Steering issues

[wanderer]

Many of you have probably been hearing me rant and rave about what’s going on with my Jeep. I have a couple other questions. How does castor affect your steering? Will it make it wander?
Before I put this lift on and I didn’t do it I had a shop do it on the stock Rubicon X suspension at track Street and true road great all I wanted was a little more height and more compliance
So I had taken my Jeep back to the shop that had done the install because they had parts that were on backwards parts that were left off, etc. they supposedly fixed it all and we’re supposed to have aligned it and checked all the measurements. I didn’t trust them till I took it to another shop a gold rated one for this particular brand of Metal Cloak And my casters is off by quite a lot
I don’t know enough about any of this to really understand it so I’m relying on you guys. What do you think of those numbers that make it wander and on the road?

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[Nokones]

On my 23 Wrangler Rubi 2 Dr with about 3 1/2" Lift, you want to make sure that your track (axles) is centered, at least 6.5 degrees positive on caster and total toe-in at .15 degrees. Depending on the amount of lift you may need to replace the driveshafts and make sure that the pinion and driveshafts angles differences are no more than 2 degrees.

You may find out in order to eliminate the wondering you may have to replace all the bars and control arms with quality stuff like Metalcloak. The shocks and springs also need to complement your ride weight.

 

[zouch]

@wanderer
i don't know anything about what your lift includes.

some people don't think the stock spec is enough Caster, and if you lifted it you lost some. you need to be able to dial some in, and that will probably require adjustable (front) Control Arms. (even the Mopar lift LCAs were not long enough.)
if you don't have adjustable control arms, you need to get some, and adjust them to where you have over 6º of Caster; that will increase your directional stability.

 

[Nokones]

i don't know anything about what your lift includes.

The Mopar lift is a great Lift Kit for grocery getters and mall crawlers that run on fire roads and to just get that look and be kinda cool. The shocks are a great improvement over stock shocks. The ride is fantastic and very compliant, as long that you don't put ANY weight in the vehicle. It is not great if you carry any weight and does not include any adjustable trackbars. A matter of fact, even the provided LCAs are kinda stupid because you can't get the caster you need with the lift.

Also, with this lift you are at the maximum lift point with the stock driveshafts and pinion angles. Any higher of a lift you will need to changeout the driveshafts.

This is what the Mopar Lift consist of:

 

[zouch]

yes, i know; i had one.

i was referring to not knowing what was included in the OPs Metal Cloak lift "kit".

This is what the Mopar Lift consist of:

 

[Nokones]

I think the OP actually used the JKS which is essentially the same as the Mopar Lift Kit. The Mopar kit comes with the Fox 2.5 and the JKS they offer either the 2.0s or the 2.5s.

 

[Aonarch]

2 degrees positive caster will absolutely cause the steering feel that you are getting.

You need adjustable front lower control arms to add in caster.

 

[wanderer]

@wanderer
i don't know anything about what your lift includes.

some people don't think the stock spec is enough Caster, and if you lifted it you lost some. you need to be able to dial some in, and that will probably require adjustable (front) Control Arms. (even the Mopar lift LCAs were not long enough.)
if you don't have adjustable control arms, you need to get some, and adjust them to where you have over 6º of Caster; that will increase your directional stability.

I am running the Metal Cloak game changer 2.5”lift, which has upper and lower adjustable control arms rear track bar front track bar. It’s a very complete kit.
I ran their 3.5 inch game changer lift on my gladiator with no issues whatsoever

 

[Roky]

I am running the Metal Cloak game changer 2.5”lift, which has upper and lower adjustable control arms rear track bar front track bar. It’s a very complete kit.
I ran their 3.5 inch game changer lift on my gladiator with no issues whatsoever

Ralph, according to that alignment sheet, and if it indicates the state your rig is in currently, you need to do some adjustments…..

first, your caster is way to low,.. if you have a FAD then adjust your caster to 6 degrees, if you don’t have the FAD ( meaning your front driveshaft spins all the time) then I would start caster at 5 degrees, test drive it, see if you get any vibrations from the front DS….. if you do, then back it off a couple tenths, test drive again….. you’ll have to do this until you’re running as much caster as you can while not creating any vibrations….It sucks I know, but that’s life without a FAD….

The second thing you should do is adjust the toe…. You want to shoot for 1/16th toe in….if you do these 2 things, your rig will drive 100 percent better…..

 

[zouch]

then it’s simple; your install is not correct and you need to adjust your Control Arms to get the appropriate Caster. yours are not set correctly by any standard.

I am running the Metal Cloak game changer 2.5”lift, which has upper and lower adjustable control arms rear track bar front track bar. It’s a very complete kit.
I ran their 3.5 inch game changer lift on my gladiator with no issues whatsoever

 

[firedude]

Ralph, according to that alignment sheet, and if it indicates the state your rig is in currently, you need to do some adjustments…..

first, your caster is way to low,.. if you have a FAD then adjust your caster to 6 degrees, if you don’t have the FAD ( meaning your front driveshaft spins all the time) then I would start caster at 5 degrees, test drive it, see if you get any vibrations from the front DS….. if you do, then back it off a couple tenths, test drive again….. you’ll have to do this until you’re running as much caster as you can while not creating any vibrations….It sucks I know, but that’s life without a FAD….

The second thing you should do is adjust the toe…. You want to shoot for 1/16th toe in….if you do these 2 things, your rig will drive 100 percent better…..

Follow this advice and you will be happy with your Jeep.

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