I have a 2009 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. I live in southern New Jersey and recently had a Skyjacker 4" lift installed at a local custom car shop, along with 35" tires on 20" wheels. Immediately after installation, when I picked up my vehicle, the owner/mechanic said that my jeep would require both an alignment and a new steering stabilizer to make the ride better.

As soon as I started driving it, I noticed that it was extremely rough ride, very flighty, steering wheel was far from being centered, traction control comes on while turning, and anytime I hit a pothole, my jeep starts to violently shake to the point where I have to pull over. I did notice that the tires were at 50 psi, so I aired down to 30, which made it a somewhat softer ride.

I took it to a local tire shop for an alignment, and after 2 hours, they apologized and said that they were unable to do an alignment for some unknown reason and they didn't understand why, just that there's "something" wrong with my jeep. They said when they tried to adjust the toe in on one side, the other side was affected, and undid what they had just done. They then asked "how the hell are you able to drive that thing? it's all over the road." And their final advice was to get a new steering stabilizer, which they said will more than likely fix the problem.

Any advice is greatly appreciated....

 

Does your kit have adjustable control arms? At 4" of lift your caster will be way low and the Jeep will handle very poorly. If it doesn't, you will need front lowers. Or, get geo correction brackets.

The steering can be easily centered and that should fix the traction control issue.

No shop should hand a Jeep over in that condition. At the very least, they should have centered the steering wheel. Not safe to drive.

 

Sounds like you have a mess on your hands and your custom shop doesnt know what it is doing. Just wait for when your driveshafts go.
Your problems arise from buying an incomplete kit that does not address steering and sound like may have not been installed correctly. Knowing what model of 4" kit you actually have will help in finding the fixes for you.

There is a link at the bottom of my signature that I would encourage you to read to give you some knowledge of your suspension and maybe help you determine what you need.

 

The lift kit installed was the Skyjacker 4" Kit #JK40BPH-R

Parts Included:
2 Front Hydro Shocks
2 Rear Hydro Shocks
2 Front Coil Springs
2 Rear Coil Springs
1 Front Track Bar Brace
1 Rear Track Bar Brace
1 Front Track Bar Bracket
1 Rear Track Bar Bracket
2 Front Cam Bolts
2 Rear Cam Bolts
1 Brake Line Bracket
1 Drop Pitman Arm

 

I am seeing about $2k worth of parts you are going to need to make that thing right. Is is in your budget?

 

Since you got a 4" lift, you need additional items in order to make it safe to drive. Without these it would be dangerous.

I agree that they should have at least done SOMETHING to help you out at that time, not just send you out on the road where others could be hurt.

 

$2,000.00 ??? OMFG.....yea, that is definitely not in my budget. This is my daily driver, and my only transportation for work, or for seeing my children who live almost 2 hours away. I'm currently injured & out of work, and I don't really have any money, but I do need to get this fixed.

 

got your stock parts?

 

No, I do not have my stock parts.

 

IF that is the case then I would take that kit back off and have a simple 2" budget boost lift with shock extenders installed. I am sorry this is not what you wanted to hear.