TheDirtman

I was not recommending and don't recommend people go to 4wd parts for lifts, I was just stating the local dealer here uses them and they put big cheap lifts on them with fancy wheels and screw the buyer big time. I have seen as much as a $10,000 uncharge for at the junk they install. They generally push pro comp or rubicon express. Even if they put on a cheap lift there are things you can add to correct the geometry without going with an entirely new lift. Most of the time cheap lifts just leave components out like adjustable control arms and track bars. You do not inflate tires to what they say on the sidewall, that psi is for max load handling and you are not loading the JK up to 12,000#.
Contact patch is what you want and typically is around 30 psi-+. Too much air and your tire patch is too small and bulges in the center which may catch ruts in the road and pull the vehicle around. Too little air will run more wear on the out sides of the tire.

realjeep

I had similar problems with my 08 JKU 4" lift at about 15K miles on the lift. If I were you I would find a mechanic that specializes in alignment. Have them check your ball joints, tie rod, drag link, control arm bushings and power steering box for slop. All of these items had worn out because I drove with over sized tires all the time. Anytime a Jeep has a substantial lift maintenance is going to happen more often. In your case your stock parts are gone. So your up to doing maintenance. Your dealer can do these things too or at least should be able to. I would have them do it then take it to some ware else for comparison. You can also take you jeep to a Ford or Dodge dealership they can do those tests also, if you don't have any 3d party mechanics in your area. Any 3d party mechanic or other dealership will charge a test fee but at least you will get a better Idea of what is wrong.

A simple test you can do cheep is get a par of 4-5" channel lock pliers (form a hardware store) and squeeze your Tie rod and drag link balls. Put one end of the pliers on top of the ball and the other end on the nut. If you feel them move at all they need replacing. If they move and your dealer says "but there with in tolerance" complain tell they change them.

My 2 Cents.

Limitless1

The measurements I got are as follows:
•On the rear bump stop spacing I got 7 7/8" between the bump stop housing and the plate that it impacts
•On the shock measurements I got 22 1/4 between the area above the rubber bushing (metal plate at top) to the center of the bottom bolt
•On the spring I got 13"

Chuck-The-Ripper

Dude are your sway bar links attached or do you even have any? I haven't seen it asked but it sure as hell sounds like you don't have any.

Limitless1

I'm having trouble uploading the photos, but I think this is it. Please let me know if you need any others. Thanks again guys.

PsychoCupcake

Okay well that answers a lot. Based on your numbers I'm going with about 3.5" of lift and it appears you have stock control arms. And no geometry correction brackets. Guarantee you that is part of the reason for your less than enjoyable steering. Your pinion angle and caster need to be corrected. Cheapest way to do this based on the type of wheeling you say you want to do is to get correction brackets. Only about $100 and they'll make a world of difference in how the jeep handles. Fix your tire pressure and you should be much happier.

jedg

So based on your measurements, this is probably a 3.5" lift.

Looking at the photos,

Pitman arm looks to be an aftermarket (some kind of warning sticker on it) so perhaps a drop pitman arm.

Factory control arms and no geometry correction, so with 3.5" of lift your castor is likely pretty bad.

No exhaust spacer so with that amount of lift it'll toast your front drive shaft


Couldn't tell if the rear track bar has a raised bracket

So the high tire pressure combined with the castor being off probably accounts for a good amount of what you're experiencing.

Ways to fix what you have: Get adjustable control arms; uppers for the front and lowers for the rear OR get geometry correction brackets from someone like AEV -AND- get your tire pressure down to the correct pressure (look up tire chalk test to see how to do this)

The other way is to get a better lift. Lifts that run drop pitman arms are usually not great.

jedg

Hahahaha... you beat me! I was too slow typing!

EDIT - but nice to see that we came to the same conclusion.

PsychoCupcake

Indeed lol. There has been a lot of this lately. I mean no offense to the OP or any other person out there asking questions but this comes up at least once a day. I think it's covered in the forum stickies but I get it. We were all newbies at some point.

Limitless1

Guys, I can't tell you thank you enough. My wife and kids (my entire reasons for existing) are in this jeep daily. It sucks to have to fix a $45k vehicle with 14k miles, but I will always do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Thank you all so much. It's nice to know that help is only 1 post away.