OME Lift. Vibration

[fnscotsman]

I just upgraded the springs on my 95 disco with Medium Duty OME springs. This gave me about 1.5 inch lift to the vehicle. The handling is now awsome as a result!!! However I do notice a slight vibration I believe is coming from the drive shaft. This is probably due to the increased angle on the shaft. Is there anything that can be done to reduce/eliminate this? This is most noticeable when I am going down a slight incline with only a touch of gas on the pedal.

Should I be concerned or just ignore?

 

[Steve Rupp]

That's pretty weird for a 1.5" lift. Usually you won't notice a vibe until you go with a 3" lift. Basically you need to determine if your vibe is comming from the front or rear. Then you might need to correct your driveline angle. There are a couple of ways to do this. For the rear, you might need some new links to move the pinion down as a result of the lift. For the front, you may need to go with a double cardon driveshaft depending on where your pinion is as a result of the lift. Still, I find it hard to believe that you're getting a vibe from a 1.5" lift.

 

[Rikstaboogie]

I agree with Steve.

The only other reason I can think of is that maybe your UJ is just on its way out. Maybe changing the angle of the already tired UJ has caused it to noticably vibrate. I would change the UJ and run with it. See what happens. I also presume that its the front drive shaft that vibrates and i'm gonna guess its the UJ thats closest to the gearbox. If all else fails you can buy a "Castor Correction Kit" from OME.
Quote from the ARB website...
"Caster Correction Bushes ? Symptoms of incorrect caster are vehicle wander and a vague steering feel. OME?s offset correction bushes permanently cure the problem, and their unique design will ensure durability under the harshest conditions."

Lack of these offset bushes will cause stress on your UJ's in turn causing them to vibrate.

I run a 95 TDI300 disco with an OME lift. My lift is of about 1 1/2 - 2 inches. I dont use a castor correction kit.
Let us know what you decide and anyone else's thoughts.

Ricky

 

[Brian Fransson]

I actually got vibes on my '97 when I put medium duty OME springs. I was told it was probably one of the drive shafts, most likely the front, and to pull each one and drive around. With the front off the vibe was still there and with the rear off it was not. So knowing it was the rear I purchased a double cardon from Great Basin and now I'm vibe free.
Cheers,
Brian

 

[ptschram]

Before you do anything further, consider Riksta's, comment about Universal Joints. For some reason, Rover owners seem to think universals last forever.

If your truck has many miles at all, you need universals, also, they are a fairly cheap job-I bought two U-joints from Napa Friday for ~$10/each. It can be difficult to remove the driveshafts from the trucks, the clearane is limited. Buy a cheap 9/16" end wrench and grind the outside radius to gain clearance. The nuts are 3/8-24, nylon insert. You should replace them after removal, but few do.

Peace,
PT

 

[fnscotsman]

I'll check out the UJ's on it, that shoud be fairly simple excercise. I've had the Transmission out of my wifes 94 Disco a couple of years back, so it is a 'no brainer' getting the prop shaft off, infact I already replaced the rear rubber donut earleri this year as it was worn out. The Vehicle does have 144,000 miles on the clock now.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

I'd lean to the rotoflex being the problem. When I got my OME HD spring setup, I would go through Rotoflexes every 5k or so. Take off your rear drive shaft, lock the cdl, and see what happens. If the vibes go away, I'd recommend replacing the rotoflex driveshaft with a ujoint shaft. You will save money in the long run since the rotoflex bushings will wear out very quick because of the lift. There is a writeup in the tech section.