Thanks everyone. Headed to the shop now to have a local shop heat it up and bend it back in place while I wait for HD LCA mounts to come in from Quadratec later this week or next. As usual....this forum and those in it rock when it comes to helping each other out.

Thanks a ton!!!

 

Jeep is finally at my local shop getting new mounts welded on. Will send pics when done.

 

A couple of pics for reference.

 

Hopefully a welded fix will work for you, but I like the idea of heating and bending the original if possible. I only had that bracket break on one rig. Tried the weld fix but it kept breaking again until the axle housing was finally replaced. That rig put a LOT more torque on the axle than a 3.8 ever could, however.

 

More help needed...please read....

Well too dark to take a pic but the mount looks great!!! After that I took it over to NTB for an alignment....was still way off...and with the damn electronic stability program going off cause of the steering wheel I was going crazy trying to drive.

So NTB says there's something royally screwy somewhere but they don't know where...only that the pitman arm has a lot of play and something about it being 1.6in off of where it should be and they can't get it any straighter than hey did. Steering wheel is loose in some spots...tighter in others. Not sure where to go besides the dealer next...and I can pretty much plan on this not being covered by warranty. Any thoughts on what else could have been bent/tweaked when I crushed the LCA mount? tie rod, sway bars, control arms...all are straight...or at least they are as they are supposed to be. Thinking here has to be something I'm missing that I should check.

Thanks for any thoughts on this-Mike

 

Sounds like your steering gear box took a hit. I have heard that they are a weak link with the JK. Look at the sector shaft, its where the pitman arm bolts to the box. The shaft may be bent. Have someone turn the steering wheel completely from side to side and see if the shaft moves in a circular motion as it should or if it takes an oval pattern. Oval is bad. And no it wouldn't be covered under warranty as it was a collision with a rock.

 

Also did you check where the control arm mounts on the frame? That bracket could also be bent/torn. I have also seen the track bar bracket on the axle torn off on one side. Check the track bar bracket where it mounts to the axle while someone moves the steering wheel back and forth.

 

Okay...so question to the jeep gods on this forum....

The brilliant guys at NtB Couldn't align the jeep...said they didn't know what was wrong but was way off right.,,when I got it home I got under and started looking at everything. Had my 9 year old daughter in the driver seat turning the wheel both ways and noticed the pitman arm looked loose...grabbed a wrench and tightened it up...three full turns...wtf?!?!? Anyways...so that seemed to help a lot...but still needs more tweaking...will take to dealer. My question is that my front differential seems to be set more passenger side than driver side. If you look at it the passenger side has way more tread outside of the fender than the driver side. How is this adjusted...only via the track bar?

Thanks-Mike

 

exactly, adj trackbar for centering your axle.

 

And if you don't have an adjustable track bar? I will get one...but any options till then?