Nvmygp

Hi,
I was having very bad bumpsteer problems, and brought the Jeep to a local 4x4 shop. They stated that the lift on it was not complete, and needed to be replaced.
I just got a 4" Rancho sport lift installed, and have several issues:
1. They charged $650 for installation, is this too much?
2. They did not include the trac bar relocation brackets, I dohave adjustable front track bars though I believe. (I'll include a picture of my trackbar)
3. A buddy of mine just told me that my alignment spec sheet looked a little funny, can anyone tell me what, if anything is off? (Picture below)

Thank you so much for all of your help,

-Brandon

nthinuf

Your caster is too low. Stock is a bit over 4, but you might want to be around 5 or 6 with the lift. (instead of the 2-3 you are at now). Did your lift come with something for caster correction that was NOT installed? Control arm lowering brackets, or longer fixed arms, or adjustable arms? See if you have the brackets installed, my guess is that they are not.
The brackets are the two right in the middle of this pic



The trackbar brackets are not needed if you have adjustable trackbars. These will center the axles left to right under the frame/body, and will not affect the alignment.

I don't recall what the camber spec is supposed to be, but I think you are borderline. If it gets to be an issue, you will want to look into adjustable balljoints to correct it.

Do you have bumpsteer also, in addition to the flighty handling? Take a pic from the front that shows all of the suspension components. You want the mounting points of both the draglink and trackbar to be in it.

Watch this vid by teraflex to see what you are looking for.
http://rides.webshots.com/video/3016...02496289IjoMUo

Skid_Kid

Hopefully this will help you. Straight from Motor Alldata.

Nvmygp

It did not come with anything for caster correction, however when I ordered the kit he referred to it as the "Rancho 4" short arm kit" I only received the Sport kit(I paid $1350 + $600 for install)

I believe I do have an adjustable track bar, is that correct?
Also My buddy says running a drop pitman arm bracket with an adjustable track bar is not needed, is there any truth to this?

Also- when I hit a bump my steering wheel shakes back and fourth. And I'm not exactly sure what brackets were left over, as they never gave them; and refuse to give them back to me. But here is a link to the kit I got: http://www.quadratec.com/products/16031_30X_PG.htm

Thank you so much for your help, I appreciate it.

-Brandon

nthinuf

I edited my first post with more info and questions.

The old rancho kit had longer/shorter non-adjustable control arms, the newer ones have the lowering brackets in the pic above. That kit is going for around $550 I think, after a $500 mail in rebate. You got bent over. Hard.

The first pic you included is an adjustable trackbar. maybe it is just a bad pic, but it looks used and very rusty ??

Drop pitman arms are a bit of a bad idea. They place a lot of stress on the steering box, so you are better off without. Take the pic I suggested above and compare it to the video. If your angles are off, look at a flip kit and not a drop.

** check to see if you have the drop pitman installed?? If it is there with an adjustable trackbar, and not the trackbar relo bracket, that would explain the angles and bumpsteer. Remove the drop and run it with just the adj trackbar.

Nvmygp

I'm going to the shop first thing Monday Morning, as they said that is was the Rancho "short arm kit". I did get a $500 rebate form for the kit, however.

The powder coating is coming off the adjustable track bar. I had the adjustable trac bar prior to getting the lift installed... Heres a picture of the suspension from the front.

I do have the lowering brackets installed.
Also- when I hit a bump my steering wheel shakes back and fourth. And I'm not exactly sure what brackets were left over, as they never gave them; and refuse to give them back to me. And yes, they installed the drop pitman arm...

nthinuf

You'll need a pic from a bit further back, so you get the mounting points on both ends of the drag link and trackbar. But just from that pic, you have the drop pitman installed, with no trackbar bracket, so your angles are definitely off. Which would explain your bumpsteer.

Nvmygp

I'll take a picture further back and add it to this post. Yes the drop pitman is installed.
Am I correct in saying that I should remove the drop pitman arm bracket, but don't need the track bar brackets, seeing as i have adjustable track bars?

Thanks again for all of your help,

nthinuf

You need both the bracket and dropped pitman, or neither. If you use one without the other, your angles are off, and you get the handling you described.

My personal opinion would be to run the adj trackbar with stock pitman arm, and trash the bracket and drop pitman. At some point in the futuer, you can go to a drag link flip kit if you need to do something with the steep angles from the lift.

nthinuf

Connect the mounting holes with straight lines, as in the video.

Yours are crossed, instead of being parallel. Replacing the drop pitman with the stock will move that mounting hole up above the tracbar, and your lines will be nice and parallel.

Once you get that taken care of, see how she drives.

If the bumpsteer is gone (which it should be), but it is still a bit flighty - there is a huge thread on this lift that you can read for more info on the caster. With adjustable control arms, you would probably want your caster numbers to be in the 5-6 range for that lift height. Your current numbers look really low to me, but that may just be my inexperience with those lowering brackets.