jaker t5

And again I know what it takes to do it right but it doesn't have to be done at the same time , he can do all the other things in stages but right now he needs those items to make his jeep drive right and that is his major issue right now

And I have built a 4dr door also from a lot worse then you can ever imagine

Battlefrog21

The OP can do what he wants -- it's his rig. Being what his off-road needs are and budget, a simple 2.5" TF budget boost will be just fine and allow him to keep his 35" tires... Good luck OP and hope it works out for you... 🍺

jaker t5

That info would have helped before he got the lift on , but since he has it lets help fix it not tell him to return it

courtsm3

Geo brackets and shorter springs. Maybe 2.5-3 inch. Still room for your 35's and still a good lift height. $500.

Collyn

Just get the front geometry correction brackets. Install them. Lessen every control and track bar bolt. Shake the jeep to "settle" the bushings. Torque everything to spec. Make sure the jeeps wheels are pointing dead straight and loses the drag link adjusting nut and lengthen/shorten until the steering wheel is perfectly centered.

Sounds like the kit is complete enough to be relatively safe. Just not the best way to do a lift. It will be ok for normal daily driving. The shimmy/shake wobble stuff is likely a combination of super heavy wheels, probably not great tires, loose bolts and of twisted bound up bushings. Maybe the "car guys" didn't know what to do with a Jeep? I'd for sure double check every nut and bolt they touched. And find a shop that knows 4wd vehicles to get the alignment set. The cam bolts WILL let you adjust caster (it just might not stay adjusted if you beat the crap out of the suspension off road) . And toe can be set at home in your driveway with a simple tape measure.

Most of these guys are right about what it takes to make the lift perfect. But perfect isn't in your budget. The things I suggested will set you back less than $100. The cam bolts are not a great idea, neither is the dropped pitman arm. I had both on my jeep with my cheap lift. Drove it that way with zero issues for 20,000 miles. I only changed because I wanted to prevent long term issues. I added a flip kit and adjustable trackbar. Honestly. It drives exactly the same as before, I only know it is theoretically better now. I still have cam bolts and do plan on replacing them with adjustable lower arms. Someday. But for now they are just fine. My jeep rides better than factory. And has no wobbles.

LockEmUp-47

Guys,
Thanks for all the advice. I truly appreciate it.

It's evident to me now that I failed to properly do my research prior to having the lift installed. But now that it's installed, and requires attention, I have to respond accordingly. I have a lot to consider, in regards to my options and which route I would like to go.

I'd like to reiterate that my off-roading needs are not great, and that I only occasionally go off-road, which never consists of rock-crawling, only light to moderate trails and some shallow water crossing, and often driven on the beach.

TheDirtman

It does not make a difference if you wheel it or not. You took a complex engineered system of triangles and arcs and changed some of it, completely screwing up your steering and suspension geometry. You should be more concerned about fixing that geometry if you are on the pavement at speed. Things like brake dive, understeer, bump steer, roll center should be a concern to you in emergency situations. Off road you can run a shit lift like that and get by with it, you don't notice the problems near as much at low speed.

Collyn

. Wouldn't the geometry correction brackets help with brake dive and understeer? And shouldn't the drop pitman arm and trackbar bracket help with roll center and bump steer? I'm trying to find a way to help understand this guys issue. I basically had the same "shit lift"'and never had the issues he's having. I didn't, however, have 20" wheels and 35x12.50-20 tires. I am trying to understand his problems and compare his components to what I had and see why mine was performing just fine. I understand the short cuts in his lift, as it was similar to mine. Cam bolts, pitman arm drop and the added flex on the steering system, etc. But in reality, it is similar to mine. Mine came with bump stop extensions, shocks, brake lines, steering stabilizer, and few other small items like exhaust y-pipe and stuff. Nothing dramatically different though. What do you think could be done to his lift to help make it "passable" for the interim? Besides scrapping it and starting over?

TheDirtman

Geometry correction brackets will help with the brake dive and understeer to a certain extent but you need to address both the front and rear geometry and most brackets are just for the front. The drop pitman and drop bracket do not help with body roll and actually increase it while putting more stress on the steering gearbox. The rear raised track bar bracket also puts added stress on the factory bracket and I have seen several actually break off.

It also appears that the shop did a poor job of installing the lift, I doubt they took the time to torque down the bolts to proper torque and I also doubt they loosened everything with bushings and reset them at the new lift height. If they did install the cam bolts they would need to be removed to use the correction brackets mentioned or you will have too much down angle on the pinion further reducing the life of the driveshaft and introducing vibrations.

In regards to making it passable, I would reduce the amount of lift by 2" and remove drop pitman arm and the track bar drop bracket. All he would need to do is get his coils back from the shop and get some 2" spacer pucks for the factory coils. Then go back and loosen everything up shake it down and let it settle, then torque everything back down to the proper spec. You can find the spec's at projectjk.com.

LockEmUp-47

I'm happy to say that after visiting No Excuses in New Egypt, NJ, my jeep rides just like stock again. They were able to take care of the following and get me all squared away:

AEV Geometry Correction Front Control Arm Drop Brackets

AEV High Steer Kit

Front End Alignment (toe was out by an inch)