i am picking up my lift tomorrow to install saturday and have a question. i am getting front lower arms and rear uppers to adjust some angles.

do i need to go out and buy an angle finder or can i adjust the axles so that the driveshafts are coming into the axles on a straight line?

does that make sense?

thanks

 

Yeah. It ain't like they're costly. You can get one for under twenty bucks.

 

Some corrections are in order to avoid confusion:

The lift will affect the angle of the rear driveshaft as it goes from the transfer case to the axle. (It'll also affect the front, but caster angle is more important that pinion angle for the front.) That's why you want a rear upper control arm - so you can rotate the axle towards the rear of the Jeep, aligning the driveshaft with the pinion to correct the angle. You want this. This is a good thing.

JKs do not use SYEs. If you change the driveshaft, use a double cardin U-joint style drive shaft. You do not need new driveshafts unless you go over 3" on a 2-door or over 4" on a 4-door. (Even then, it's a "recommendation".)

Hope this clears things up a bit.

 

If you haven't run across it yet, the caster section here talks about using an angle finder.
http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-...-end-alignment

And the pic above came from Tom Woods website. Lots of good info there to look through.

 

If you have a good eye you can align it without any tool. The tool sets on a flat surface and measures the angle. I’m not sure there is a surface on the diff to get this measurement from. But these guys are say to get the tool so I would assume they have taken the measurement and know there is a place on it.

 

Great info guys, thanks.
Went to Home Depot & bought an angle dial thingy. I put it on the collar at the pinion. Got it 1 degree less than the DS but now my sway bar connects hit the sxle & my Trac bar hit the pass spring. Hate to move the axle forward at all, loving the look of it back there.
Thanks again!!

 

I had the same problem with the spring and trac bar contact. I got the rockkrawler springs wedges and jks spring retainers.

 

Did you have an 8 arm setup?
Same thing happened to me when I adjusted my rear lower control arms out too much. I ended up setting my lowers as short as they allowed and this helped me out. I do however have longer lowers than standard on a two door. I went with jks coil perch relocates and angled my springs foward, then I removed my rear passenger side trackbar relocate bracket and installed a rear adj trackbar.

 

Thanks for your responses Guys. I did buy the wedges when I bought my control arms. They went in easy & my springs look pretty straight, however, the wedges don't appear to be steep enough. The spring doesn't even touch them in the rear. I think if they would have been twice as steep they would have contacted the spring all the way around.

I don't know why I don't just move my axle forward, I just love it centers in the wheelwell & feel better about the added wheelbase.

Tell me if this sounds retarded. My rear swaybar connects were hitting the bumpstop plates so I took it off & cut 1 inch out of each side. Then I welded it back together, welded a gusset over the weld & reinstalled. Fits perfectly now & is strong as can be. I am thinking about Cutting my tracbar off three inches from the eyelet on the frame side & welding it back together longer & with an offset so that it will clear the spring. That way I can take the drop bracket off as it now hits the bumpstop plate, crap.

With 3.5 inches of lift will the geometry be too far off if I mount it close to the frame like it was stock??

No, I just bought the 4 rear adjustable control arms. So you got rid of your tracbar relocate bracket, any problems with that & how much lift do you have? Thanks


Good to know. I think I solved my swaybar issues. I jacked my right rear wheel (only) all the way off the ground. flexed it out pretty good. It's crazy how much the swaybar twists. I'm thinking about cutting it in half in the middle, welding a round plate to each end & then running three 1/2 inch bolts through the plates. Then when i go offroading I can simply remove the three bolts & my swaybar ends will be independent. I deleted my muffler so I have room to do this.

Can you understand why I don't want to move my rear axle forward or do you think I should just move it?

Thanks for all your help Guys!! Dang, my jeep depreciates every time I work on it, lol.

 

I have 3 inches of lift. I had similar problems as your having. If your bottom rear control arms are too long that's your issue. Cut your pinch seams and shorten your rear lowers and I know this will help. Also if you put in a rear adj trackbar it helps with rear diff clearance and that trackbar bracket will not be rubbing!!