Ok, so i am sure this is a common issue but here goes.

I just finished installing my rock krawler 2.5" Stock mod with bilstein 5100s.

Never done a lift before, i torqued everything to spec and whatnot.

My ESP keeps kicking in. The steering wheel is way off center. And im pretty sure the toe-in of the tires is off. It also steers wayyyy to the right if i take my hands off the wheel.

Little side note, how much of a toe-in do i want on the front tires? Is 1/8 too much?

The rear seems fine, only feel the brake kick in from the ESP in the front. (light does come on)

I read this guide http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-...-end-alignment

and it helped a little bit, but i am still WAY off track, adjusting the knuckles as much as i could by eye and tape measure.

Is my best bet to just go have it professionally aligned for $100? Will this solve my issues?

I am not sure if my axle is center either. I kinda just winged it to get the trackbar to fit and left it that way. No death wobble yet atleast...


O and also, the kit netted me roughly 3.5" it was a 2.5" kit, is being this high going to cause me any drive shaft issues?

 

I would double check that your steering wheel is not 1 full turn off center.

Start with the steering wheel centered as it is now and rotate it fully clockwise, counting the turns until it stops. Then go back to center and count the rotations to stop counter clockwise. They should be the same. I would wager that you are 1 full turn off center, as in you adjusted the knuckle the wrong way when you tried to center the wheel and went to a full turn off center.

Fortunately, if this is the problem its a very easy fix.

 

I agree with BigInBoca, you should be able to get your steering sorted out on your own. There's no reason to pay $100 to straighten your steering wheel. If it netted 3.5" lift, you're steering may still feel flighty so you may want to consider front lower adjustable control arms.

 

Did you set the jeep back down on all four tires before tightening all the control arm, trac bar, sway olinks etc?

If you tighten everything while it was still on the jacks it will bind up.

 

i dont know too much about this first hand but when i was looking into getting a lift on my 11 jk..the salesman for 4wd was trying to get me to buy the same kit and explained to me this very thing would happen...he said it was due to alignment...he said there are instructions to turn stability control off so you can get it aligned...if you need his number to ask him because he does have the same kit in his jeep, just pm me and ill dig up the email

 

make sure your axles are centered using the track bar and a tape measure.
and make sure your tires are pointing straight ahead visually, then look at your steering wheel and if its off adjust the drag link accordingly..
aboslutely no reason to pay $$..
my friend whom i helped do a drag link flip paid ok4wd to align his rig... guess what..
his front and rear axles were over 1/2" off!!

 

Should I center my axle first before fixing the steering?

How much toe in do I want on the front tires? I have them at 1/8" pointed in at the front vs the back right now.


I did not connect sway bar discos or tighten trackbar until the jeep was on the ground. I do not have control arms to ajust.

 

you might need lower control arms to add more caster.
center your axles first. then look from the front to back and make sure your tires are visually pointed foward.. then if the steering wheel is off adjust it last.
also make sure your sway bar is at zero degrees , or upto 5 degrees up, and the links the same length if adjustable.
1/8" toe in is good. i wouldnt go more than that though..

 

i measure off the top of the spring perch in the hole, or off the front of the frame between where the body mount attaches to frame.. depending on tire size.

the control arms i would set EVEN to 23 1/4" from bolt to bolt.

when centering the axle its important to measue from uniform points that are on both sides. and then simply measure to a point on the tire lug. repeat on the other side.

 

When doing the above, that removes a preload on the control arm bushings. If not, you need to correct it along with the centering of the steering wheel.