Is this typical for a Jeep alignment?

[KNN]

After retightening the track bar bolts the DW seems to go away. Bump steer seems a little more noticeable. @mwilk012 No clicking or anything unusual from ball joints.

Any thoughts on next steps? I plan to replace bolt and adjust track bar as @00 Trans Ram suggested.

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[GATORB8]

After retightening the track bar bolts the DW seems to go away. Bump steer seems a little more noticeable. @mwilk012 No clicking or anything unusual from ball joints.

Any thoughts on next steps? I plan to replace bolt and adjust track bar as @00 Trans Ram suggested.

Just to confirm, you DO NOT have a track bar bracket in front, right? Bump steer can be caused by the drag link and track bar not being parallel.

As @00 Trans Ram noticed, I would do a BJ test to rule out that as the cause of the camber on the left front. Jack up that tire and use a pry bar to see if there is any play in either joint.

Although it's not really normally a root cause, check the steering damper. It was recalled/TSB'd for some versions which switched it out.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10169208-9999.pdf

The lift and bigger tires will cause more load and may show weakness in some of the stock components that were fine before.

 

[KNN]

Just to confirm, you DO NOT have a track bar bracket in front, right? Bump steer can be caused by the drag link and track bar not being parallel.

As @00 Trans Ram noticed, I would do a BJ test to rule out that as the cause of the camber on the left front. Jack up that tire and use a pry bar to see if there is any play in either joint.

Although it's not really normally a root cause, check the steering damper. It was recalled/TSB'd for some versions which switched it out.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10169208-9999.pdf

The lift and bigger tires will cause more load and may show weakness in some of the stock components that were fine before.

Excellent advice. Thank you. No I don't have a track bar bracket. Just adjustable ones from Clayton. I figured Matt's suggestion was meant to get the bars parallel to have a smoother ride.

I don't have an adjustable/upgraded drag link yet. Do you think that's a worthwhile investment at this point?

 

[GATORB8]

Excellent advice. Thank you. No I don't have a track bar bracket. Just adjustable ones from Clayton. I figured Matt's suggestion was meant to get the bars parallel to have a smoother ride.

I don't have an adjustable/upgraded drag link yet. Do you think that's a worthwhile investment at this point?

The stock drag link is adjustable stock. It's what you would have used to center the steering wheel.

If you have the axle centered by the TB, the drag link adjustment to center up the wheel should get you as close to parallel as you can get.

Can you confirm your front and rear axles are centered? I put a 4' level vertical on the outside of the tire and measure to the fender, then compare the two measurements.

I wouldn't throw more money at it until you've identified what is happening.

@Roky Any recommendations from the suspension whisperer?

 

[Roky]

The stock drag link is adjustable stock. It's what you would have used to center the steering wheel.

If you have the axle centered by the TB, the drag link adjustment to center up the wheel should get you as close to parallel as you can get.

Can you confirm your front and rear axles are centered? I put a 4' level vertical on the outside of the tire and measure to the fender, then compare the two measurements.

I wouldn't throw more money at it until you've identified what is happening.

@Roky Any recommendations from the suspension whisperer?

You’ve pretty much covered it, the only thing I would do is dial back your caster. Like to see it around or just over 6 on 3.5” lift. Being a diesel you probably got right at or maybe a little less than advertised lift due to the extra weight. Did you check before and after? There is such a thing as to much caster and if dialed back it might help.

 

[KNN]

You’ve pretty much covered it, the only thing I would do is dial back your caster. Like to see it around or just over 6 on 3.5” lift. Being a diesel you probably got right at or maybe a little less than advertised lift due to the extra weight. Did you check before and after? There is such a thing as to much caster and if dialed back it might help.

I took a ton of measurements before/after. I went up almost 5" in the front and 4" in the rear which is pretty consistent w/ what I've read other diesels owners getting w/ the Clayton kit. The Jeep def drove better w/ more caster. Less wandering, less steer and less jerky compared to pre-alignment.

Thanks for joining the convo and providing your insight. Much appreciated

 

[KNN]

The stock drag link is adjustable stock. It's what you would have used to center the steering wheel.

You're right. Overlooking the obvious. I have not measured to see if axles are centered. I will do that and report back.

 

[Roky]

I took a ton of measurements before/after. I went up almost 5" in the front and 4" in the rear which is pretty consistent w/ what I've read other diesels owners getting w/ the Clayton kit. The Jeep def drove better w/ more caster. Less wandering, less steer and less jerky compared to pre-alignment.

Thanks for joining the convo and providing your insight. Much appreciated

You got 5” of lift not including tire size or 5” including tire difference ? I need some pics, from the side and from the front including a shot of front springs

 

[KNN]

You got 5” of lift not including tire size or 5” including tire difference ? I need some pics, from the side and from the front including a shot of front springs

Hope these are ok. Sorry for the mess. Haven’t had a chance to clean anything from the weekend yet. Tires are the same 315/70/17 BFG KO2s from before the lift. I got about 5” of lift in the front.

 

[GATORB8]

Is the jam nut on the track bar tight? Hard to tell in the pics, but looks like it may be backed off.

 

[Roky]

Hope these are ok. Sorry for the mess. Haven’t had a chance to clean anything from the weekend yet. Tires are the same 315/70/17 BFG KO2s from before the lift. I got about 5” of lift in the front.

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No need to apologize for dirty Jeep, it’s as it should be…….so you went from 3 ish to 6.9 ish on caster, I’d still like to see it around 6, maybe 6.1-2 ish. Also not root cause, but ain’t helping, I’d replace the stabilizer with a thru shaft, and get it up on the tie rod. That’s where I’d start, this assuming your ball joints are not bad. And there’s no wear in the tie rod and drag link. The fact that tightening the track bar helped but came back , I’d look at that a little closer. You should lay under the Jeep and have your wife/girlfriend/significant other turn the steering wheel back and forth and watch for any unusual movement in track bar, tie rod, drag link . Also watch the steering box to see if it’s deflecting more than a tiny bit…etc. etc…

 

[mwilk012]

I still suspect the track bar.

 

[4x4tographer]

It's usually around 40-55 MPH. Potholes, bridge crossings, roadwork, or general road imperfections. Doesn't seem to be side specific.

I may have missed in this this thread, but if you're still having trouble with this, take a look at your tie rod ends on your tie rod and drag link.

I installed the 2.5 Clayton Overland+ on my JLUR and had a similar issue with DW suddenly becoming an issue. After a lot of troubleshooting, we found that the TRE on my drag link at the pitman arm was shot. This thread had a lot of excellent information that helped me chase down the problem.

All this occurred at around 36,000 miles with about 5-6K of those miles occurring off road. I ended up just upgrading to Metalcloak's steering. Hasn't been an issue since.

 

[Roky]

I still suspect the track bar.

That’s the culprit most of the time, but unless defective, his is a new adjustable track bar. Unless not torqued right or jam nut loose, probably not the problem.

 

[mwilk012]

That’s the culprit most of the time, but unless defective, his is a new adjustable track bar. Unless not torqued right or jam nut loose, probably not the problem.

Without a closeup, it’s hard to tell. It just sort of looks loose there.

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