My JK was recently involved in a front end accident on the drivers side. The damages included the front bumper & fender, the front drivers side wheel & the bracket on the axle that holds the lower control arm was bent. The body shop fixed the bent bracket on the axle by bending in back (which saved me a ton of money) rather than replacing the axle. The lower control arm was also replaced. The jeep drives fine, no pulling or leaning. Everything felt ok, until yesterday.

So now my question. Yesterday I installed a set of 35" tires on 15" wheels with the correct 3.75" backspacing. I now have an issue with the tire rubbing the frame (drivers side only) behind the wheel. But this only happens @ full turn. Its also only on the drivers side. Passenger side has no rubbing issues.

Does anyone have an idea of what might be causing the rub?

I appreciate any advice

-tfb

 

How much of a lift? Adjustable track bar? How much off center is your axle after lift?

 

still running with the stock suspension. (flat flares, stubby bumper, trimmed rubi rails & pinch seam).

 

Do some measurements of the tire in relation to various spots in the fenderwell.

Based on what you said above- I would suggest checking out your control arms on the driver's side as well to ensure they aren't bent as well.

 

thank you for your reply, I should have also mentioned that the lower control arm was also replaced on the drivers side

 

With 35" tires and no lift I would be surprised if you were not rubbing somewhere even with your backspacing. Take some measurements and if everything checks out just add a couple washers to your steer stops.

 

adjusting the steer stops would most likely fix, or rather "hide" the problem... I suspect the issue is elsewhere as the rubbing occurs only on the drivers side. To me that indicates something else is out of whack. Im thinking perhaps it could be the track bar... anything else i should look at?

 

I still can't identify the cause of the rub. Visual inspection doesn't show any signs of bending in either track bar bracket (axel / frame). Does anyone have a stock measurement between the 2 brackets? Im really scratching my head on this one. Also, I am ready to install a TF 2.5 coil lift that arrived today. Im concerned about what affect this may have, as lifting the jk will alter the angle of the track bar (shifting the axle some more?)... scratching my head

 

UPDATE** - Today I took an accurate measurement from the outside of the wheel (using a straight edge) to the frame on both sides. Both measurements were identical, which tells me that my axle is indeed centered and the problem is not related to the track bar or track bar brackets.

I then measured from the tire to the body seams in the wheel well. - This measured 4.5" on the drivers side & 5" on the passenger side.

The wheel on the side that was hit (drivers), is sitting back further in the wheel well.

What could cause this?

The lower control arm bracket was straightened and new control arms ( upper & lower ) were installed after the accident.

 

Does the jk have steering stops?