Pulling to the right after fitting Rubicon springs

[Jeremynolan94]

I fit a set of 4dr Rubicon springs on my Willys Sport about 2 weeks ago, along with a set of takeoff KO2s. I netted almost 3" all around from these modifications and have been very happy with the changes.

The past few days though I've started to notice a slight pull to the right when driving on a straight and level surface with the steering wheel centered, and I find myself making frequent corrections to the left. I stopped at an alignment shop today and they took a quick look but didn't have time to complete a full alignment so I don't have those specs.

I never had to center my steering wheel after fitting the springs as it appeared to be straight following install; however I'm wondering if I might be slightly off center so I'll be checking that and adjusting the drag link if needed. I've also read that adding the longer Mopar LCAs can help with tracking by adjusting caster. Could this possibly remedy my issue? Any thoughts or input are greatly appreciated. I'm hoping to take it in for an alignment but would like to try some things on my end before doing so.

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[blnewt]

I fit a set of 4dr Rubicon springs on my Willys Sport about 2 weeks ago, along with a set of takeoff KO2s. I netted almost 3" all around from these modifications and have been very happy with the changes.

The past few days though I've started to notice a slight pull to the right when driving on a straight and level surface with the steering wheel centered, and I find myself making frequent corrections to the left. I stopped at an alignment shop today and they took a quick look but didn't have time to complete a full alignment so I don't have those specs.

I never had to center my steering wheel after fitting the springs as it appeared to be straight following install; however I'm wondering if I might be slightly off center so I'll be checking that and adjusting the drag link if needed. I've also read that adding the longer Mopar LCAs can help with tracking by adjusting caster. Could this possibly remedy my issue? Any thoughts or input are greatly appreciated. I'm hoping to take it in for an alignment but would like to try some things on my end before doing so.

Your caster angle is going to be low, those longer LCAs will help a lot w/ the drive at high speeds.
Check post #4 in my thread about the LCA install.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/rubicon-suspension-on-2-door-sport.40700/

 

[Punkn89]

Anytime you adjust your suspension, you gotta do an alignment. Make sure you take it to a shop that knows what they are doing. Start from there, then you can further diagnose after if it persists.

 

[Odyssey USA]

I had to re-center my steering wheel with only 3/4 of an inch increase from Rubicon Springs on my Sahara. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...drag-link-to-straighten-steering-wheel.11473/

Make sure your tire pressure is equal left to right. That can cause pull as can curvature of the road, so account for that on whether you like the outcome.

The Mopar LCA’’s work and should help it be less twitchy on steering the vehicle down the road, especially on a 2dr short wheel base.

 

[mwilk012]

If your jeep gets taller, your steering wheel requires adjustment. It is just geometry.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

I'll play around with the steering wheel centering tonight. Like I said earlier, it appears that the front wheels are straight when the steering wheel is centered, but my eyesight also isn't that great and I'm sure a miniscule difference can have a noticeable effect. It'll be a bit of trial and error to get it spot on but should make for a good Friday evening project.

I went ahead and ordered the longer Mopar LCAs. I'm looking forward to seeing what improvements those make when they come in. I'll be heading into the Eastern Sierras and White Mountains in a few weeks so hopefully I can get everything dialed in before then.

 

[[DELETED MEMBER 103062]]

If you are using the stock non adjustable track bars, the additional height has shifted your axles to the passenger side. This puts pressure on the control arm joints making the vehicle pull to the passenger side.

 

[Reinen]

Anytime you adjust your suspension, you gotta do an alignment. Make sure you take it to a shop that knows what they are doing. Start from there, then you can further diagnose after if it persists.

@Jeremynolan94 This is true but also know that an alignment shop can't change your caster angle. That is set in stone by your stock control arms. When you lift you reduce your caster angle and that will lead to wandering (not a consistent pull). To get it to drive as it did pre-lift you'll need longer LCAs.

If you gained 3" you will have to recenter your steering wheel, it will be slightly off center. It might not be pulling at all and it's just your steering wheel that's now off.

If you look carefully you'll also see that your axles have shifted slightly, front to driver side and rear to passenger side. It's not necessarily a problem but it is an imperfection. Adjustable track bars are what recenters the axles.

I know it's a lot to take in at first but the key to understanding a Jeep suspension is that everything works in an arc. If you lift the Jeep everything will sit at a slightly different point on that arc, which means the lift will also shift everything horizontally a little bit as well. How? Just look at the pivot point and visualize how the arc works.

 

[mwilk012]

I'll play around with the steering wheel centering tonight. Like I said earlier, it appears that the front wheels are straight when the steering wheel is centered, but my eyesight also isn't that great and I'm sure a miniscule difference can have a noticeable effect. It'll be a bit of trial and error to get it spot on but should make for a good Friday evening project.

I went ahead and ordered the longer Mopar LCAs. I'm looking forward to seeing what improvements those make when they come in. I'll be heading into the Eastern Sierras and White Mountains in a few weeks so hopefully I can get everything dialed in before then.

They help. For the low price, they're certainly worth it. Track bars are not 100% necessary at that height but I'd bet you can see a noticeable shift.

 

[Zwee]

Don't mean to go against the grain but lifting the jeep will not change the alignment as the tie rod did not move or change(only alignment adjustment available on jl). If the steering is off centered it also wouldn't pull because of that.

I'd guess that the takeoffs are worn unevenly and your now reduced caster is making that slight issue worse. I just went through this on my jeep with a 3.5 lift and adjustable controls fixed everything. It now drives so well the jeep engineers should take a drive in it and bring a note pad

 

[mwilk012]

Don't mean to go against the grain but lifting the jeep will not change the alignment as the tie rod did not move or change(only alignment adjustment available on jl). If the steering is off centered it also wouldn't pull because of that.

I'd guess that the takeoffs are worn unevenly and your now reduced caster is making that slight issue worse. I just went through this on my jeep with a 3.5 lift and adjustable controls fixed everything. It now drives so well the jeep engineers should take a drive in it and bring a note pad

This is simple to account for, swap the front tires.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

I'd guess that the takeoffs are worn unevenly and your now reduced caster is making that slight issue worse.

The tires only had 2,000 miles on them when I installed them so I would be surprised if they're unevenly worn, but I'll still swap them to see if that changed things.

Took me 3-4 tries to recenter the steering wheel just right, but I do definitely notice an improvement. Perhaps that is all it was; if so, hooray to an easy fix for a simple oversight. That being said I'm still eager for the LCAs to arrive.

 

[Zwee]

Good to hear, I ran a 2.5 lift and it drove ok but when I went to 3.5 it was a terrible driving experience, the jeep wanted to wander bad and would not track correctly. The control arms will allow you to add caster which will be a huge improvement. Plus the factory arms /track bar wear quickly once you lift the jeep.

 

[DaltonGang]

When I had all the Rubicon Take-Offs added to my Sport, I had to have it properly aligned. When the alignment shop looked it over, they tightened and adjusted a lot, that was overlooked in the initial installation. But, that's another story I bitched about, years ago.

 

[txj2go]

Don't mean to go against the grain but lifting the jeep will not change the alignment as the tie rod did not move or change(only alignment adjustment available on jl). If the steering is off centered it also wouldn't pull because of that.

The average alignment shop is only going to check caster, camber and toe, only toe can be adjusted on the stock JL suspension anyway and it should not have changed. If you're careful you can check that yourself and it's easy to adjust.

Lifting should change steering wheel position- the axle is lower so now the track bar and drag link are sloping down more, one will slope more than the other and as the axle is moved over by the sloping track bar it will pull the steering wheel a little bit. I got 1.5" lift on my front using Rubicon springs and the steering wheel wasn't off very much. It can be touchy to adjust- I made a small adjustment and got it close to centered and left it there. I'm considering a new track bar to combat DW and when I do that I'll have to go through the steering wheel adjustment again.

I realize that a lift will pull the axle slightly to one side and I don't know why I would worry about that if it isn't affecting the driving stability. I've done a lot of long freeway trips since I put on the Rubicon springs (and Mopar LCA) and have no complaints about the way it drives.

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