Clayton Offroad Spring Install Problems

[Clayton Off Road]

I still have a 1/2 lean to the passenger with my 3.5 Clayton Lift. It also rode pretty rough with swaying on the highway. I've been adding Rock Krawler parts, Such as the Rear Track Bar relocation Bracket, Carrier Bearing Drop Bracket, Front Correction Pads, JL/JT Rubicon No Limits Sway Bar Links that allow 60* of misalignment, which will allow full movement of the axle without the potential of binding in the sway bar links, which would limit travel. The spring will soon be replaced with Synergy, Rock Krawler, or Evo Plush ride. The Clayton springs, I think, are great for overlanding with a heavy load, but I need both a Rock Crawler/Mud Pit Driving, and the ability to ride 80 mph on the highway without swaying all over the place and getting rattled to death by the springs. Just my opinion after running the Clayton 3.5 Overland kit. The Rock Krawler Parts have made a huge difference in the ride quality.

Hey there, sorry to hear you were having issues, that definitely isn't the type of feedback we usually hear with our products, and if you want to shoot us an email with some pictures or even give us a call we can help you figure out what's going on. While we do sell some options that are great for overlanding/heavy builds, most of our customers are just normal everyday builds mostly used for daily driving, and we have an amazing 4.9 rating on almost every review platform you can find because our products just work really well. If something isn't working however, we're happy to do whatever we can to help and solve the issue!

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[Ordnanceman20]

Hey there, sorry to hear you were having issues, that definitely isn't the type of feedback we usually hear with our products, and if you want to shoot us an email with some pictures or even give us a call we can help you figure out what's going on. While we do sell some options that are great for overlanding/heavy builds, most of our customers are just normal everyday builds mostly used for daily driving, and we have an amazing 4.9 rating on almost every review platform you can find because our products just work really well. If something isn't working, however, we're happy to do whatever we can to help and solve the issue!

Hello, I just wanted to address some issues I had in response to your reply. Most Suspension lifts (Rock Krawler, Metal Cloak, AEV, etc with 3.5 or higher come with a rear track bar relocation bracket to correct the vehicle's roll center, which improves handling, reduces rear-end wag, and centers the rear axle. Why do you not have one in your 3.5 Overland? Most come with a Carrier Drop bracket or spacer, as well as for a JT with a multi-piece driveshaft; adjusting only the differential angle is an incomplete solution. It ignores the increased angle at the carrier bearing caused by the lift and can cause vibrations or premature wear to persist. Also, why do I have to cut and assemble the front sway bar endlinks on a $3200 lift? Why not have already assembled and adjustable ones? Once again, other Manufacturers don't make you do that. The Quality of your lifts is great, no doubt. but talking to other Clayton lift owners at events, a lot have experienced the same issues and use other parts to fix them. Also Rock Krawler and Metal Cloak address the Passenger lean by adding rear correction pads with a taller passenger pad. Not knocking your suspension, The Control arms are super heavy-duty and take any punishment I have run them through, Track bars are great, springs are a little stiff for my liking - but that's opinion, and I look forward to buying your long arm kit! I just wish you had a more complete suspension that addresses these issues.

 

[sinisterj]

Here is a before and after pic. The truck is sitting on a preexisting AEV 2.5” lift with AEV geometry correction brackets, Clayton front and rear adjustable track bars, and fox 2.0 performance shocks for 2-3” lift. Was only swapping springs as I did not like the AEV springs.

Out of curiosity what made you want to switch from an AEV 2.5 to a Clayton 2.5?

 

[Clayton Off Road]

Hello, I just wanted to address some issues I had in response to your reply. Most Suspension lifts (Rock Krawler, Metal Cloak, AEV, etc with 3.5 or higher come with a rear track bar relocation bracket to correct the vehicle's roll center, which improves handling, reduces rear-end wag, and centers the rear axle. Why do you not have one in your 3.5 Overland? Most come with a Carrier Drop bracket or spacer, as well as for a JT with a multi-piece driveshaft; adjusting only the differential angle is an incomplete solution. It ignores the increased angle at the carrier bearing caused by the lift and can cause vibrations or premature wear to persist. Also, why do I have to cut and assemble the front sway bar endlinks on a $3200 lift? Why not have already assembled and adjustable ones? Once again, other Manufacturers don't make you do that. The Quality of your lifts is great, no doubt. but talking to other Clayton lift owners at events, a lot have experienced the same issues and use other parts to fix them. Also Rock Krawler and Metal Cloak address the Passenger lean by adding rear correction pads with a taller passenger pad. Not knocking your suspension, The Control arms are super heavy-duty and take any punishment I have run them through, Track bars are great, springs are a little stiff for my liking - but that's opinion, and I look forward to buying your long arm kit! I just wish you had a more complete suspension that addresses these issues.

Hello, appreciate your feedback, I'll do my best to respond to all of your points the best that I can.

So to start, while we have always been focused on being a premium brand, we have also always made customer service a top priority, and sometimes that means not forcing or tricking people into buying things that they don't necessarily need. That's not to say additional parts aren't going to provide benefit, as we still offer many of the parts you mentioned, it's just that we have built and have always sold our kits in a way that is perfect for 90% of our customers, and provide the optional upgrades to the other 10% or so that may want or need them.

To your point about all of those brands including extra parts in their kits, I just took a quick look at some of the brands mentioned, and they too, for the most part, are still just offering these parts as add-ons or upgrades, not a part of their base kit. We did just launch a brand new site in June, but part of this new site is also making it easier for customers to see more of the optional upgrades we make, and be able to better decide for themselves if it's necessary for their build and their goals.

For the track bar bracket and carrier bearing spacer, in all of our testing, and all our years in selling these kits, we know that you are able to achieve exactly what you need with the adjustable track bars only up to about 3.5/4" of lift, but we would agree that anything over that should include additional bracketry, and is part of the reason we have recently added some of these upgrades to our site early, before we announce and release our 4.5" kits in 2026. We have also found that the carrier bearing spacer provides minimal benefit, and in most cases, it is definitely worth upgrading to aftermarket driveshafts if your build and what you use your Jeep for call for the upgrade.

For the sway bar end links, this is also something we did about 10 or so years ago in an effort to make our kits more consumer friendly, as these are some of the first parts to break or bend for those who off-road their Jeep frequently, and we found it was a lot easier and better received to allow customers to just purchase a $10 rod and put their end links back together, rather than have to shell out hundreds of dollars every single time. I understand some don't like to make that cut, but it is fairly simple and quick, and maybe in the future we will bring in some other options for those who are not worried about breaking or replacing end links.

To sum everything up, we know our kit works great, and we have had amazing feedback on the Overland Plus and Premium short arm kits since introducing them more than 15 years ago, and so the recipe has not changed, other than a few upgrades and tweaks when necessary. Our products are simple, built to last, and designed by a team of people who really care about how your Jeep rides.

I really hope this helped to answer your questions or clear up any confusion about why we do certain things, but if you have any questions at all, feel free to give us a call or shoot me a pm, we're always happy to talk!

 

[Ordnanceman20]

I appreciate you taking the time to respond in detail and explain your design choices. However, I still feel that several of the issues I’ve experienced with the 3.5 Overland kit deserve a more direct acknowledgment and solution — especially for customers like myself who expect premium performance from a $3,200 suspension system.


While I understand your reasoning that 90% of your customers may not “need” certain components, the remaining 10% (which includes many serious off-roaders and enthusiasts) shouldn’t have to experience drivability issues or add third-party components just to make the system feel balanced, comfortable, and safe. My Jeep exhibited significant sway, a half-inch passenger lean, and harsh ride quality that was only corrected after adding Rock Krawler components — parts that address suspension geometry your kit does not.


It’s important to note that competitors like Rock Krawler, Evo, and MetalCloak do offer rear track bar brackets, correction pads, and carrier bearing spacers in their comparable 3.5” kits — not as optional “upgrades,” but as essential geometry corrections. Leaving these out puts the onus on customers to diagnose and purchase additional parts after the fact, which doesn’t reflect the premium, complete-system experience your brand is known for.

Regarding sway bar end links — I understand your logic about field-serviceable parts, but most customers purchasing a top-tier kit would expect fully assembled, adjustable links rather than having to cut and assemble them manually. That sort of detail feels more like a budget kit experience, not a premium one.

I’m sharing this not to criticize for the sake of it, but because I genuinely like a lot about your product — But I’d strongly encourage your engineering and marketing teams to take a closer look at what your customers are actually dealing with in real-world applications, especially as more owners report the same Jeep lean issues and handling concerns at events and forums.

 

[Clayton Off Road]

I appreciate you taking the time to respond in detail and explain your design choices. However, I still feel that several of the issues I’ve experienced with the 3.5 Overland kit deserve a more direct acknowledgment and solution — especially for customers like myself who expect premium performance from a $3,200 suspension system.


While I understand your reasoning that 90% of your customers may not “need” certain components, the remaining 10% (which includes many serious off-roaders and enthusiasts) shouldn’t have to experience drivability issues or add third-party components just to make the system feel balanced, comfortable, and safe. My Jeep exhibited significant sway, a half-inch passenger lean, and harsh ride quality that was only corrected after adding Rock Krawler components — parts that address suspension geometry your kit does not.


It’s important to note that competitors like Rock Krawler, Evo, and MetalCloak do offer rear track bar brackets, correction pads, and carrier bearing spacers in their comparable 3.5” kits — not as optional “upgrades,” but as essential geometry corrections. Leaving these out puts the onus on customers to diagnose and purchase additional parts after the fact, which doesn’t reflect the premium, complete-system experience your brand is known for.

Regarding sway bar end links — I understand your logic about field-serviceable parts, but most customers purchasing a top-tier kit would expect fully assembled, adjustable links rather than having to cut and assemble them manually. That sort of detail feels more like a budget kit experience, not a premium one.

I’m sharing this not to criticize for the sake of it, but because I genuinely like a lot about your product — But I’d strongly encourage your engineering and marketing teams to take a closer look at what your customers are actually dealing with in real-world applications, especially as more owners report the same Jeep lean issues and handling concerns at events and forums.

As is mentioned in that AI breakdown, the only time we've really ever experienced issues is when paired with certain shocks, especially Falcon, as even though they are very popular, they could end up being too firm for some people when paired with our coils.

It's also important to mention that AI, especially Google's search AI, is heavily influenced or biased by the way you phrase your question and will provide answers based on the context of your initial inquiry. With that being said, I can tell from the initial response you received from your search that you looked something up like "why is Clayton's suspension bad" or something similar, and so it gave you exactly what you were looking for.

We appreciate your feedback, and I will pass along this information to engineering, but again I will say we that we maintain our 5 star rating on pretty much every platform because our kits deliver an excellent ride and we really care about the customer experience.

I understand there is no one-size-fits-all all for every customer when it comes to how a Jeep is supposed to ride, but we do our best to make sure we are hitting all of the marks when considering what is important for most Jeep owners looking for a lift with excellent road manners!

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

...It’s important to note that competitors like Rock Krawler, Evo, and MetalCloak do offer rear track bar brackets, correction pads, and carrier bearing spacers in their comparable 3.5” kits — not as optional “upgrades,” but as essential geometry corrections. ...

I just looked at Rock Krawler 3" and 4.5" kits.

I don't see a carrier bearing spacer included with any of them.

There also isn't a rear track bar included, so they're including the bracket to center the rear axle.

RK 3" Overland lift components:

RK 4.5" Adventure lift components:

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