Bad news? - Rear suspension

ThomasJ

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2009
Location
University City, Charlotte, NC
I just bought a '99 Jeep Wrangler TJ. It's lifted and has bigger wheels on it. I need some help though, I've taken it out twice now and found some damage:
First thing is that the rear sway bar (I think that's what it is at least) is loose. It can slide back and forth to the right and left about 1/2". Is that normal or is that supposed to be firm? When I'm driving around the rear in seems a little sluggish sometimes.
See here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtC5WpHypbc
Second thing is that whatever the piece that limits the travel of the coil in the back right corner is completely broken off. The bolt that holds it in snapped. What should I do about this?
Here's the normal looking left rear:
aimg40.imageshack.us_img40_1867_s5030597.jpg

Here's the broken off rubber stopper stuck in the coil:
aimg188.imageshack.us_img188_6514_s5030600.jpg

Here's the the broken off bolt:
aimg441.imageshack.us_img441_9051_s5030601.jpg

And as you can see, the coil smashed up into the top so is no longer a perfect circle (The top of the bolt is still up in there):
aimg20.imageshack.us_img20_7731_s5030602.jpg
 
rear sway bar is fine..
rear coils they usually aren't 'perfectly round' yours is probably fine. The smashed part is the rubber isolator to keep it from making noise that you'd probably complain about :)

Remove the broken off bolt and install a new bolt. Start spraying it with PB-Blaster penitrating oil hit it for a few days in a row. (hose it down)
Unbolt your shock on that side, and jack up the jeep and pull the coil out. Get a drill bit and drill the center of the bolt put an easy-out or screw extractor in there and back it out..
 
So that cylinder thing inside the coil is called a bumpstop? Does it have a purpose other than stopping the coil from compressing too far? Can I take out both sides and get more travel? Does that mean i'd have to be more careful with it or just that it bounces a little more?

The only reason I'd need to remove the tip of the bolt would be to put a new bumpstop in (the tip of the bolt is still up in the top whereas the actual bumpstop fell to the bottom, if I wasn't going to put a new bumpstop in could I just forget about it (still spray in with the PB-blaster though)?
 
ThomasJ said:
So that cylinder thing inside the coil is called a bumpstop? Does it have a purpose other than stopping the coil from compressing too far? Can I take out both sides and get more travel? Does that mean i'd have to be more careful with it or just that it bounces a little more?
The only reason I'd need to remove the tip of the bolt would be to put a new bumpstop in (the tip of the bolt is still up in the top whereas the actual bumpstop fell to the bottom, if I wasn't going to put a new bumpstop in could I just forget about it (still spray in with the PB-blaster though)?
Click to expand...

Bumpstops are a good thing, because if you did not have them, then your tire would act as a bumpstop against your inner fender...
 
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