Control arm drop brackets?

[jc99]

Thanks, good info!

So I'll be using the factory uppers, and either the factory lowers or the Mopar 2" lift slightly longer lowers. Would one be better than the other? Would they be too long with the drop brackets or would the extra length help?

I'd start with the drop brackets with the upper arms on the middle hole if you are about 3" lift. Then you have the option to put the longer LCAs in if you need to roll the caster back a bit. Swapping out the lowers is pretty easy one at a time on the ground once the brackets are in. That way you can see how it rides with the brackets first. You could also move the UCAs to the top hole as well if you need more caster since you don't have adjustable arms, but that is probably not necessary and would mess with the geometry of the upper vs the lower arms.

You should also get an alignment shop to check your caster after you get the brackets in, generally it seems 5.5-6.5 is a good target range. The higher caster helps with steering stability and tracking on the highway.

Here is a snipit from another thread where Rock Krawler posted what they recommend:

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

Get the alighnment shop to check your toe as well unless you do that yourself.

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[jc99]

Thanks, I was looking at the Metal Cloaks, it looks like those have three holes if I'm looking at them correctly?

Metalcloak | JL Wrangler Geometry Correction Bracket

Ranchos 90 bux cheaper. Not sure if there is much different on the Metal cloak ones.....

Also found some factory alignment specs for ya as a reference (for the JL but Jt likely similar)
Factory caster ranges from 4.8 to 5.35 depending on the model

 

[be77solo]

Ranchos 90 bux cheaper. Not sure if there is much different on the Metal cloak ones.....

Also found some factory alignment specs for ya as a reference (for the JL but Jt likely similar)
Factory caster ranges from 4.8 to 5.35 depending on the model

Cool, thanks, I'll save this for reference with the alignment.

Yeah, I've heard good things about the Rancho brackets and would go with them, but Metalcloak is having a good Black Friday sale and discounts, so gets them to $215 shipped. I've already got their sway bar reinforcement brackets, so my vanity side will now have them match their distinct gold zinc finish since they are on sale haha

Thanks again for all the great info!

 

[MojaveBert]

You and I are having the SAME issue my friend. Exactly the same, it’s kinda weird.
I have the 3.5 Clayton Overland kit which gave me over 4” in height and I’m running 38” Patagonias. It was fine for a while then I started to get some shakes, not death wobble but def some shakes. So I started to throw money at it… 2.5 ton Apex aluminum steering(drag link & tie rod), new ball joints, Reid racing knuckles, Yeti track bar (much beefier than Clayton), Fox ATS 2.0 stabilizer, SteerSmarts track bar relocation, drag link flip kit, Steersmarts sector brace and most recently the drop brackets…

After all that I have much less of an issue but it’s definitely still there. I’ve taken it it to 2 4x4 shops both said everything is installed correctly and everything is torqued properly, I’ve also had it aligned 3 times and have had it balanced 2 times recently. Tried all air pressures and have set the castor to all angles just to see what sticks.

I’m out of ideas and so are the shops lol

I found a custom Jeep builder here in SD that is going to look at it for me next week. I’ll let you know if he figures out anything.

I have been having a slight wobble going over specific bumps on my AEV lift with Clayton lowers and a track bar. It made no sense but I replaced the Clayton stuff with oem and the wobble stopped completely. I know everything was tight with the Clayton stuff just as it is now with oem. I am waiting for word from Clayton but it seems like searching “Clayton wobble” comes up with similar complaints. Maybe give that a try?

 

[Lunentucker]

I have been having a slight wobble going over specific bumps on my AEV lift with Clayton lowers and a track bar. It made no sense but I replaced the Clayton stuff with oem and the wobble stopped completely. I know everything was tight with the Clayton stuff just as it is now with oem. I am waiting for word from Clayton but it seems like searching “Clayton wobble” comes up with similar complaints. Maybe give that a try?

I have noticed that many DW complaints seem to be associated with Clayton lifts. Not sure what's going on there.

 

[NERokToy]

I have noticed that many DW complaints seem to be associated with Clayton lifts. Not sure what's going on there.

I'm sure they specify to get an alignment after the install, but it makes me wonder what the recommended starting point for their control arm lengths puts the caster at

 

[Jeep JT]

UPDATE! CONTROL ARM DROP BRACKETS FIXED ALL OF IT! Yes I'm yelling ....I'm so happy.

So glad for you I know it's very frustrating I have the same problem I'm runing 40's now I'm going to order the drop brackets for my JT. Thanks for the update

 

[Firehawkcpo]

I used brand x and MC geo correction brackets and I found the design of the MC are better because of a sheer condition I had with brand x. The MC brackets are staggered to mount in the factory mounts where the other brand was sandwiched in the factory mounts. Think of twisting the geo bracket and that is how it broke at the lower right lca. I don't baja the Jeeps but I do some rock riding.

 

[RKcreative]

I have been having a slight wobble going over specific bumps on my AEV lift with Clayton lowers and a track bar. It made no sense but I replaced the Clayton stuff with oem and the wobble stopped completely. I know everything was tight with the Clayton stuff just as it is now with oem. I am waiting for word from Clayton but it seems like searching “Clayton wobble” comes up with similar complaints. Maybe give that a try?

I've experienced exactly that with my JTRD running a clayton overland lift kit paired with the Fox Performance Elite 2.5s. I've upgraded my steering & stabilizer, added rancho geo brackets and just recently even replaced the balljoints with TF HD set of uppers and lowers and I was still getting the poor on road dampening when going over small potholes or bumps.

I think the shock valving has big role, Clayton springs have a pretty high spring rate and off the shelf shocks aren't tuned for it. If you're running AEV springs I would also look into getting their custom tuned Bilstein shocks.

I went down the rabbit hole researching this. Assuming everything is tight and aligned right, adjusting the air pressure, especially when running tires with higher load rating helps tremendously. Here is a calculator you can use:

https://tiresize.com/pressure-calculator/

Ultimately, the best solution will be to also adjust the dampening tune on your shocks to be in tune with your spring rates.

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