A while back I installed a rubicon express 3.5in lift on my 09 2 door x, with 33 in tires. Ever since my jeep has bad handling. When I hit bumps or pot holes, my steering wheel shimmers. When the road is slanted my jeep pulls in that direction, and my jeep wanders on the road. I was under the impression that a better ss would fix this so I put a terra flex ss on it. This did not help much. From what I have read on this forum it sounds like I need new lower control arms. Will this improve my handling? Is there anything else I need to do? I am on a limited budget. Thanks for your help

The kit came with a new(non adjustable) track bar and I think cam bolts

 

Nuff said. Best answer you are going to get. Toe is not an issue really. Cross camber issues seem unlikely because it is usually very noticeable. (hard to say though) so it is probably caster.... the only way to fix that is with LACA's. Also, be advised, I had a problem with my Jeep wandering after an OME 2.5. It was just that I needed to dial my steering wheel in a little better. I adjust the DL, but it was still off just enough to cause over steer..very annoying. Probably not it, but worth double checking.

 

So front lowers and rear uppers will have my steering good, any brand recommendations?

 

I have Teraflex uppers and lower flex arms and am very happy with them. Then compared to the stock arms they are super stout and outstanding quality. They helped "tighten" up the handling as well.

I would also check the bolts on your front trac bar. Make sure they are torqued to 125 ft lbs. That is one of the most common DW/bump steer causes.

 

if your kit came with cam bolts, i would check them to make sure they are still tightend to torque specs. it's not uncommon for cam bolts to come loose and cause handling issues. assuming they are on to spec, i would make sure they are set all the way out so that you have positive caster. that should essentially do the same thing that adjustable lower control arms would do and, being that you're on a limited budget, i would start there. another thing to have checked are your ball joints. if they are going bad, they can cause some of the problems that you are seeing.

 

I am adding this only because it just happened to me last week. I noticed my steering had a bad shimmy especially when applying the brakes at speed or downhill descents. I checked for bad ball joints and could not get any play up/down or left /right. I was baffled cause it was almost as bad as speed wobbles coming down from Arrowhead this weekend. I pulled my wheels off and did a thorough brake inspection and those were fine as well. When I went to put my front left wheel back on I noticed 2 balancing weights missing (.5oz). I temporarily glued on two round washers and moved that wheel to the back and viola problem solved. It is rare, but balancing or badly or unevenly worn tires can show these symptoms as well.

 

what i would do...adjustable front LCAs, weld washers to fix the cam bolt slots. bump that caster up to 4-6*. also a drag link flip kit with track bar brace to fix the geometry of the drag link and track bar. check out the teraflex kit with the frame brace, its a forged drag link instead of a RHD OEM drag link. get a MOOG TRE for it, instead of reusing the factory one. this should cure your bump steer and the Moog TRE is greasable.

 

another option to help with bump steer...(edit: mentioned earlier in this thread)


EVO JK Draglink Flip Kit When lifting your JK 3” or greater, it is highly recommended to correct some of the steering geometry that has been altered with the lift. The EVO JK Draglink Flip Kit does just that and more!

· Raises trackbar mounting location 3” at the axle to help correct roll center and steering angles of a lifted JK.
· Roll center is greatly improved giving better handling of the vehicle on and off road
· Complete bolt-on design that gives greater strength to already prone to failure factory front trackbar bracket
· Comes complete with new forged draglink
· All bracketry made from 3/16” thick laser cut and CNC bent sheetmetal
· All bracketry is finished in a corrosion resistant Black Powdercoat

Note: Drilling of the passenger side steering knuckle with 7/8” drill bit is required to complete the install

EVO JK Draglink Flip Kit
$299.99
+ Shipping $19

 

+1... I have the same lift, same issues. I never installed the cam bolts though because i was planning on doing control arms. last week i installed a set of teraflex lca's. that fixed the bump steer problem, but steering was still flighty. after the aev high steer, the jeep almost drives like its stock. big improvement!

 

well i guess i will go check my track bar and cam bolts and if that doesnt work ill go with lcas etc. Thanks for all your help!