Do I need to get a new front track bar and LCA’s for a 2.5” lift?

[focofourxfour]

Hey all,
I’m planning on getting a 2.5 inch lift on my 21 jlu and have been back and forth on whether or not i want to go ahead and spend the extra money for the front track bar and lower control arms. Any insight is appreciated just wondering if it’s absolutely necessary or if i could live without it while still doing some moderate off-roading.

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[jaymz]

It’s not absolutely necessary, but your axles will be off-center an inch or so.

 

[Some Random Guy]

Hey all,
I’m planning on getting a 2.5 inch lift on my 21 jlu and have been back and forth on whether or not i want to go ahead and spend the extra money for the front track bar. Any insight is appreciated just wondering if it’s absolutely necessary or if i could live without it while still doing some moderate off-roading.

Will you be working the limits of your suspension? Then yes to help keep the coils off the frame.
If your lift is a 2.5” lift with 2” of bumpstop and some shock extensions, you can probably skip it initially and see how it drives.
Let us know what lift kit and someone with experience might chime in.

 

[focofourxfour]

Will you be working the limits of your suspension? Then yes to help keep the coils off the frame.
If your lift is a 2.5” lift with 2” of bumpstop and some shock extensions, you can probably skip it initially and see how it drives.
Let us know what lift kit and someone with experience might chime in.

I was just doing a lift with rubicon express coils and bump stops with some bilstein 5100s and made this thread to decide if i want a front track bar. pretty basic lift.

 

[Some Random Guy]

I was just doing a lift with rubicon express coils and bump stops with some bilstein 5100s and made this thread to decide if i want a front track bar. pretty basic lift.

If you’re not getting wild offroad I think you can go without it. If you have alignment trouble afterwards you can circle back and try adding one. I don’t think Rubicon Express gives you more lift than advertised.

 

[sebythellama]

Hey all,
I’m planning on getting a 2.5 inch lift on my 21 jlu and have been back and forth on whether or not i want to go ahead and spend the extra money for the front track bar. Any insight is appreciated just wondering if it’s absolutely necessary or if i could live without it while still doing some moderate off-roading.

I was just in an almost identical situation recently with my JL. I had just fit 35s (I was originally running Rubi take-off 33s and Rubi take-off springs and shocks) and I wanted to get more clearance. Initially I had just planned on adding a 1.5" spacer which, when combined with the Rubi stuff, would net me about 2-2.5". However, I asked around and bit and almost everyone was saying that I would need new shocks (or at least extensions), bump stops, new LCAs for geometry, and that track bars would be pretty important. I ended up going for a full RK 2.5" Flex system lift which came with all those things and I have no complaints.

Honestly, bottom line I suppose its not absolutely necessary but if it's in budget and you want to guarantee proper alignment specs I would go for it. I guess it's really one of those things where you have the choice to spend a lot now but set it up for the future or just upgrade it down the line. That was just my experience though.

I had a lot of help from @Roky, so I'd recommend reaching out to him about it.

 

[DesertsJL]

Do you need to? No.

Would I? Absolutely.

 

[focofourxfour]

I was just in an almost identical situation recently with my JL. I had just fit 35s (I was originally running Rubi take-off 33s and Rubi take-off springs and shocks) and I wanted to get more clearance. Initially I had just planned on adding a 1.5" spacer which, when combined with the Rubi stuff, would net me about 2-2.5". However, I asked around and bit and almost everyone was saying that I would need new shocks (or at least extensions), bump stops, new LCAs for geometry, and that track bars would be pretty important. I ended up going for a full RK 2.5" Flex system lift which came with all those things and I have no complaints.

Honestly, bottom line I suppose its not absolutely necessary but if it's in budget and you want to guarantee proper alignment specs I would go for it. I guess it's really one of those things where you have the choice to spend a lot now but set it up for the future or just upgrade it down the line. That was just my experience though.

I had a lot of help from @Roky, so I'd recommend reaching out to him about it.

thanks for the info. i was looking into the RK 2.5 adventure series but i’m going through 4wp for install and they haven’t had it in stock for a while. It would also increase the labor costs by about $50 an hour if i ordered the kit on my own and brought it to them to install so… budget problems.

 

[focofourxfour]

Update: Thanks for everyone’s input, I ended up ordering a kit as well as an adjustable front track bar and adjustable front control arms. Originally a lot over my budget but I’ll now be installing them myself instead of throwing 1k on labor.

 

[mwilk012]

Update: Thanks for everyone’s input, I ended up ordering a kit as well as an adjustable front track bar and adjustable front control arms. Originally a lot over my budget but I’ll now be installing them myself instead of throwing 1k on labor.

Your rear axle is going to be off center.

 

[focofourxfour]

Your rear axle is going to be off center.

?

 

[mwilk012]

?

You need an adjustable rear track bar for the exact same reason as the front.

 

[rkwfxd]

You don't NEED to.

Your rear axle will stick out about 3/4" further to the pass side and your front axle will stick out about 3/4" to the driver side and your caster will be down around 5* or so. Jeep will drive OK but the steering might feel a bit skittish. You can add front and rear track bars and adjustable CAs at a later date, all at once or one at a time if the budget dictates that.

 

[AlgUSF]

If you're DIY for the first time, the Mopar lift is (relatively) simple and complete. It includes new front LCAs. It took me about 16 hours over a weekend by myself to do the lift in the Florida heat (1 floor jack and 4 jack stands). My camber and caster came well within spec, and just needed toe adjustments. More experienced Jeepers will have a different opinion which I respect, but the Mopar kit was worth the price for a first timer. I figure that once I go with 35's I'll get adjustable LCA's to bring the caster in tighter.

Edit: Make sure you have enough 18mm and 21mm sockets and wrenches. 18 here, 21 there. You will need a 24mm wrench to hold the LCAs nuts still while killing the 21mm on the outside.

 

[zouch]

in the rear, you may be OK using just a Track Bar Relocation Bracket instead of a full adjustable Track Bar.

after i put a ReLo Brkt under the back of mine, the Track Bar needed to be adjusted back to where it was the same as stock length.
bonus; quicker, cheaper, easier, and arguably better at correcting Roll Center.

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