leveling kit and alignment

[Stan H]

Finally put a Teraflex 1.5" leveling kit on my 2022 Overland. Took it out for a road test. It seems to track the same as before even at 85mph. It brakes straight and seems to have no vibration at any speed. Steering wheel is center with wheels straight. I've read some will get an alignment and then the problems begin. Anyone done a leveling kit and skipped the alignment with no problems?

I did an entire 2.5" Terra flex lift with new 0-6"lift track bar new front and rear sway bar end links new lower control arms(my uncle & I adjusted them exact to 5.4° degrees and all new Falcon shocks all way around . .Then we adjusted the track bar and then the drag link to finish the steering wheel straightening. 35x12.50x17 tires and new steel rims NO ALIGNMENT.
Drives straight as an arrow and as fast as I want to go. So I guess I'm one of the guys who didnt.

I will add that my Uncle has Done sooo many mods A professional mechanic of over 35 yrs. Suspension mods on Jeeps,Ford and Chevy trucks, etc... He is a master mechanic his head knowledge was a great help so I guess I had a bit of an advantage.

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[Camaroboi13]

(my uncle & I adjusted them exact to 5.4° degrees.. .Then we adjusted the track bar and then the drag link to finish the steering wheel straightening… NO ALIGNMENT.

Hate to tell you this but what you did was an alignment ?‍

You don’t have to do all of it, but you’re still aligning the vehicle

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I did an entire 2.5" Terra flex lift with new 0-6"lift track bar new front and rear sway bar end links new lower control arms(my uncle & I adjusted them exact to 5.4° degrees and all new Falcon shocks all way around . .Then we adjusted the track bar and then the drag link to finish the steering wheel straightening. 35x12.50x17 tires and new steel rims NO ALIGNMENT.
Drives straight as an arrow and as fast as I want to go. So I guess I'm one of the guys who didnt.

I will add that my Uncle has Done sooo many mods A professional mechanic of over 35 yrs. Suspension mods on Jeeps,Ford and Chevy trucks, etc... He is a master mechanic his head knowledge was a great help so I guess I had a bit of an advantage.

As already said - alignment includes caster - which you set to 5.4, and steering wheel centering. You did about as much as a dealer can do - although they'd not have the advantage of adjustable control arms on a stock Jeep.
So yes, you did an alignment.
All you didn't do was "check the other angles". Oh, well.

 

[Stan H]

Hate to tell you this but what you did was an alignment ?‍

You don’t have to do all of it, but you’re still aligning the vehicle

I would say you are correct ? . Well how's about I say I didn't pay a shop to do it ?

 

[Camaroboi13]

I would say you are correct ? . Well how's about I say I didn't pay a shop to do it ?

There it is ? im good with that ??

having a shop do ANYTHING outside of warranty work is beyond me

 

[Gvsukids]

having a shop do ANYTHING outside of warranty work is beyond me

Not everyone has the tools, knowledge, or time.

 

[Stan H]

Not everyone has the tools, knowledge, or time.

Well, I definantly cheated having my uncle and his gauges and crap to help me . We done the front in 5.5hrs. The rear about 3.5-4hrs. . Over a period of 2 days . You should see my Uncles Garage and humongous tool boxes lift and everything else make your teeth sweat ?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Not everyone has the tools, knowledge, or time.

Not to mention many shops actually do good work.

I don't get the "I can always do better than any shop" bit.
Some of the shadetree stuff I see tells me, no, you can't. You'd like to think so, and admitting otherwise is far less manly and we gotta prove how manly we are by working on our own Jeeps.

Any business is made up of the individual people who work there. There might be a stinker in a given shop and you might be unlucky enough to get that person on that day, but generally, I've had good luck.
I have too many other things to do to always do everything myself. I've started to move away from that mode "I'll do it myself no matter what it is". It buried me in work and is killing me trying to take it all on.
If you transferred that to other businesses, you'd never eat out, you'd never have anyone else do anything else, ever.

I also refer back to a prior comment - when I see some of the (removed so as to not offend) - but see how it's being done, yeah, no way in hell I'll ever buy a used Jeep. Not because of the dealers, but because of the previous JEEP owners. I've seen too much of how things get done. And then those youtube videos scare the shit out of me - people actually watch and believe them.

OK, time for a break to go watch some of Scotty's youtube videos and learn how and where Jeep transmissions are made..... he must know his stuff, look at the followers and likes! A few months ago I learned that our transmissions are made in Austria.

 

[red/green hawk]

Got the same leveling kit in 2020, got an alignment, no problems. Shoot, I get an alignment done everytime I get new tires on any vehicle I've ever had...besides getting an alignment done is probably the cheapest "mod" you can do on your rig.

 

[Gvsukids]

no way in hell I'll ever buy a used Jeep. Not because of the dealers, but because of the previous JEEP owners

Friend bought used JK that was sold for sxs. Jeep shows signs of being used and they've already replaced front axles and shocks were incorrectly installed. And there's clicking noises up front.

Got the same leveling kit in 2020, got an alignment, no problems. Shoot, I get an alignment done everytime I get new tires on any vehicle I've ever had...besides getting an alignment done is probably the cheapest "mod" you can do on your rig.

Needed to on my Pilot, but never on the Gladiator.

 

[red/green hawk]

Needed to on my Pilot, but never on the Gladiator.

I suppose I should caveat my previous statement. I take it IN for an alignment. Whether it actually gets aligned depends, on well, the alignment report.

 

[katsrdking]

I'm not college trained, or a certified mechanic, but the guy that helped me was. I don't fret over a vehicle I'm going to use or misuse. If it drives right it's right to me. I don't buy used jeeps either because I trust no one unless I know them. I look at videos from the company that sells the product, ,not everything that's out there. I asked if someone put a leveling kit in and didn't align it and all of the sudden it opened up a bee's nest. The mechanic that helped me said to get the alignment checked. I did, and for doing an unprofessional job, we were dead nuts on everything. There are a lot of shade tree mechanics out there that are a hell of a lot better than school trained mechanics because they use common sense and hands on experience instead of what they learned in class. They are open to new ideas and will try something if it might make their job easier and faster but still get the same results...and doesn't sacrifice quality.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The mechanic that helped me said to get the alignment checked. I did, and for doing an unprofessional job, we were dead nuts on everything.

That's because a leveling kit doesn't change alignment. So it doesn't matter. Alignment is not changed with a lift other than caster, and with that small "lift", chances are it was still in specs.
So in other words - the alignment being fine, of course it was because it was fine before the lift. It doesn't mean things were done fine.

You got it installed, that's it. Good luck.
Again, believe what you want, follow who you want, whatever.
You got it done, it's yours. You don't want to understand, that's fine, it's not my problem.

I'm just trying to explain how that little bit of lift won't change alignment so of course it loose perfect.
And I'm looking out for lurkers and searchers who want to know how to do it correctly, and explain how the alignment on these won't change with a small lift. Caster at the most, but it may stay in specs with a tiny lift.

You confirmed - your guy is one reason I don't buy used Jeeps.

(I only responded because you suggested that the alignment being "dead nuts on" meant the installation was totally fine.)

 

[katsrdking]

You take things too seriously ShadowsPapa. The "unprofessional job" line was pure sarcasm. He is a professional mechanic and has worked for years on jeeps...kinda like you say you've done. I would buy any jeep he worked on because he does do it right and I know him. I wouldn't buy anything from you because I don't know you, but your friends hopefully would. Have a nice day!

 

[Artsifrtsi]

Got the same leveling kit in 2020, got an alignment, no problems. Shoot, I get an alignment done everytime I get new tires on any vehicle I've ever had...besides getting an alignment done is probably the cheapest "mod" you can do on your rig.

You realize on Jeeps like these, there is only one adjustment that can be made with stock control arms for an alignment... setting toe. If you have adjustable control arms, then you can set the castor and the front and rear axle thrust. If Camber is out, you probably need ball joints, or a new axle. That's it, period.

For less money than you pay for an alignment, and less time than it takes to drive to the shop doing the alignment (not including the HD run), you can go to Home depot, buy a couple 36" aluminum 90° brackets, a couple clamps, and a tape measure, and measure/set the toe yourself in your garage or driveway. I check the tow on mine every other tire rotation, as I have the truck on stands at that time anyway... literally adds less than 15 minutes to the rotation. That $80+ that the alignment costs makes for a great dinner out, a tank of gas, a couple bobbles for the Jeeps, etc...

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