wayoflife

Yes, but what I'm wondering is has that fitment issue always been a problem in the same way? Were all of them shifted to much to the right or to the left or too high or too low? Do you see where I'm coming from?

xravn

i understand your point wayoflife. maybe i was expecting too much from a "econo" kit. that is where i will stand with you. i expected it to be "correct" without driveablity issues. i guess i was wrong. and i will go ahead and correct the bolt fitment issue just to be complete with this lift analysis. if for nothing else to heed the warning for all others who purchase this kit. so they are aware of the fitment issue. and if it is a not an isolated instance then maybe FT will correct this issue on the next batch. if i lose this "wooble" after the bolt then i will stand corrected and at least the issue is understood and all others can make the same correction on the part. if not then hey i guess i have to get the "Upgrade" track bar to fix the issue.

oh and i got that information on the track bar and what it does from the sellers discription: i assumed and maybe that was my error that it's main use was to make fine adjustments after extra weight to front end.

finally i quess only time will tell as other members on this forum or elsewhere install this lift and we see the results and ride quality opinions start surfacing. from what i have read i am one of a handfull so far including yourself who have installed this kit.

*Question just curious if you incountered any problems with the track bar relocator on the rubicon u did the walkthrough? maybe it is a non-rubicon model issue??? probably not the case but just a thought.

Jake_Blues

Sorry, I should have finished the first thought. We were discussing death-wobble, I should have said I don't have any problems with death-wobble in my Jeep. Bump steer is there, but I'm willing to live with it until I can get the adjustable track bar.

Everyone I have talked to has said the same thing, the out-board mounting hole (the one that uses the long, slender bolt) is off maybe 5mm to the left if you're facing the bracket from the front (as you would if you were installing it). The Jeep dealership that sold me the kit told me this was that way on the 2 kits they installed on their Jeeps, and one other user on JK-forums said the same thing. 2 other people (3 including you) have said it was off, but not by how much or which direction. None of these were scientific measurements, so I won't say it's NOT just a tolerance issue, but it seems to point towards a manufacturing issue. Especially since all the other bolt holes lined up perfectly for me.

I had the drill laying there anyway, so I just drilled it out and went on with the install, no problem. Not the end of the world. This guy chose another route and it *might* be what's causing his issue.

-E

wayoflife

Anytime you lift or even lower a Jeep, your axle will shift. Of course, the amount of shift will vary in degree depending on how high or low you go. In other words, a 3" lift will cause the shift to be significant enough to change the ride of your Jeep while the drop caused by adding a 150lb. winch will only be a fraction of an inch and ultimately will not cause any ride quality issues. However, if you want a completely centered axle even for a minor shift from this, an adjustable track bar will allow you to it. Having said all that, an "adjustable" front track bar isn't exactly needed to fine tune your ride as a simple new and longer one would correct things in the same manner. The "adjustable" aspect is just that "adjustable" meaning it allows you more options.

Yes, the bracket was off just a hair to the right. Also, the change in angle created by the raising of the mount caused some bumpsteer. We took off the bracket and it did help things out. However, I know of several other people who installed the bracket and did not have any problems at all. Northridge4x4 can attest to this as well. Ultimately, not having the relocation bracket has caused tracking issues on pavement so where one problem was eliminated, another arrose. Rubimon has since ordered an adjustable front trackbar to correct the tracking and any bumpsteer as well as adjustable upper front control arms to correct wandering caused by a shallow caster angle.

wayoflife

You just made my point. The bracket I installed was off to the right by maybe 1/16". By the way, the brackets are stamped and are identical one from the next.

Jake_Blues

My understanding is that those holes we're using to mount the bracket are from jigs used for assembly purposes. It's hard for me to imagine that the factory jigs wander all over the place like that. When you say it was off to the right, you mean that, before drilling it, you looked into the hole in the original Jeep part and saw extra metal on the bracket on the right side or the left? I think I may be confusing my rights and lefts

Given how perfectly all the other holes line up, I'm still inclined to believe this is a problem with the bracket. It's a minor one to me, but it did make the install take 20 minutes longer than it should have! (15 minutes of me trying to figure out if I did something wrong, 5 minutes of drilling and hammering)

By the way, I'm not trying to disparage this lift kit at all, I was otherwise totally happy with it. My only two complaints were the one misaligned mounting hole, and the fact that the instructions make it sound like the new springs will just slide on as easily as the old ones came off, when in fact I found that I needed a spring compressor even with the suspension at full droop. Otherwise, it has been great!

-E

wayoflife

Okay, maybe I'm getting my lefts and rights mixed up too. Looking through the hole, I could see metal showing on the left side. The hole in the bracket was over to the right just a hair but enough to prevent the bolt to go through. I took a Dremel to the edge of the bracket and 2 minutes later, the bolt went right in.

Jake_Blues

I'll have to look at my pictures again and see for sure which way it was. It has been over a month since I installed it and I'm a little fuzzy. The service guy I talked agreed with me that there was a definite problem to the left, but I can't be 100% certain if we were talking about the hole in the bracket, or the hole on the Jeep, or where we remove material from, etc :confused: I know that nobody has complained about it being high or low

I took like 200 pictures of the install intending to do a write-up, but you guys beat me to it. I still have all the photos though, hopefully I took one of that problem.

-E

xravn

anyways i am going to make that last bolt go in just to see if it corrects the wobble. but i just ordered the adjustible track bar suppost to ship out in the morning so. i will post all the results and picks asap.

sorry all for the venting.
i am afterall a noob to jeeps although i have admired them from afar since i was a kid.
and although i am not a total noob to wrench pushing this is the other end of the spectrim for me.

Jake_Blues

Well, look on the bright side. We are *all* newbies when it comes to the JKs, so you're not behind at all!

All this talk about lift kits has made me want to go under mine and retorque all the bolts, since I've had it on for a few hundred miles now. Good time to make sure all the parts I put on are still under there!

-E