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New JLUR 392 (~150 Miles), Caster is 3.7 and 4.0 degrees, dealer says it’s within spec

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Birdcatcher

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have you tried a different jeep dealership? seems like the service rep is trash same as the alignment tech. caster needs to be as close to 6 as possible and Jeep should cover this service to get it there. It really is simple red bad green ok. 6-6.38* is best. you can look at many adjustable control arms as well. JKS mfg has nice control arms that are adjustable. forum sponsor @Northridge4x4 does offer a forum code if you call in. fast shipping JKS front lower control arms in stock
My Jeep has ~225 Miles now and I've not taken it to another Jeep Stealership. Since my Jeep is 3.7/4.0 caster from factory, I think the MOPAR LCA's are not going to be enough (maybe get me to ~5.0'ish). I have placed an order for Rough Country Adjustable LCA's from Quadratec.

Will take a call if I want to change these myself or from a pro shop after they arrive. Plan to start at 3/8" longer than stock and target is 6.5 degrees even both sides.
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mwilk012

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have you tried a different jeep dealership? seems like the service rep is trash same as the alignment tech. caster needs to be as close to 6 as possible and Jeep should cover this service to get it there. It really is simple red bad green ok. 6-6.38* is best. you can look at many adjustable control arms as well. JKS mfg has nice control arms that are adjustable. forum sponsor @Northridge4x4 does offer a forum code if you call in. fast shipping JKS front lower control arms in stock
You are contradicting yourself there. 6.0 is high out of spec.
 

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Another option for you could be to get the longer mopar lowers and some adj upper control arms and make them a hair shorter. Same effect just need to check placement of axle.
 

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MOPAR’s are back ordered (10 day lead time), looking into Rough Country adjustable arms.
if you didn’t order some from Rough Country already, All Mopar Parts had them in stock. I ordered last night and got a shipping label this morning. 👍
 

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They are not though. Just to clarify, every JL uses same LCAs from Sport up through the tallest OEM Rubicon XRs. I still think it is crazy they haven’t went with longer LCAs 🤦🏼‍♂️
Could be to ensure pinion/front driveshaft angle is kept below a certain angle.
 

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My Jeep has ~225 Miles now and I've not taken it to another Jeep Stealership. Since my Jeep is 3.7/4.0 caster from factory, I think the MOPAR LCA's are not going to be enough (maybe get me to ~5.0'ish). I have placed an order for Rough Country Adjustable LCA's from Quadratec.

Will take a call if I want to change these myself or from a pro shop after they arrive. Plan to start at 3/8" longer than stock and target is 6.5 degrees even both sides.
I would suggest "aiming" for 6 degrees which should give you a marked improvement from where you are now. The reason I say this is because caster and pinion angle are also related (as you change one the other will change as well). An excessive pinion angle can cause driveshaft u-joint vibrations and can cause other damage (u-joints, seals, etc.), whereas insufficient caster angle causes reduced steering return-to-center and makes the steering less stable on the highway (as you've found). You want to get a happy medium especially if you add a lift in the future and also considering the 392 has the FAD elimination so you don't want to end up with front driveshaft/pinion angle vibration.
 

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Another option for you could be to get the longer mopar lowers and some adj upper control arms and make them a hair shorter. Same effect just need to check placement of axle.
I figured it's easier and cheaper to change just the Lowers instead of both Lower and Upper. Objective is to bring caster closer to 6 which adjustable lowers would achieve.
 
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Birdcatcher

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if you didn’t order some from Rough Country already, All Mopar Parts had them in stock. I ordered last night and got a shipping label this morning. 👍
I've already ordered RC through Quadratec. They will be shipped tomorrow. Don't want to deal with this again in case I am not able to achieve the desired result of 6 degrees with fixed length MOPAR's. Besides, these are cheaper than most other adjustable LCA's.

BTW - This Jeep 392 will be used as a grand tourer with mild offroading/ forest trails/ fishing trips etc. I would've bought a Land Cruiser if they'd launched the LC300 here in USA. No plans on any major modifications except for a Long range fuel tank.
 
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I would suggest "aiming" for 6 degrees which should give you a marked improvement from where you are now. The reason I say this is because caster and pinion angle are also related (as you change one the other will change as well). An excessive pinion angle can cause driveshaft u-joint vibrations and can cause other damage (u-joints, seals, etc.), whereas insufficient caster angle causes reduced steering return-to-center and makes the steering less stable on the highway (as you've found). You want to get a happy medium especially if you add a lift in the future and also considering the 392 has the FAD elimination so you don't want to end up with front driveshaft/pinion angle vibration.
Roger that. Will target 6 and see how it drives.
 

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I figured it's easier and cheaper to change just the Lowers instead of both Lower and Upper. Objective is to bring caster closer to 6 which adjustable lowers would achieve.
Yes, just giving you options. I see some parts dont ship for 3-6 months!
Both are easy to replace. Now getting the 190ft lbs on the lowers is a feat!
 

astglenn

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Hey there,

I took delivery of a JLUR 392 and immediately noticed the vague steering. Asked dealer to check alignment. Caster is 3.7 and 4.0 degrees. The factory range is 4.0-5.8 degrees.
Dealer/ Service dept says it’s within factory spec.

My DD is a BMW so the dealer insists I’m not familiar with driving a Jeep and that it’s a “Jeep” thing.

I know and have seen many threads about people complaining, expecting different from Jeep and laughed about it. Maybe it’s different when it falls upon you!

My take on this is - please don’t tell me 3.7 lies between 4.0 and 5.8!
Any vehicle that comes out of the factory needs to be within spec., otherwise, in my opinion, it’s a Quality control issue. I will deal with the handling and live with it if the caster is at least 4.0 on both sides!

Someone should be accountable for such poor quality, or maybe change factory spec range to -90.0 and +90.0 degrees, to have a blanket coverage so everything that comes out of factory is within spec!

What should I do, just go after market and fix it (I have the resources and I can), or just live with it!

9A9FA0B2-C317-4459-A332-818C3533D6CE.jpeg
Make it easy on yourself and buy a complete set of adjustable upper /lower. Front/rear arms + Front and rear high quality track bars. This is the fix. One and done. If you have the aluminum sector shaft steering box, just face it and buy the cast iron/ forged steel update steering box. I went through this process incrementally 6.0-6.5 degrees of caster seems to be the sweet spot. I used Teraflex hardware. Their high end front track bar ended up needing a “fix” because they all rattled horribly. I am a Porsche and BMW enthusiast. This jeep stuff is generally shit design, low-mid quality stuff. That includes the Jeep, the aftermarket parts and the service you will get from Chrysler. My experience is that just biting the bullet and correcting the inherent piss poor geometry and execution of the front end and steering gear, is in the long run, the quickest way to sanity. They behave acceptably to driver input after approximatey 2500.00 of owner installed modifications. Other than the updated steering box, avoid anything resembling upgraded parts that say MOPAR on it. Utter and complete garbage. I installed the Jeep 3” lift kit. 4 days later, I threw their entire lift kit and the crate it came in, into our scrap dumpster. Right where it belonged.
 

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https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...heel-alignment-specs-toe-caster-camber.17832/

5.38* +- 1.0* spec call out on caster for sport models and 4.80* +- 1.0* for rubicon and diesel models. Most people that have loose steering bumped up to 6-6.38* caster and it improved drivability. I have mine running 6.1* of caster jeep drives 100X better than when i bought it.
I agree. OP has a 392. 6.0 would be high out of spec, a red for the alignment goon. Green is not good when the spec is just made up by Jeep to save money.
 
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UPDATE: Now ~300 Miles

1. Quadratec sent me the wrong Control Arms (they sent me rear lowers, have no idea how this happened). I gave them the part number. Left a msg for the sales rep about the issue.

2. Called up Bull Run 4x4, very helpful people. They suggested I give another try to get it fixed through Jeep authorized service since the Jeep is ‘too’ new. Otherwise have taken an estimate from them for the parts + labor.

3. Have scheduled an appointment with Jeep Service in Chantilly. Need to drop off the Jeep in the morning on Friday.

4. Have opened a case with Jeep Wave. They will get back to me with after talking to their tech.

I’ll see what the Chantilly Jeep service people say, then take a call on how to go about this.

If something does not work out, I might go with BullRun. BTW, they change the Upper control Arms instead of the lower to fix Caster. Not sure if there are any additional benefits of taking this route but the manager I spoke with seemed to know this stuff very well.

Cheers!
 

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UPDATE: Now ~300 Miles

1. Quadratec sent me the wrong Control Arms (they sent me rear lowers, have no idea how this happened). I gave them the part number. Left a msg for the sales rep about the issue.

2. Called up Bull Run 4x4, very helpful people. They suggested I give another try to get it fixed through Jeep authorized service since the Jeep is ‘too’ new. Otherwise have taken an estimate from them for the parts + labor.

3. Have scheduled an appointment with Jeep Service in Chantilly. Need to drop off the Jeep in the morning on Friday.

4. Have opened a case with Jeep Wave. They will get back to me with after talking to their tech.

I’ll see what the Chantilly Jeep service people say, then take a call on how to go about this.

If something does not work out, I might go with BullRun. BTW, they change the Upper control Arms instead of the lower to fix Caster. Not sure if there are any additional benefits of taking this route but the manager I spoke with seemed to know this stuff very well.

Cheers!
Adjustable uppers are normally less expensive than lowers, and they won’t have potential rubbing with higher backspacing.
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