Troyinne

I know I know.....another thread about front end woe's after a lift. I can assure you I have read and searched for over a week now. I have found numerous posts regarding different symptoms/solutions. But, I have yet to come across something that is a match to my situation. Not my first Jeep so I am well aware of the geometry and components.

Symptoms: The Jeep wonders in the front. Like the steering is loose. At highway speed I am constantly correcting. At street level speed it feels as though the toe is out of whack.

Run down of installed components and Jeep:

2013 JKU non-rubicon with 8700 miles

Lift: 2.5" RK Stock Mod
***New Front Track Bar
***Rear Trackbar bracket welded to axel
***Springs

Correction brackets: AEV Have tried both middle hole and top hole. Same feel experienced.

Shocks: Rancho 9000XL (LOVE THESE!!!)

Steering Stabilizer: Rancho high clearance ( Noticed no difference over stock)

Tires: Mickey Thompson MTZ 33's on 16 " Pro-Comp 7069's
***Rear Tread 80%
***Front Tread 50% at best
***Have played with air pressure running anywhere from 26 PSI to 32 PSI. No change in funny steering.

Miles since lift installed: ~500

All suspension components installed at same time so no evidence of what change induced the issue.

Remainder of Jeep is bone stock. No bumpers, armor, winches, fenders, etc.


So here's what I've tried with zero noticeable change:

***Tire pressures. Up or down made no change.

***Adjusting mounting hole on correction bracket. Started in the middle and moved to top as my measurement from spring perch to frame was 6.75". So on the bubble between the two settings. Either position made no difference.

***Loosened all control arms bolts, rocked Jeep hard (neighbors loved this), and re-torqued. No change.

***While hard to believe at 8700 miles I'd have worn out front end components. I did go through TWICE planman's DW guide just to ensure everything was kosher. No issues found as expected.

***Toe in is good. At least it appears to be within the accuracy of a tape measure and being as close to 100% the same on measuring points on each side.

***Swapped front tires side to side. No change...

Things yet to try:

***Swap tires front and back. More tread on backs at this time.

***Go to my storage unit and try putting stock tires back on to see if problem is still evident.

***Take geo brackets off and run with stock arms in stock locations. Last resort as I really don't wish to go through the torquing process again!!!



I am leaning in the direction of it being a front tire issue. However, I did not experience this sensation with the same tires with no lift.


So, what say the community? Everyone keeps saying the AEV brackets make it drive better than stock. I can assure you that at this point mine DOES NOT!!!

Samuno

Try adjusting the toe so the tires are 1/8" closer at the front. 0 toe in will cause flighty steering.

fultonromero12

Rotate tires to see if it makes a difference.

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Troyinne

When I measured the toe the Jeep was on the ground. After researching toe a little further it appears most do it on stands. So I will try that tonight.

Troyinne

Unfortunately, my front vs. rear tires have different treadlife at this time. Back being more tread than front by say 25%.

Invest2m4

Seriously, go to a good alignment shop. Trying to get the toe accurate is impossible. I've tried many times and once on the rack, it turns out it was way off.

Troyinne

Sage advice....

I would like to play with it a smidge though to see if I can tell differences. Maybe it's my simpleton brain but I find it hard to imagine 1/8" having such a dramatic impact.

Invest2m4

It does. As does caster and the combination. Then there is rear toe as well.

And you may get it to drive ok, but if some of the alignment is out of spec, you will have premature wear on all steering components (ball joints, drag link and tie rod ends, etc). And it will screw your tires up in a hurry.

Your call though - and your money.

silversurfer575

I set my caster myself using a dial guage. However, I went to an alignment shop for them to give me the final readings and also to set the toe. Like others have indicated, you might get close, but its real easy to get this dialed in by the alignment shop. I run 10 degree toe in per wheel, with a total for both at 20 degrees toe in.

Good luck with your build.