JT alignment specs

[ShadowsPapa]

how do you measure caster on the Gladiator? do you need special tools?

Pretty much. It's calculated. Turn the wheels xx degrees left, take a measurement, turn them xx degrees to the right, take a measurement, and it's calculated from that (at least on the equipment I used to use - the old Bear alignment equipment.)
I suppose you COULD have your truck on perfectly level ground, 100% level, and somehow measure the number of degrees off perfectly vertical the ball joints are but wow.
It's no different on the Gladiator than it is on ANY vehicle. It's how far behind (or ahead) the of vertical the steering axis is.

You can buy cheap stuff on Amazon, etc. to check such things but I'm hesitant to say they'd be 100% accurate - user abilities play a role in accuracy.

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[pluikens]

how do you measure caster on the Gladiator? do you need special tools?

Not 100% accurate but close enough for the range of caster I'm looking for: I put a long 2x4 on the ground with an angle gauge to measure the angle that my truck is at. Then I put the angle gauge on the top of my axle knuckle to find the angle. The difference is the caster.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Not 100% accurate but close enough for the range of caster I'm looking for: I put a long 2x4 on the ground with an angle gauge to measure the angle that my truck is at. Then I put the angle gauge on the top of my axle knuckle to find the angle. The difference is the caster.

That's a good idea - could be pretty close on these.

If we can assume that the flats on the ball joints are true, you could likely use those or the flats on the ends of the axle that the ball joints are pressed into - an inclinometer or angle gauge (electronic ones especially, they are small and will lock the reading for you) might work pretty well.
Since I have the dealer shop printout of my JT - I could use my electronic angle gauge and see how close that gets me.
I've got the tools to check driveline angles and such since that's critical on my 4x4 car with really short driveshaft so have several tools I could use but found the electronic one to be best - I use it to set the angle on my table saw blade, pinion angles, etc. and it's got a magnetic base.

I think I will give that a try to see how close it comes out to what the dealer gave me.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Perhaps to compensate for road crown? Some areas still have a lot of road with crown and a vehicle aligned symmetrically will pull to the right due to the crown. A vehicle tends to "pull" to the side with less caster - that's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.

The amount of difference isn't large - I can't think of any other reason other the road crown or "lean" of many highways.

This is my one remaining problem with the mopar lift: pulls to the right, especially on crowned roads. I get a little left pull of road banked to the left, but LOTS of right pull the other way. Also tends to “bounce” to the right over dips. Caster is (and has been) symmetrical at 6.2, which I thought was odd not to dial-in some left bias to eliminate that.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is my one remaining problem with the mopar lift: pulls to the right, especially on crowned roads. I get a little left pull of road banked to the left, but LOTS of right pull the other way. Also tends to “bounce” to the right over dips. Caster is (and has been) symmetrical at 6.2, which I thought was odd not to dial-in some left bias to eliminate that.

That's almost describing mine. A bit of a pull to the right on crowned roads - almost a pull to the left when in the left lane. But if you are on a crowned road it does want to "lead" that way.
On a perfectly flat road it does go straight and the steering wheel is straight.
But since most of our roads have a crown to them or lean to the right.............

Oddly, my alignment indicates it shouldn't have any pull at all. Well, it doesn't when you are on a FLAT road.

 

[MJDGator]

how do you measure caster on the Gladiator? do you need special tools?

For those looking for a quick and easy way to measure the angles there is an app called Angle Meter that you can download on your phone. You can even measure relative angles. So it 0's out on the surface your vehicle is on and then you measure your caster angle relative to the angle already built in by the parking surface. Probably not super accurate but should get you in the ball park.

 

[WXman]

I have put a 2" leveling kit on three of these now. A JLU and two JTs. In every case the steering and handling improved with better tracking down the road. I'm highly suspicious of the caster setting when these leave the assembly line.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have put a 2" leveling kit on three of these now. A JLU and two JTs. In every case the steering and handling improved with better tracking down the road. I'm highly suspicious of the caster setting when these leave the assembly line.

I'm looking to order a pair of the lift kit lower control arms. Mine has no play but I suspect even with my caster sitting at 4.5 and 4.25 I could do better. I'm just above minimum if I recall the caster specs correctly for these things.

I don't know how much those 1/4" longer arms typically add - I know it varies with the truck and how much lift is on them, but it can't hurt.

 

[DocMike]

Are the measurements for the track bar ad LCA from center to center of the eyelet or over all lengths?

Thank you!

Our recommendation would be:
Front Track Bar 2.5” lift – 34 3/16”
Front Lower Control Arms 2.5” lift heights – 24 1/4“
Front Upper Control Arms 2.5” lift heights – 20 7/16”

2.5” Lift Height: 4.8 to 6.35 degrees of Caster with a .2 to .4 Cross Caster Split (.2 to .4 degrees more caster on the pass. side than the driver’s side.)

Tow: 0 to slightly towed in but within factory specifications

 

[MJDGator]

How important is it to find a Jeep specialty shop to do an alignment after installing a lift vs a regular tire shop? An alignment is an alignment right?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

How important is it to find a Jeep specialty shop to do an alignment after installing a lift vs a regular tire shop? An alignment is an alignment right?

All any shop can do is check things, set toe and center the steering wheel. They can't set caster or camber. So they can check it but any shop that does alignments at all (but who is worth a damn) should be able to check it, set toe and center the steering wheel.

It's got the same steering and suspension design up front as early Grand Cherokees. Hard to imagine a shop that's never checked alignment on some sort of a Jeep vehicle.

Caster can't be changed without 3rd party parts, camber can't be changed without special ball joints being installed. So no one can really do that much.

 

[jingle]

I just installed a TeraFlex 1.5 inch leveling kit on my 2020 Rubicon. Afterwords I had it aligned and all of these torque settings checked. It seems to pull terribly to the right and the steering seems very loose. I talked to the jeep dealer that did the installation, and they drove it and said everything seems to be fine. I’ve had the truck for almost 2 years now and it came with the stock to 285/70/R17 tires which are almost 33 inches tall. Now I have BFG K02 tires that are 35/12.50/R18s.

Any suggestions on how to improve the steering experience after the leveling kit? I reached out to TeraFlex and their support suggested lower control arm replacements.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I just installed a TeraFlex 1.5 inch leveling kit on my 2020 Rubicon. Afterwords I had it aligned and all of these torque settings checked. It seems to pull terribly to the right and the steering seems very loose. I talked to the jeep dealer that did the installation, and they drove it and said everything seems to be fine. I’ve had the truck for almost 2 years now and it came with the stock to 285/70/R17 tires which are almost 33 inches tall. Now I have BFG K02 tires that are 35/12.50/R18s.

Any suggestions on how to improve the steering experience after the leveling kit? I reached out to TeraFlex and their support suggested lower control arm replacements.

Question -
Did you get a copy of the alignment sheet - that shows your current settings?
By loose - do you mean the steering wheel has to be moved to either side quite a bit before you feel the truck turning? Or that it's wandering?

The pull is not likely to be related at all to the "lift" on the front but is more likely due to tires.

 

[jingle]

Question -
Did you get a copy of the alignment sheet - that shows your current settings?
By loose - do you mean the steering wheel has to be moved to either side quite a bit before you feel the truck turning? Or that it's wandering?

The pull is not likely to be related at all to the "lift" on the front but is more likely due to tires.

i did not get a report. I would say more pulling to the right and wandering. It was always a little loose but tolerable. Combine that with the pulling and wandering, it almost feels unsafe.

FWIW - the tires are around 40 psi.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

i did not get a report. I would say more pulling to the right and wandering. It was always a little loose but tolerable. Combine that with the pulling and wandering, it almost feels unsafe.

FWIW - the tires are around 40 psi.

That tire pressure seems high for that size. I've got 275/65R18 on mine now and I run lower pressure than that. Highest I'd run in mine would be 36-37 when towing, otherwise I run less pressure.
General rule is larger tires, lower pressure. My tires are less than 33s and only about 11" wide, so tires like yours should run lower pressure than mine.
Did a dealer or tire dealer set them that high?

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