Hey guys,

Got an alignment done today after my lift kit was installed (3 inch). My mechanic said they couldn't get it perfect and it's still pulling slightly to the right. He gave me the readout sheet (see pic). What would be the reason that prohibits the car from aligning correctly? Bad parts? Control arms? Any input is appeciated. Thanks!!

 

Did you replace the trackbar or still got the factory one ?

 

Yes I purchased a Rough Country adjustable track bar as well...they told me they would dial that in when I got the alignment done too. They found out my "pre-balanced and mounted" wheel/tire combo I got from Quadratec for the lift were everything but balanced...they ended up redistributing the weights and flipping the wheels and balancing the tires...as well as lowering 50PSI to 35 in my 31x10.50's!! Not sure why they came that way from Quadratec.

Anyways, I'll give it a week and maybe the new tire setup just needs to break in.

 

My guess would be that you have other worn items in the steering sector that has been present before the lift was installed. Once a lift is done all it does is bring those to a more noticeable point than before.


If TRE's need to be replaced use ones from a mid-90's V-8 Grand Cherokee as they as much stronger than stock and under $100 at AutoZone.

 

You have .4 degrees of split in camber to the left. .6 degrees of split in caster to the right. Witch would make it pull to the right. Camber pulls to the more positive side. Caster pulls to the more negative side. The crown of the road pulls you to the right. Normally when aligning a rear wheel drive vehicle you would compensate for road crown by adjusting the vehicle with about .3 more camber on the left than the right. or -.3 caster on the left. But you thrust angle is -.27 and that means that your rear wheels are pointed to the left slightly, so they are pushing the vehicle to the right also.
They make adjustable ball joints to adjust camber and caster. but if your lift came with adjustable lower control arms you can adjust caster and get it pretty close that way. To change your thrust angle you need to shift your rear axle slightly.

 

Wish I'd known this before purchasing my '98. Already had 4.5 RC lift and some other mods. Have spent some money correcting problems. And yes, Inspected and drove it first. MY BAD. So far, adjustable lowers ca's, bushings, adjustable track bar, bearings, etc. Bought this from mechanic neighbor so I thought post inspection that everything was ok. I don't think he's invited to the BBQ.

 

All Jeeps have something going on with them and luckily yours are correctable. Its certainly not worth fighting your neighbor over if you like the Jeep .

 

You can't say all jeeps. Mine only needs like 12 things...... Ok I guess you can say every jeep

 

Show me any car/truck/suv of this age that doesn't need repair, most of all a 4wd one.

 

Touche. However, my XJs are the only not newish vehicles I've owned, so I can only speak for those.

 

Very true, but I do have to say that my 96 F150 has been surprisingly low maintenance. I have owned it 20 years now and it has needed a water pump, clutch slave cylinder and I just replaced the brake lines, otherwise just gas tires and oil. Very lucky with it so far. it's why I keep it around .

 

Thanks for the feedback. Do you think lower adjustable control arms would solve a decent amount of the issue? Not sure how important uppers adjustables would be either.

Also, how does one go about shifting the rear axle?? Sounds painful.

 

I think the adjustable lower control arms would help, all you have to do to shift the rear end is loosen the u bolts and shift the whole rear axle the direction that is needed to point the wheels straight.