I work outside of the industry but good friends with one that works in the offroad industry. I have helped out a few companies and done some custom work, but not enough time in the day now-a-days.

 

Yeah, who sent you!

 

Hey RescueJk,
It sounds like you need one too. They can say we don't need a PA Drop but I know that I need something. My JK is not all over the road but it definetly takes too much concentration to drive. I'm afraid to let my wife drive with no big tire/big lift experience.

Still waiting!!

 

Hey Paul, have you checked to make sure your caster is on? With a 4" lift, this will have changed enough to be a problem and wandering all over the road is usually a good indicator of an improper caster angle.

 

You may have hit the nail on the head. I found out Friday afternoon that my caster angle is about 2 1/2 degrees. I was told it really needs to be around 6 - 7 degrees. There is no way to adjust the caster on these Jks is there?

The 4" Skyjacker came with beefed up lower control arms but they are not adjustable. I found the Daystar lower adjustable control arms on Quadratec's website. This may be what I need to order.

I was able to drive the Jeep a good bit this weekend and bump steer did not actually seem to be a problem.

What caster angle would you suggest and do you think the adjustable control arms will do the trick?
Thanks

 

Ah-ha!! I was wondering if this might be your problem. What you need is a set of adjustable UPPER control arms like the Full Traction ones shown below and NOT lowers:



Adjustable lower control arms will allow you to reposition your axle where it needs to be but uppers will allow you to set your caster.

Now, because the front axles on the JK's are now of a high pinion design, I'm not 100% sure what it should be set at but I would think it needs to be closer to 6°-7°. If the JK's had a low pinion like the TJ's had, you would want it closer to 3°-4°. Either way, you are close to flat and that's why you are getting the wandering.

PS. All of our sponsoring vendors sell these

 

Thanks man,
Ordering right now.

 

wayoflife is right on. Here's what I posted on another forum a while ago:

Your wander is caused by the change of caster. Caster is the angle to which the steering pivot axis is tilted forward or rearward from vertical, as viewed from the side. If the pivot axis is tilted backward (that is, the top pivot is positioned farther rearward than the bottom pivot), then the caster is positive; if it's tilted forward, then the caster is negative.

Positive caster tends to straighten the wheel when the vehicle is traveling forward, and thus is used to enhance straight-line stability. This can be easily done with adjustable control arms, as the lower front arms can be lengthened or the upper arms shortened (or both) to add positive caster. Your dealer might be able to dig up some alignment cams that would allow them to adjust caster.

This isn't hard to fix. JKs seem to have very little positive caster from the factory. Even stock, they tend to wander just a bit. I've driven two Unlimiteds at length, including the Rubicon I'm driving now to do a feature on. I liked them so much I ordered my own Unlimited Rubicon that's now on the train to the dealer!

 

I appreciate the info. That is exactly what my alignment shop mentioned. Alignments Cams. I went ahead and ordered the front adjustable uppers. The lowers were replaced with the Skyjacker kit. If/when I can have the caster angle adjusted I'll feel a lot better about the wife driving the JK.

Thanks again!

 

do you know if any1 makes the adjustment cams yet the shop i went to they couldnt find any to adjust the jk's yet mine doesnt seem to wander that much but they did say it was off a lil bit