Help with a weird feeling in the rear

[SOON]

Well that was an interesting title. Lol!
About a month ago I installed a 3.5 in rough country lift on my Jeep with 37’s. Beside the instructions being some of the worst I e ever read and it taking probably twice as long as it should have it’s installed. The kit came with a relocation bracket for the front control arms but nothing for the back. (Rechecked the “instructions and nothing shows or talked about a relocation bracket for the rear) Ever since installing the kit I get this strange feeling in the back almost feeling like rear wheel steering. I noticed that the front tires are centered in the wheel well but the rear ones sit a decent bit closed to front side of the wheel well than the back. The shocks are angled pretty good now too. Is what I’m feeling because of that? Like when the rear gets any kind of articulation that the axle kind swings because of the different angle the rear control arms. Is my logic right or am I an idiot? And I’m assuming longer rear control arms with fix this?

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[rk911]

Yeah...glad you clarified yourself.

 

[JPAloha]

Based on the title alone the solution has to be either Preparation H or more lube ?.

Based on the body of the post maybe some adjustable control arms would be in order To allow you to dial it in.

 

[Vinman]

Adjustable rear trackbar to re-centre the axle side-to-side and trackbar relocation bracket to get the correct geometry will help.

 

[Hucke_250]

Did your lift come with a bracket to raise the rear track bar? If not, you’ll definitely need one.

Do you have an aftermarket rear bumper, hard top etc? The lift kit may have higher spring rates meant for a heavier build. Try adding 100-150lbs of weights in the trunk and see if that settles it down.

 

[BDinTX]

Sounds kinda like your rear trackbar bolts aren’t tight. As mentioned a rear trackbar relocation bracket, new trackbar, or both might help.

 

[SOON]

Kit came with a track bar relocation bracket. The suspension seems really stiff. Which surprises me cause it’s a 4xe so it’s definitely on the heavier side

 

[swampflyer]

I don't think a proctologist can solve that problem. lol.

 

[dlong1119]

Adjustable control arms will center the wheels front to back in the wheel well and allow you to dial in pinion angle if needed. The trackbar will adjust them side to side, but if you got a relocation bracket I'd guess that's pretty close already. I would definitely want adjustable arms with that big of a lift.

It does sound like something might be a little loose though so I'd double check all of the bolts, especially the trackbar and it's bracket.

 

[SOON]

So the relocation bracket has been the ultimate pain in my ass. My brother in law helped me. (His dad has a lift so I had to let him help me) I had to drill 3 holes into the frame for the relocation bracket. He (my brother in law) didn’t have the right size bit that the instructions called for so he drilled a hole that was juuuuust a little smaller than the holes on the relocation bracket. And the access to tighten the bolts once the Jeep is back on the ground is next to impossible. I have tried to torque them down but I can’t get a wrench or socket inside the stupid hole to really crank down. And that’s after 3 trips to parts store and about $100 trying to find a solution that’ll work. They’re tight. But probably not torqued to speck. I check them every few days. I think I’m just gonna have the damn thing welded on. I talked about this in another thread but wanted to know if longer or adjustable rear control arms would help with the problem.

 

[dlong1119]

I remember your other thread and the issues you were having with that bracket. I struggle with the choice of using an adjustable trackbar vs a relocation bracket. You're trading adjustability and perfect centering, plus fewer fasteners (ie, points of failure) for a little cost savings and possibly slightly better geometry (many say you want the trackbar as flat as possible).

I chose the adjustable route, partially because it was included in my Clayton Overland+ kit, but also becuase I felt better on the tradeoffs that way.

I don't have firsthand experience on what the effect of too short or maladjusted rear arms would feel like, but I still maintain that's a lot of lift to not account for the rear arms and the off center wheels show that. I'm way too anal to let that go on my Jeep. I do know a loose trackbar will feel really weird and introduce strange/poor handling characteristics.

 

[Vinman]

So the relocation bracket has been the ultimate pain in my ass. My brother in law helped me. (His dad has a lift so I had to let him help me) I had to drill 3 holes into the frame for the relocation bracket. He (my brother in law) didn’t have the right size bit that the instructions called for so he drilled a hole that was juuuuust a little smaller than the holes on the relocation bracket. And the access to tighten the bolts once the Jeep is back on the ground is next to impossible. I have tried to torque them down but I can’t get a wrench or socket inside the stupid hole to really crank down. And that’s after 3 trips to parts store and about $100 trying to find a solution that’ll work. They’re tight. But probably not torqued to speck. I check them every few days. I think I’m just gonna have the damn thing welded on. I talked about this in another thread but wanted to know if longer or adjustable rear control arms would help with the problem.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rear trackbar relocation bracket that goes on the frame and not the axle.

 

[mtbjeep]

Might want to invest in an adjustable rear track bar and a proper relocation bracket like Synergy.

A 3.5” lift can net you higher if your Jeep is on the lighter side. That can have some unintended consequences. The Jeep’s roll center, which is a theoretical point in the suspension system, sits below it’s center of gravity and the distance between the 2 points is a lever arm the works to sway or roll the vehicle. When you lift a vehicle this lever arm increases as the center of gravity moves further away from the roll center. A proper relocation bracket will raise the roll center and shorten the lever arm. A little reduction goes a long way and you might find the bracket will give the vehicle a more solid or planted Feel.

I originally thought the problem was in the front end of my jl until I learned about roll center and how the tail can wag the dog.

 

[mtbjeep]

Just to be sure we are talking about the rear track bar relocation bracket. NOT the front geometry correction bracket for your front control arms.

My guess is your kit did not come with a rear track bar relocation bracket

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