micahfelker

Honestly if you're just gonna wheel it and not really care about it much I would totally weld both of the diffs, take off the doors, and just go for it man. It'll keep up with the Jeep no problem, as long as you're not afraid to do a little damage.

Here is where I trimmed the plastic in the front. You can imagine when the wheel is turning it passes right through that area now without rubbing on the plastic that was there before Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where is the back rubbing? There's no way that 245/75r16's shoudl be rubbing AT ALL, especially in the back. They are 30.5x9.6" which is barely over an inch taller and actually narrower than the stock tires. How long has it been since you've replaced your springs, struts, and shocks? Could you measure the space you have in between the top of you tire and your fender? Also, I'll try to remember to take those pictures for you tomorrow.

Well hopefully that doesn't happen to me. At this point I'm fairly certain that's what's making the noise. Hopefully it's an easy fix!

Where can I find that?

Well I'll be tearing everything apart in order to move the bearings anyway. While everything is open I'll see if I'm correct about the mount needing to be replaced, and I can also further diagnose what might be causing the noise. Now I just need to wait until I have time to pull everything apart. Thanks for the help guys.

Mine rubbed in the same exact spot when I put on my 32's back when I was at stock ride height. I cut out the part of the plastic lining that it was rubbing on with a box cutter, and it did the trick. Way easier and more effective than spacers, and it took like 30 seconds. Plus, it won't expose anything to the elements that isn't already from the drain hole in the bottom of the bumper right in front of the spot you're cutting. If pictures would help, I can take some tomorrow once it's light out.

Mine makes a similar noise right around 1000 rpm as well, sort of a rasping/rattling sound. It isn't coming from any heat shields or any loose parts, it's coming from the exhaust itself. Like nowhere on the pipes is it making the noise, you can only hear it coming out of the end of the tailpipe with the rest of my exhaust noise. I never heard this with the stock exhaust (which I cut off right after the muffler), but it appears to be present both when I had no exhaust besides the foot or so directly after the cats, and also with my new exhaust, which dumps all the way out the back. Not sure my problem is related at all, but I've been dying to figure out why it does this. It sounds awful and no matter what I do it won't go away.

Shoot, I just remembered that the strut mount/top hat thing had a flat spot in the hole for the threaded part of the strut to slide though. Since that top piece doesn't spin, and the inner strut tube is spinning, it means that flat spot in the cutout has worn out enough to let the strut spin. That explains why it's only that size that moves, and it also explains the possible noise. Every time I turn or the strut is compressed, it has a little bit of wiggle room in there and the noise is it knocking against the sides of the cutout whenever it moves too much. Right now this is just a theory, but I'll see it as soon as I tear everything apart again. Looks like I'll probably have to buy another set of strut mounts or top hats (not sure exactly what they're called). Does this make sense at all or am I just imagining this?

Yes, I have KYB's. They have one flat side, but there's no matter what you do there's no way to get a wrench on the threads and a ratchet on the bolt at the same time while it's on the car. Do you think the fact that it's rotating while the other one isn't may also be the cause of the noise?

How is the road noise and gas mileage with them? Do they air-down well?

Didn't have the time today to tear apart everything yet, but I did try tightening the strut bolts (the center one). The driver side is as tight as it will go, but the passenger side (the side the noise is coming from) is spinning the whole inner part of the shock when I try to tighten it. Any ideas? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorta makes sense then. My piping (cats aside) is pretty much straight through, the mufflers are basically just spiral inserts. At cruising speed mine is almost silent and has absolutely no drone, but opens up and sounds amazing when you are on the throttle. I could record a sound clip if anyone is interested Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah okay that makes a lot of sense. I did still have my fender flares on but I had to take off the front mud flaps Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Alright well it looks like I'll be tearing my front end apart again tomorrow haha. I'm really annoyed that I have to redo everything, but I'm happy that I most likely have the solution finally. Thank you guys for all the help! It makes me question the PO's choice of mechanic though. When I put everything back together I did it exactly like the old struts were assembled. I should have watched a video and done more research before just assuming the old setup was the correct one before I assembled everything. Once I redo everything I'll check back in and let you guys know if the noise is gone. On another note, should I start a build thread? So far I've been putting most of my progress here, but the title isn't making sense anymore haha.

I definitely wouldn't get rid of it quite yet. I'd say you have two good options. 1. Make a list of everything that needs to be fixed on that car along with an estimated total of all the parts. Then decide whether you think it's worth it to fix everything or cheaper to just buy another r50 on Craigslist and go from there. 2. Buy a daily or another reliable r50 and take this one and cut the fenders, throw on some huge tires, weld the diffs, take off the doors, weld in a cage, cut off the roof, do whatever you want to it and wheel it like crazy without having to worry about it. I know how much cars can mean to people and how you can almost form a relationship with them, so I would definitely do everything you can to keep your rig.

Not sure why everyone thinks 31's are the biggest that will clear stock. I fit 32's (265/75r16) with no lift and no rubbing, and I did the same amount of trimming that's common for 31's. I had pretty blown struts too. I can send pictures of how they fit if you want.

I just had someone turn the wheel for me, and it looks like everything is spinning fine. Next I'll check the torque of those bolts. I'm really hoping that's the problem, because if it's not I have no more ideas.

Remus92, mine look exactly the same so I guess it's safe to assume that isn't my problem. The 3 strut bolts are definitely tight. TowndawgR50, uh oh. Does the diagram show the strut bearing on the bottom of the strut mount assembly? Like in between the spring top hat thing and the part that has the 3 studs pressed into it. When I pulled off my old struts, the bearing was on the inside, in between the part with the studs pressed in and the one that slides on top of it, so that's where I put the new one.

Yeah! That would be super helpful. The bottom bolt on mine appears to be pretty straight, but the top one is angled up quite a bit. Both bolts are torqued to spec though.

As far as the noise goes I'll definitely try that, but I don't know if it will do much. Both bolts appear to be tightened about the same and the noise only comes from the passenger side. I did replace my strut bearings when I installed my new struts, and I made sure they spun freely. I could check again, but I don't think that's what it is. The alignment place said it was because my tires were worn so unevenly because of all the negative camber I had on one wheel with my old blown struts. They rotated the front two tires and the steering doesn't want to pull as much anymore. I really hope it is that bolt that's making the noise though, as I did tighten them without load on them. It would be a very easy fix. What is the torque spec on those bolts?

I idle at like 500rpm in gear, and it's never been a problem

What exhaust setup are you running? I kid you not, it sounds EXACTLY like mine does. I love it!

Yeah they are as tight as the can possibly go. What do the angles look like on yours? The top bolt (one connecting to the strut) is angled up pretty steeply on mine. Looks like a slightly steeper angle on the passenger side, which is where the noise is coming from. Maybe I could just take the end links off and see if it goes away. I'm not sure though.

Bummer that you sold it. How did you like those TreadWrights? I've been thinking about getting those guards dogs (or maybe the claw) in 33's, but I'm kinda wary.