Marks2000XJ

I can not for the life of me figure out why my Jeep is constantly pulling to the right when I am driving it. It is driving me nuts. It is only lifted 2" and I left the track bar in the factory hole on the axle. I tried to get it aligned after lifting but the tire shop could not break loose the tie rod to adjust the toe but he said it was not off that bad anyway and should not wear the tires out very quick.

So the only two things I can come up with is either the track bar needed shifting to the left on the axle when I lifted or the toe adjustment is so far out that it is causing it to pull.

Any thoughts on this?

montanaman

In terms of alignment, two things usually make a vehicle pull to the right:

- Camber is off ... both wheels are "leaning" to the right. In other words, the driver's wheel has a Negative camber (top of wheel leaning right, into the fender), and the passenger wheel has a Positive camber (top of wheel leaning right, out of the fender).

- Toe is off.

A few questions:

Did your XJ pull right before the lift?

When you went in for alignment, did they check Camber & Castor as well as Toe-in? Did they give you a printout with the numbers?

I would recommend you spray your adjuster sleeves with PB Blaster for several days, loosen the nuts yourself, and check to make sure you can turn the sleeve. Then take it into a shop and have them check all 3 angles. That will give you some solid information to work from.

ericfx1984

the slope of the road... welcome to america

Marks2000XJ

Well I thought about that but should I constantly be fighting it going down the highway? I do know if I get in the left lane it seems to be not so bad but still pulls to the right.

montanaman

You should definitely not have to fight it. 2" is a small lift, and you should be able to drive with 1 finger on the wheel -- in the right lane.

Marks2000XJ

I was thinking about changing out the tie rod with a heavier duty one then taking it back. I don't think the camber can be adjusted can it? As far as the castor, the adjustments are run all the way back but I guess it is possible for the lower control arm angles to not be equal even though they are all the way back against the bracket. Something could be off.

Marks2000XJ

That's what I think because my wife's car does not pull like that.

montanaman

Camber isn't adjustable, but could get out of whack from something bent. Castor is adjustable from the control arms. Until you get a measurement of all angles, it will be hard to know what you are dealing with.

alpine.adrenaline

Another thing to consider is a bad wheel bearing- if one is going out it might cause more rolling resistance on one side causing it to pull to that side. You might also check your u-joints and axle shaft bearings to make sure they're not binding. Jack up the front end and make sure its as easy to spin the right wheel as the left.

jronald

It is possible that the axle is not sitting square, this will also cause a pull.

Ron

Lyon

Silly suggestion but make sure the PSI is even in all tires.
Any time a vehilce is lifted, the wheel alingment must be adjusted. Get that tie rod loose with some PB and Heat.
You need to move your track bar or get an adjustable one. You're actually "pulling" on the control arm bushings to one side and most likely causing your pull. I can't see the caster being that drastically changed with such a small lift.
You could check to see if you have the cross caster problem. Get an angle finder and take a measurement on both the drivers and passenger sides and see if they are the same. This normally happens with bigger lifts though but something to look in to if the trackbar doesn't help your problem.

Marks2000XJ

Would this be a result of the castor not being equal on both sides? If I am thinking about this correctly I can see this pushing or pulling the axle too far in or out on one side causing it to be out of square.

Marks2000XJ

I actually just purchased an adjustable track bar to go with another lift kit I just bought.

Funny you mention that because when I did the two inch lift and went to re-attach the track bar at the axle, I used the bounce the jeep up and down, shake it left and right method to get the axle lined back up and it did not line up with the factory hole. I had to turn the steering back and forth to get the bolt hole to line up. So I am thinking that is off some.

Lifting it causes the track bar to pull the axle towards the drivers side. If not corrected, would it cause the vehicle to track towards the right? I thought it would track to the left.

montanaman

Good point ... do you have adjustable control arms? Are you sure they are exactly the same length, when compared left to right? Measure your center front wheel to center rear wheel on both sides. See if there is a slight difference.

That and the track bar issue are the most likely problems.

Marks2000XJ

I will check that and also the toe with a tape measure to see if it is bad off.

I don't suspect bad wheel bearings or ball joints as this jeep has never been abused and has been fairly well maintained. I am thinking the axle is not square or the track bar is causing the problem or both.

I will also work on breaking the tie rod loose but will probably just replace it instead of fooling with it.