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Got an alignment and this is what the guy says......

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Old 08-26-2010, 10:56 AM
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Default Got an alignment and this is what the guy says......

Took my jeep in for an alignment since i lifted it to 4.5 instead of 3 inch it had and it had death wobble. went to auto pro, the guy said he was a great front end guy he could do it, he did it, i drove home, it had death wobble. but he got about 80 percent of the wobble out. it only did it between 60 and 65 now. Went back, he says i have DW because i have a bad tire???? i told him he didn't adjust it correctly and he said "well i don't believe that". But i didn't have the wobble before i lifted it and he says well then you need adjustable ball joints and adjustable control arms or we cant fix it! I have 31x10.50 BFG A/T's almost new. So i told him to hold off on messing with it till i talked to the Jeep guys. He was trying to tell me i didn't know anything about cars and that i had to spend all this money to fix it. So, what do i need to tell this guy?
Does anyone have exact specs to what a 4.5 lifted jeep needs? Im sure its a little different on all jeeps. I Probably should take it to someone who specializes in 4x4's but this guy really pissed me off. and as i was walking off he said its prob a tire!!! ughhh
Old 08-26-2010, 11:02 AM
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Track bar.

Out of balance tire?
Old 08-26-2010, 11:35 AM
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Usually death wobble is caused be not enough caster. You said you lifted it 4.5 instead of 3 inches, how was it lifted, did you use a 4.5 inch lift with new control arms or was it a 3 inch lift without arms and 1.5 inches of spacers and shackles? I don't know if this is any help but you may want to check caster angle.
Old 08-26-2010, 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Diesel
Track bar.

I have a rusty's track bar, and they adjusted the trac bar to the right size.
tires were just balanced.

Out of balance tire?
Originally Posted by Rock Toy
Usually death wobble is caused be not enough caster. You said you lifted it 4.5 instead of 3 inches, how was it lifted, did you use a 4.5 inch lift with new control arms or was it a 3 inch lift without arms and 1.5 inches of spacers and shackles? I don't know if this is any help but you may want to check caster angle.
its a 3 inch lift and i added 1.5 inch spacers up front. Its a pro comp 3 inch lift. the kit came with new control arms. The guy told me the caster is set, not adjustable and never can be.
Old 08-26-2010, 11:57 AM
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You can only adjust toe on lifted jeeps
Old 08-26-2010, 12:07 PM
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Caster is adjustable too, but methods may vary depending on the year of the Jeep. If the draglink and track bar are at different angles, you will get DW because they are moving in different archs.
Old 08-26-2010, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Bustedback
Caster is adjustable too, but methods may vary depending on the year of the Jeep. If the draglink and track bar are at different angles, you will get DW because they are moving in different archs.
its a 97 xj, 4.0
Old 08-26-2010, 12:24 PM
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X2
Forgot about the drag, track bar.
Old 08-26-2010, 12:27 PM
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it is camber you can't adjust. caster is adjusted with adjustable control arms.
think of the wonky wheel on a shopping cart. when the caster mounting plate gets bent, it throws the caster setting off and the wheel starts to go nuts.

did you check your shocks or replace them at all when you went higher? even something as simple as a weak shock can show signs of dw.

are the tires all balanced and equal PROPER air pressure for your jeep. not the rated psi on the sidewall either.
Old 08-26-2010, 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by caged
it is camber you can't adjust. caster is adjusted with adjustable control arms.
think of the wonky wheel on a shopping cart. when the caster mounting plate gets bent, it throws the caster setting off and the wheel starts to go nuts.

did you check your shocks or replace them at all when you went higher? even something as simple as a weak shock can show signs of dw.

are the tires all balanced and equal PROPER air pressure for your jeep. not the rated psi on the sidewall either.
i didn't replace the shocks, pro comp said they were rated for 4.5 inches of lift tho.
yes their balanced and i run 32 psi in all four.
Old 08-26-2010, 01:08 PM
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There are shims you can add or remove to change your caster without having adjustable arms. With 4.5" of lift you will probably need to adjust your caster or get new control arms. The drag link and track bar angles are also important as said before.
Old 08-26-2010, 01:16 PM
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sye?
Old 08-26-2010, 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by MudDepot
sye?
T-case drop. np242
Old 08-26-2010, 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by billulsund
There are shims you can add or remove to change your caster without having adjustable arms. With 4.5" of lift you will probably need to adjust your caster or get new control arms. The drag link and track bar angles are also important as said before.
Where?
Old 08-26-2010, 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Metlic53
its a 3 inch lift and i added 1.5 inch spacers up front. Its a pro comp 3 inch lift. the kit came with new control arms. The guy told me the caster is set, not adjustable and never can be.
If you are only using the arms from the 3in lift then they are probably too short (not a big distance but probably enough to make a big difference). So based on this information i would say that your lower control arms are too short. If not someone please correct me.

Link to a chart (didnt know how to copy it in correctly in case this doesnt follow the rules *for the mods*)

http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/..._Arm_Chart.htm

Last edited by BLACKSPORT; 08-26-2010 at 02:22 PM. Reason: found a chart


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