So I recently just bought a 2010 2-door JK and have begun to make some modifications to it. I ordered a boat load of parts, all of which are finally installed. One of the parts installed is a Rough Country 4 inch lift (682S - 4in Suspension Lift Kit for 07-16 Jeep JK Wrangler [682S] | Rough Country Suspension Systems®). The Jeep looks great; however, driving it...not so much. To say it is scary to drive is a complete understatement. The steering is beyond flighty and a nightmare to keep between the lines. I also get a bad steering shake around 35 mph. The Jeep has been aligned and I used my AEV Procal to center the steering wheel, both of which helped a bit but it is still just an accident waiting to happen. Upon further research, I found that part of the problem could be the drop pitman arm. Also, I learned that ditching the track bar relocation bracket and getting an adjustable track bar would fix this issue. Can anyone confirm this? I plan on loosening and retorquing all fasteners tomorrow or the day after since they were not tightened to spec while under the weight of the vehicle which I found to also be a possible cause to the problem I'm experiencing. Any and all feedback is more than welcome!

 

What did your alignment sheet show for caster?

 

An adjustable trackbar will really help dial in where your axle sits relative to the jeep but using axle side brackets help out more. The brackets will get your axle where they should be and at the same time raising roll center which is a good thing with a lifted jeep.

The drop pitman arm is not a solution in the front. At 4" you're in the territory for a proper draglink flip. There are many ways to go about this but you'll need to check for clearance at the frame. Typically 3" bumpstops are needed without clearancing the frame

Running 4" on a short wheelbase though is probably what's causing your shitty steering. Like mentioned your caster is probably out of whack. You can run adjustable arms, correction brackets, get shorter coils (best option) or go all out & get an aftermarket caster corrected housing lol

 

I'm having the same problems with a 3.5 inch lift and 33s

 

To much lift... WAY to much CHEAP lift especially for a 2 door.

In a nutshell..

 

The alignment came back as follows:

Basically I'm looking for a cost effective fix that will correct the issue yet still be a safe fix. I guess at this point I'm looking to turn my cheap lift into a not-so-cheap lift with the proper components to correct the issues.

 

Caster is very low. Which specific parts came in the lift? (There should have been new control arms, or cam bolts to adjust the caster)

The drop pitman and the front trackbar bracket work together. If you remove the pitman and go back to stock, you need to remove that bracket at the same time!! Get an adj trackbar to center the axle, then drive it for a while. That will give you time to decide if you want to do a draglink flip.

 

Caster is part of your problem. It should be +3.7° to +4.7°.

 

There are several things that could cause that. I am running a 3.5" lift on 35s and it actually drives just as good as stock, but my lift came with a new front and rear adjustable track bar and several other things that may have helped. I'm not sure exactly what came with yours. I'm not sure about rough country lifts. I haven't dealt with them on jeeps at all.

 

Adjustable front control arms should work. What front end components were changed with the lift ?