Body too high?

[RainDog]

1953 M38a1...please be kind I am way out of my realm here...I know nothing. I bought this jeep and had new springs, shocks and shackels put on and now it's hard as heck to get in! It's 2" or more higher and now the rod that makes it 4 weel drive?? sheeshh...is to short? What happen?
The mechanic wants to take it to a shop to weld in length? aughhhhh
It had a death wobble and I've started going through the process...still wobbles bad...and I have old ply tires that need replacing.
Any help?? thank you

[skyjeep50]

RainDog - first thing, download all the tech manuals found on this website under "downloads" and read through all of them while sitting in or laying under your jeep. Learn about what makes it run. You can also buy paper manuals or CD's with all the manuals from a variety of sources. Use the "search" function on this website to look up topics and past posts for answers to your questions - saves a bunch of time and there is a "1/4 ton" of information already posted. A little understanding will go a long way in determining what repairs your jeep needs. You may not be in a position to do the work yourself but don't depend on the average mechanic to understand 50+ year old military jeeps. Weld a length onto to rod that makes it 4 wheel drive? - the driveshaft?? A very bad idea!
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1951 M38

[wesk]

If you install a suspension lift kit (in your case 2" lift springs) you must make adjustments for the increased distance created between the axles and the transfer case and the steering linkage travel and the shock lengths.

A picture is worth a thousand words here. So post a few photos of what has been added to your jeep, read the manuals and we will try to help.

As for the "Death Wobble" you will need to troubleshoot the front suspension, steering and drive axle together to determine what components are causing it. The causes make a long list and you should get a mechanic accustomed to inspecting and repairing front suspensions to evaluate it for you.

Wheel wobble and wheel hop are two different things. Wheel wobble is a side to side motion usually caused by worn or loose parts. Wheel hop is a vertical motion usually caused by out of round or out of balance tires.

a partial list of wobble causes:

Loose wheel bearings
Loose springs
Bad tire treads and sidewalls
worn steering linkage
Worn steering gear box.
Worn or loose king pin bearings (also called pivot bearings)
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Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100

Mjeeps photo album: http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules.php?set_albumName=Wes-Knettle&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

[BullRun]

If your front fenders are not banged up... on a flat surface, the bottom edge of the fender at the point where it starts to round up to the outside edge should be about 21" from the ground. There is some variability here for things like tire pressure, thread depth, etc.

Check between the chassis and body for spacers at mounting points that would physically lift the body away from the chassis requiring the lengthening of shift levers as they would become shorter.

If you have new springs and tires it should be a little hard to get into the jeep. Its normal to sort of climb into this vehicle.

The wobble is not normal however and the things mentioned above should provide an answer. One more idea, if your new springs are not the same width as the stock springs (as in narrower) this might be the source of the wobble. The Death Wobble sounds identical to spring problems on the earliest Land Rovers 1948-50 and was solved by using a wider spring which in your case would be going back a factory spec. width dimension.

You could also have a case of tolerance stacking were everything is worn beyond allowable tolerances so collectively the individuals parts don't work together anymore. This is where the repair/restoration work comes into play.