Ahhh, got it

 

Yup, this is a great solution and one I repeated for myself as well

Initially, I had it at about +9° and it was fantastic but once the coils settled in, they started to bow a bit and make contact with the bump stops. So, I readjusted them to about +7° and they still are just as good but no more problems. My steering wheels snaps back to center and drives a straight as an arrow. No ESP problems or anything and I have tried really hard to make it go off doing what everyone else has been saying sets it off (i.e. on ramps, etc.)

 

inea pigThat's great! I also like the fact that you learned on yours and mine won't have to be the guinea pig this time. Hey, come to think of it, we probably won't need to take pictures this time either. This should be a five minute job.

 

Any driving impressions, on and off road?

 

On my 2 doors it goes straight as arrow, No issues with ESP, and very smooth.

If it wasnt for the extreme MT's I would say its just as good as stock, if not better.

Wayoflife is running the same set up except in the 4 door... We'll see what he thinks...

 

Oh man, it would have been nice to have a little heads up about that bugger beforehand... maybe a brief mention in the instructions? We spent an hour debating whether or not to cut it off, ordered a replacement bolt from a dealer in the meantime, and finally decided to do so (with a temporary weaker bolt in its place until the replacement comes in ).

I also had an issue with one of the control arms -- the heim joint would not thread in all the way, it's almost as if there's something obstructing the threads about an inch or so in. I guess I'll take it to a machine shop to see if they can re-tap it?

So minus the one control arm, everything else is in place. I have to say I under estimated the amount of work it would take, but I'm very satisfied.

I do need to have it aligned, and I have not centered the steering wheel though it's not off by much. I'm getting intermittent ESP light on offramps, and I think I need either less or more castor since it's a little "darty" at speed. I'm really thinking about having a shop do the fine tuning, especially since I'm planning to take it on a 1200+ mile road trip soon.

Pics when it's light outside

 

Does anyone know the factory spec for the caster? From the TJ world, the caster is not as important as the pinion/driveshaft angle. If one user reported snapping and binding that means you may be close to the max angle for the joint. This can become much more of an issue off road when the axle drops and there may be high loading.

Besides there is more to "caster" than the angle of the ball joints. The scrub radius is nearly as important for wheel return, in particular at low speeds. When you add bigger tires the scrub radius can be a problem, and adding the maximum caster can aggravate the problem. You are actually dragging a big contact patch across the ground every time you turn. The theory that more caster means more stability is largely a myth, and only works if the overall suspension design will support it. Overall a solid axle suspension design will not have improved stability with more caster, and running a positive number greater than 0 will typically suffice. Ask a TJ guy that tried big positive caster to fix "death wobble".

I would run the best pinion angle for long joint life that still allows just enough steering wheel return at slow speeds.