I put a teraflex 3” suspension on my JK unlimited and right off the bat I had very darty steering and found it also pulled to the left. Therefore, I assumed it was a caster issue. Knowing that, I just installed Teraflex new lower front control arms and set the caster to 5 degrees. There is a huge improvement in the steering; it is no longer darty like it was before. However, I am still getting a pull to the left. I had the vehicle aligned and if anything it should be pulling to the right a little because of the toe in, but it still pulls left? The alignment shop can’t figure it out either. I have rotated tires and that didn’t solve the problem, so it must be something else. Anybody else have this problem?

 

Hi IFSAR, is it safe to assume that your new LCA's were adjustable? And, if so, are you sure they were set to the same lengths? Also, did you install an adjustable front track bar with your lift? If so, are you sure that the axle is now centered? I know these may seem like a dumb questions but I just thought I would check everything first.

 

Thanks for the quick response. Yes the new arms are adjustable and we fine tuned their length/ caster while the vehicle was on the alignment machine. Therefore, I am pretty sure that everything is ok with the arms, but there could be a slight misalignment. As far as an adjustable track bar, the kit does not include one. Teraflex provides a drop-down bracket for the factory rear-track bar. That piece was installed and the factory track bar was attached to it. Do you think that might be the culprit?

 

Yes. Your front axle will have shifted towards the driver side of your Jeep after the installation of your lift and re-centering it with an adjustable front track bar will most likely fix your drift.

 

That makes sense. Who sells an adjustable front track bar? Also what is the appropriate way to adjust the track bar to correctly center the axle under the vehicle?

Thanks again for the feedback

 

you can almost eyeball it center. pull your old track bar off, move your steering back and forth until your axle is centered. you can measure from the outside sidewall to the frame, if you want. install the new track bar at that length. FT sells them, i think. check the vendors in this forum. they'll likely give you a discount as a forum member.

 

I just got done helping Rubimon install a Full Traction adjustable front track bar on his 3" lifted JK and I think it's built very well and quite affordable.

To set it, you've got to first determine apporximately how off your axle is and I do this by placing a 2x4 up against the driverside sidewall of your front tire, centered to the hub and measure the distance between it and your Jeep's fender. A carpenters level held vertically to your tire will work much in the same way. After you take your measurement, do the same on the passenger side of your Jeep. We found that the front axle had shifted over to the driverside by 3/8" and that's how much longer we set the new Full Traction adjustable front control arm. Once installed, I think we were ultimately only off by about one full rotation and a half at most.

I took a bunch of pic on how to do this and I will do a complete write-up on it this week.

 

wow. that's much more scientific than what i did

 

Thanks guys, great info!!! I noticed the FT track bar is about $175. I will pick one up and install it and let you know if it solves my pulling to the left.

Also, what is the correct caster for the JK unlimited? I have mine set at 5degrees at the moment, is that too much?