Mopar Lift Issues

[Napco1]

Hi All, I'm a new member and was hoping some of you might be able to give me some advice. I have a 2021 Rubicon 2 door with a little over 36k miles. I have been running Extreme Recon wheels and tires on it with no Issues. I just installed a Mopar 2" Lift kit, along with front and rear Metal Cloak adjustable track bars. My problem is bump steer, or a mild case of death wobble. Sometimes when I hit a bump the steering wheel shakes for about 3 seconds. Nothing like full blown death wobble, but it does concern me as my wife drives the Jeep also and I want it to be safe. The Jeep drove fine prior to installing the lift with no issues what so ever. I have been working on the Jeep for the past couple of days trying different things to fix the issue. Every bolt has been torqued to spec per the Mopar Instructions while the vehicle was on the ground. I replaced the factory metric track bar bolts with 9/16" bolts as they fit tighter. Both axles are centered and I just took it to an alignment shop yesterday. Toe was fine and caster was 6.2 on the right and 5.8 on the left. I checked the steering stabilizer, ball joints, drag link and tie rods. All seem to be tight. I dropped my tire pressure from 37 to 32. I'm now going to start throwing parts at it. I'm thinking about first trying front control arm correction brackets instead of adjustable control arms since I'm already close to 6 degrees caster. Another option is the Fox adjustable steering stabilizer. Not real big on the stabilizer as I feel like its masking the problem. I would like to find out the cause and address it. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated!

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[word302]

Most likely ball joints.

 

[GrayWolf.Overland]

Track bar torqued to spec? when they installed track bar did they see the mounting hole being slightly loose or wallowed out?
Did you lift the vehicle on stand and test the up-down and twist side to side motion on your front tire and see a lot of play on up-down?

 

[LC80]

I had this same issue on my 2 door after a mostly Mopar lift and 37s at 1,000 miles. It wasn’t as bad with the OEM steering stabilizer but once I switched to a Fox TS stabilizer, the steering wheel shake was about how you describe. I installed Dynatrac ball joints and that got rid of 70% of the shake and a Steer Smarts drag link got rid of another 25%. Still there a little but not sketchy. Do check the front track bar for play first.

 

[CloakedWillys]

Sorry to hear you are having the wobbles.

Based on the miles on the jeep and what we see daily I would suspect ball joints. You are most likely also running into it between 35-45 mph.

Most shops try to check them for vertical play like the we could on the JK's. The JL uses 2 lower ball joints in the design so will not normally show vertical when checking. What we are seeing however is when you get the front axle off the ground and turn the tires with your hands you will feel a tight or loose spot. This is enough to trigger it. The resistance should be consistent.

 

[jeepingib]

Have someone wiggle the steering wheel while you lay under the front of your Jeep. You are looking for slop or play. You want to have your hand on the joint you are checking, so that you can feel both parts with the same hand. Start with the frame side of the track bar, then axle side, pitman side of the drag link, then tie rod ends. If you don't feel anything loose after that, then you should check ball joints and control arm bushings. Metal Cloak is right, it's most likely to be ball joints, but I always start at the track bar and work my way down and out from there.

 

[Napco1]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I've really been racking my brain trying to figure out what's causing it. The thing that gets me is there was no issue the day before installing the lift. Jeep drove great!, only thing that changed was the lift. If it's the ball joints, why did I not experience the wobble before hand? I have rechecked torque specs on everything three times now thinking maybe I missed a bolt. Track bar mounts and holes look great. I have checked the ball joints with the front end off the ground. Up and down and side to side. Feels tight! I haven't tried turning the wheels back and fourth by hand as CloakedWillys recommended, and he is right about the wobble being noticed at 35 to 45 mph. I'll try that today. Will also try what jeepingib said. Anyone have experience with the track bar relocation brackets? Do you think the angle of the front control arms could be the issue? I really got about 2 1/2" with the lift, so the track bars aren't what I would call level. I will definitely try what you guys suggested and I appreciate the advise. I'm really having a hard time thinking its a worn part, if it didn't do it before the lift?

 

[CloakedWillys]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I've really been racking my brain trying to figure out what's causing it. The thing that gets me is there was no issue the day before installing the lift. Jeep drove great!, only thing that changed was the lift. If it's the ball joints, why did I not experience the wobble before hand? I have rechecked torque specs on everything three times now thinking maybe I missed a bolt. Track bar mounts and holes look great. I have checked the ball joints with the front end off the ground. Up and down and side to side. Feels tight! I haven't tried turning the wheels back and fourth by hand as CloakedWillys recommended, and he is right about the wobble being noticed at 35 to 45 mph. I'll try that today. Will also try what jeepingib said. Anyone have experience with the track bar relocation brackets? Do you think the angle of the front control arms could be the issue? I really got about 2 1/2" with the lift, so the track bars aren't what I would call level. I will definitely try what you guys suggested and I appreciate the advise. I'm really having a hard time thinking its a worn part, if it didn't do it before the lift?

Odds are changing to more solid parts and bigger tires are causing you to feel it now even though the wear was already there. It is not uncommon. At 2.5" height the geometry is still good and does not need stuff like a drag link flip. That will normally make more issues.

 

[Napco1]

I will definitely check the ball joints like you suggested today. The wheels and tires are the same that I've been running for quite some time. Only change is the lift and track bars. I actually hope it is the ball joints so I can replace them and fix the problem! Thanks again.

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