2 degrees, what to do now? Should there be that much of a difference? I’ll check it again today while it’s sitting on the ground & let y’all know what the current angle degrees are now after the 2 degree shims are in for a few days. How large of a shim do they actually make for this?
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
I have been informed that I did stick the gauge on while I had the back end on jack stands, wasn’t overly concerned at the time because I figured slap the 2 degree shims in & closed case… as soon as I can I will check it the correct way, on flat level ground … on the ground… & see where I’m actually at
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
Okay, here’s the deal… I’m at 15 degrees on driveshaft & 9 degrees on axle housing. What should I do? Everything I have read is get it between 1&3 degrees… ???? Is there some kind of other issue? Front end alignment (that’s happening shortly), or anything else I should consider?
 

SledheadX

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
Rochester, NY
First question and may be a dumb one is did you install the shims correctly with the thick end toward the front? Can you post a pic of the setup?
 

JeffPro4x

Hot Pipe
Super Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Glenside, PA
Okay, here’s the deal… I’m at 15 degrees on driveshaft & 9 degrees on axle housing. What should I do? Everything I have read is get it between 1&3 degrees… ???? Is there some kind of other issue? Front end alignment (that’s happening shortly), or anything else I should consider?
What's your tcase output shaft angle? You want the output shaft angle and the pinion angle to be parallel (ie -3° at tc, +3° at pinion) Driveshaft angle matters, but not nearly as much as the other two angles.
 
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Maxxpags

Bought an X
Yes, the shims are installed in the correct way, the 3 degrees are 12-12-10 degrees on the tail shaft of the transfer case- driveshaft-rear end housing. As far as I know that’s within the 3 degrees difference. Did take a good look at the camber of the front tires & will be picking up adjustable camber bolts tomorrow & getting a front end alignment. Did not notice at first, but I can see a definite camber issue. Hope like hell that’s what my problem is. I’ll let y’all know, thanks for everyone’s input…. Love forums, best source of information ever
 

IM1RU

Skid Plates
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, UT
Did not notice at first, but I can see a definite camber issue. Hope like hell that’s what my problem is.
Make sure you look at the drivers rear cam bolt first. That's the one that always gets seized... If you have to cut it out, you'll need new LCA's. Then make sure you use WAY TOO MUCH anti seize.
 

ffxcores

[fully disclosed]
Supporting Member
Location
Virginia
Looks like maybe a weekday evening next week we’re going to try and change out @C3NK0 ‘s rear ujoint. It took me 90 minutes solo to do mine and under $50 including replacement bolts/nuts, so we can knock it out quick and see if that fixes his vibration.
 

meisanerd

Need Bigger Tires
Make sure you look at the drivers rear cam bolt first. That's the one that always gets seized... If you have to cut it out, you'll need new LCA's. Then make sure you use WAY TOO MUCH anti seize.
Lies. Mine was the passenger rear. And part of the problem with getting those out is there isn't enough room to really get power tools in there on the rears, so if they are seized, it is indeed a cut off and replace lca.
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
Did some shopping around, Nisstec has a 4 bolt adjustable kit (4 bolt) for $63), local dealer quotes me $150 for 4 bolts , anyway here’s my deal.., gonna buy the camber bolts from Nisstec & have the alignment tech install during the alignment & hopefully that will be the fix. I’ll keep y’all posted
 

JeffPro4x

Hot Pipe
Super Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Glenside, PA
Did some shopping around, Nisstec has a 4 bolt adjustable kit (4 bolt) for $63), local dealer quotes me $150 for 4 bolts , anyway here’s my deal.., gonna buy the camber bolts from Nisstec & have the alignment tech install during the alignment & hopefully that will be the fix. I’ll keep y’all posted
Nisstec sells the SPC bolts, which are shiat IMO. The SPC washers have stripped out for more than a couple people. OEM is the way to go. Z1 has them cheaper.
 

ffxcores

[fully disclosed]
Supporting Member
Location
Virginia
Echoing all the above. Both Moog and SPC camber bolts have loosened and no longer hold position on me and another guy’s truck locally. OEM is worth the price.
 

Maxxpags

Bought an X
What are “Z1’s” & OME? The dealer wants $150 for 4 bolts. Who is “Z1”?… OME… original manufacture?
 

ffxcores

[fully disclosed]
Supporting Member
Location
Virginia
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This is what happens with the Moog/SPC washers. The bolts seem to hold up fine but the D shape in the washers slowly loses its shape, they no longer align with each other, and then it doesn’t hold the bolt in one spot anymore. It then allows the LCA bushing to move in/out instead of just rotate and in my case caused my bushings to rip.
 

Lazerrred

Bought an X
Z1 is an awesome vendor. Used them ALLOT back in the day I was Z32 (300 ZX) nuts. ( had 5 at one time.) 3 TT’s, and 2 “Slicktop” NA’s. One dedicated TT SCCA track car, and one dedicated Slicktop for Autocross. 3 daily drivers.
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C3NK0

Bought an X
Location
Rockville, MD
Yes, the shims are installed in the correct way, the 3 degrees are 12-12-10 degrees on the tail shaft of the transfer case- driveshaft-rear end housing. As far as I know that’s within the 3 degrees difference. Did take a good look at the camber of the front tires & will be picking up adjustable camber bolts tomorrow & getting a front end alignment. Did not notice at first, but I can see a definite camber issue. Hope like hell that’s what my problem is. I’ll let y’all know, thanks for everyone’s input…. Love forums, best source of information ever

With @ffxcores , we installed rear ujoint, it fixed a lot of drive line vibration, between 30-40 and some at higher speeds.

I had 134k on mine, if you have more than 100k on yours, cheap fix. You should give it a shot.

Having said that, without removing any leafs? Leaves? Without heaving load in the rear, its still not too comfy of a ride. If you are not getting a rear bumper with a tire swing, may want to remove a couple to make it better.

Thanks to @ffxcores for all the help and space, he did all the work, while I watched and hold a wrench or two oh and lighting was on me :)
 

SledheadX

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
Rochester, NY
I will verify @C3NK0 on the addition of the rear bumper tire carrier to the improved ride quality. VERY noticeable + difference. And still minimal sway without the sway bar. Unless I’m just used to it for being bar-less for 5 years now. I highly recommend the maXTERRA Rear bumper/tire carrier if you don’t want to remove leaves and sacrifice load capacity of those springs. Plus, you only lose 1/4 - 1/2” of lift. Not a bad trade off (sporting the shiat-eating grin). How’s that for a sales pitch?
 
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