Front axle off-center after lift.

[Splenda]

Yesterday, I noticed that my front axle was slightly off center. I was not sure where to measure. I ended up measuring from the inside of the tire to the upper coil spring perch. I know this is not a reliable measurement because it changes as the tire is turned. Is there a specific place where I can measure the distance on each side that does not change? One side was an inch more than the other, causing me to have to shift the axle 1/2" toward the driver's side. I also had to adjust the drag link to move the steering wheel back to center.

Sponsored

 

[Greg_L]

Sounds like you handled it. No worries.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Your method works fine, just try to get the wheels straight as you can before you measure and it will be good enough. The spring perch is pretty much in line with the ball joints so there will be the least variance there if the wheels aren't perfectly straight. You could measure front of tire to frame and back of tire to frame on both sides as a cross check but it's not that critical anyway.

 

[GI Grandpa]

How much did you lift it? Did the lift kit comes with track bar extension brackets?
Track Bar & Stabilizer Relocation Bracket JL JT Shop Now | Metalcloak

 

[Zachanadandy]

How much did you lift it? Did the lift kit comes with track bar extension brackets?
Track Bar & Stabilizer Relocation Bracket JL JT Shop Now | Metalcloak

You can't run a track bar relocation on the front axle without flipping the drag link. You're better off running an adjustable track bar to center the axle unless you have enough lift to clear the flipped drag link.

 

[Splenda]

How much did you lift it? Did the lift kit comes with track bar extension brackets?
Track Bar & Stabilizer Relocation Bracket JL JT Shop Now | Metalcloak

The front end is lifted about 4". The lift came with an adjustable front track bar. I think the fact that it was off-center was my fault. I should have unbolted the stock track bar with the vehicle still on the ground. This ensures that the axle is still centered under the vehicle when it is raised. It seems to be all centered up now.

My next question is how do I ensure that my axle is perfectly square in the vehicle? I set the upper and lower control arms to the recommended lengths when I installed the lift. I have no idea what my caster currently is, but I also don't want to be crab walking down the road due to the axle being crooked. I'm just trying to get everything as close to perfect as I can (and all the upgrades done) before I take it in for an official alignment.

I do suspect that my caster is pretty good because bump steer is minimal, even with 37s and a lot of poke, and over the past 1500 miles since the lift was installed, the steering has been almost as good as stock with no peculiarities.

Sponsored