Jeep Gladiator Handling Problem

[SkyKing]

I’m writing to inform and share a piece of my Jeep story.

2020 Gladiator Overland.

Not long after I purchased my Gladiator I installed a Teraflex 1.5” leveling kit. I wasn’t thrilled by the factory stance. I understood the reason but felt a leveling kit and new tires would be the start of personalizing my Gladiator. I also ordered a ARE bed cap. I set my Jeep up to flat tow behind my motor coach

https://teraflex.com/jt-1-5-performance-spacer-leveling-kit-no-shocks.html

From the beginning I’ve experienced trouble with OEM steering components and bad gearboxes. I’m on gearbox #3.
I’ve installed SteerSmarts steering and suspension components and multiple aftermarket shocks but the Jeep never handled properly for me, especially at highway speeds. I upgraded the rear sway bar and all four sway bar links.

After almost four years, today I solved my handling problems.
I installed Teraflex adjustable lower control arms.

https://teraflex.com/jl-jt-alpine-short-control-arm-kit-front-lower-0-4-5-lift.html

I adjusted the new arms 3/8” longer than the OEM arms. This length will likely place the caster closer to 8°.

Now the Jeep is rock solid at 80 mph. No more wandering. Time will tell and today wind wasn’t a big factor.

I’ve been told, It appears the root cause of my handling problem was caster. Factory sets caster at approximately 6° by the length of the lower control arms. When I lifter the front end 1.5” it changed the caster on my Jeep enough to be a nightmare at highway speeds.

The tech support at Teraflex guided me to the solution.
Maybe this is common knowledge but might not be for the common Jeep owner. Now I know and I hope this information helps someone else!
Good luck and be safe!
JK

Additional mods to my Gladiator Overland.
SteerSmart:
Yeti HD Tie Rod
Steering Damper
YETI HD Drag Link with Griffin Attenuator
YETI HD Track Bar Front and Rear
Most important mod…
YETI XD™ JT SECTOR SHAFT BRACE WITH FRAME SIDE TRACK BAR REINFORCEMENT BRACKET

BRIDGESTONE DUELER H/T LT275/70R18 M+S

HELLWIG Rear Stabalizer Bar

CORE 4X4 Sway Bar Links Front and Rear

Soon will be installing four FALCON SP2 3.3 Fast Adjust Piggy Back Shocks

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[Minty JL]

At the end of the day its a Jeep not a Corvette.

My Mojave blaffs me on how well it handles. Prior to my JLUR and JTM everything I owned for decades was lowered or slammed to the ground.

Sounds like a conversation for expectation management here. NOT being a troll, but realistic in the salutation

 

[SkyKing]

At the end of the day its a Jeep not a Corvette.

My Mojave blaffs me on how well it handles. Prior to my JLUR and JTM everything I owned for decades was lowered or slammed to the ground.

Sounds like a conversation for expectation management here. NOT being a troll, but realistic in the salutation

No sir, not a conversation to “manage expectations”. A conversation to educate, assist/help others, increase awareness, and very possibly improve the safety factor of the Jeep. I’m glad your rig handles well but mine did not because of a seemingly simple “kit”.

 

[HorneyBadger]

Never seen the castor @6 degrees off the factory line. Usually closer to 4.5 off the factory line. We know that castor is always an issue, especially as soon as you do any lift. Having castor at 5 degrees or higher fixes most of the issues with some people pushing more towards 5.5 to 6 degrees. and castor cant be set unless you install adjustable LCA's or drill the holes for cam bolts. Bigger and heavier tires add to the issue when castor is less than optimal. So the prognosis here is that by lifting, the ride issues was self induced.
BTW, I had a 2020 Overland and had a factory 2" lift installed. Even with the longer LCA's in the kit, the castor was less than optimal and I installed Teraflex adjustable LCA's and move the castor back out to 5-5.5. I didnt have any issues with my steering gearbox and it was the aluminum one. Maybe I was lucky.

 

[Redleg37]

At the end of the day its a Jeep not a Corvette.

My Mojave blaffs me on how well it handles. Prior to my JLUR and JTM everything I owned for decades was lowered or slammed to the ground.

Sounds like a conversation for expectation management here. NOT being a troll, but realistic in the salutation

I traded my C5 corvette in for my gladiator. I don't think the C5 was much faster and, at least at highway speeds and slower, the handling seems pretty similar.

 

[Minty JL]

No sir, not a conversation to “manage expectations”. A conversation to educate, assist/help others, increase awareness, and very possibly improve the safety factor of the Jeep. I’m glad your rig handles well but mine did not because of a seemingly simple “kit”.

Well be aware "simple" or "cheap" will yield those same results,

This is thread is on par with members that discuss the MPGs they get.

You bought a lower end model with over expectation of the the results of paying less up front and then throw the parts cannon at it.

Before you fire back with some smarty ass comment...........go drive a stock Mojave you didn't want to pay extra for up front. I'll wait for a non-bias response.

The money you have spent since then, WAY FAR surpassed what you would have spent for a Mojave on a 2" AEV spacer lift (under $600), Mopar LCAs (under $80) and Fox Ats steering stabilizer (about $400). So tally up the cost of parts/labor you've spent thus far with sub standard results.

My experience and many others will vouch for..........I have what I want, drives like a Cadillac at 80-90 mph and is a trail boss. Feel free to drop into the Mojave section and I'll be validated. I'm not talking shit, straight truth. I have nothing to gain from talking shit......because well I didn't waste money on unneeded shit in my build.

Just like buying stocks, bonds or crypto currencies........due dalliance is you money maker

 

[SkyKing]

Well be aware "simple" or "cheap" will yield those same results,

This is thread is on par with members that discuss the MPGs they get.

You bought a lower end model with over expectation of the the results of paying less up front and then throw the parts cannon at it.

Before you fire back with some smarty ass comment...........go drive a stock Mojave you didn't want to pay extra for up front. I'll wait for a non-bias response.

The money you have spent since then, WAY FAR surpassed what you would have spent for a Mojave on a 2" AEV spacer lift (under $600), Mopar LCAs (under $80) and Fox Ats steering stabilizer (about $400). So tally up the cost of parts/labor you've spent thus far with sub standard results.

My experience and many others will vouch for..........I have what I want, drives like a Cadillac at 80-90 mph and is a trail boss. Feel free to drop into the Mojave section and I'll be validated. I'm not talking shit, straight truth. I have nothing to gain from talking shit......because well I didn't waste money on unneeded shit in my build.

Just like buying stocks, bonds or crypto currencies........due dalliance is you money maker

That model wasn’t available when I was looking. I have a Jeep because it pulls well behind my motor coach.

 

[GeneralMaximus]

Glad you got your ride sorted out. As someone who owned a first generation JK 2-door and then a second gen JK 2-door, I know how unerving a squirly ride can be on the freeway and getting jolted around by every bump in the road. I was blown away when I first drove my Mojave and still cant believe its a Jeep with solid axles.

 

[Minty JL]

That model wasn’t available when I was looking. I have a Jeep because it pulls well behind my motor coach.

Sometimes holding is best bet. Jumping at the first offering is not the best option

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Never seen the castor @6 degrees off the factory line. Usually closer to 4.5 off the factory line. We know that castor is always an issue, especially as soon as you do any lift. Having castor at 5 degrees or higher fixes most of the issues with some people pushing more towards 5.5 to 6 degrees. and castor cant be set unless you install adjustable LCA's or drill the holes for cam bolts. Bigger and heavier tires add to the issue when castor is less than optimal. So the prognosis here is that by lifting, the ride issues was self induced.
BTW, I had a 2020 Overland and had a factory 2" lift installed. Even with the longer LCA's in the kit, the castor was less than optimal and I installed Teraflex adjustable LCA's and move the castor back out to 5-5.5. I didnt have any issues with my steering gearbox and it was the aluminum one. Maybe I was lucky.

Yup - that's where the factory puts it. Even with the longer lower control arms you can't get over 5 degrees.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Sometimes holding is best bet. Jumping at the first offering is not the best option

He took the long route to get there, but in reality caster is the culprit. Our JLUR with xr package had 4.2⁰ from the factory. New lcas went on the 1st weekend as I had already experienced the massive improvement of high 6⁰ caster in our 2019 and new full well it caster be terrible on an xr as they didn't even include the longer lcas with the tallest factory suspension to date. Being that the front of the Mojave is supposed to be just as tall, I'm guessing my factory caster on my new 2023 is crap too. If you think it rides well with longer lcas, you should try control arm drop brackets. Flat control arms AND proper caster result in the best riding Jeep I've ever owned, and it's on 3.5" of lift and 39s.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Well be aware "simple" or "cheap" will yield those same results,

This is thread is on par with members that discuss the MPGs they get.

You bought a lower end model with over expectation of the the results of paying less up front and then throw the parts cannon at it.

Before you fire back with some smarty ass comment...........go drive a stock Mojave you didn't want to pay extra for up front. I'll wait for a non-bias response.

The money you have spent since then, WAY FAR surpassed what you would have spent for a Mojave on a 2" AEV spacer lift (under $600), Mopar LCAs (under $80) and Fox Ats steering stabilizer (about $400). So tally up the cost of parts/labor you've spent thus far with sub standard results.

My experience and many others will vouch for..........I have what I want, drives like a Cadillac at 80-90 mph and is a trail boss. Feel free to drop into the Mojave section and I'll be validated. I'm not talking shit, straight truth. I have nothing to gain from talking shit......because well I didn't waste money on unneeded shit in my build.

Just like buying stocks, bonds or crypto currencies........due dalliance is you money maker

I'm on my 2nd Overland. It handles just fine. Not wandery (my wife would tell me if it was), not loose, handles good on long road trips. My wife even drives it through mountains, day and night, long trips, hours at a time, no issues. It just isn't a problem. And she comes to these being used to a Grand Cherokee.

Some here may even recall my recount of our drive home (60 minutes worth) from Ames with that big derecho coming. I was doing 75 and my wife says "faster!" and I hit 80 and I hear "faster" and I hit 85 and she's like "get around these guys" and she's got me passing cars, trucks, semis, in and out in an extreme wind situation, doing a good 85 or so to get us home before the brunt of it hit. We almost made it - road signs, chunks of trees, road construction barriers, all blowing across the highways and our county road on the way home and it was fantastic. I never felt uneasy about driving it at some serious speed, turns and curves and in and out, taking corners quickly, etc. By the time we got home, trees were knocked down on power lines - it handled it just fine.
I guess I don't get it - even Overland is fine. I've never felt it a chore to keep it going where I wanted it, one handed, towing, hauling, whatever.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

you should try control arm drop brackets. Flat control arms...............

Bingo - keep them parallel to each other, and parallel to the ground. Yes.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That model wasn’t available when I was looking. I have a Jeep because it pulls well behind my motor coach.

My two Overlands are proof you don't have to buy higher to get that good handling and ride.
If I told of every one of my driving event in my Jeeps - I'd hear "you did THAT in a Jeep????!!!" and I'd say yeah, it was just fine.

 

[SkyKing]

Glad you got your ride sorted out. As someone who owned a first generation JK 2-door and then a second gen JK 2-door, I know how unerving a squirly ride can be on the freeway and getting jolted around by every bump in the road. I was blown away when I first drove my Mojave and still cant believe its a Jeep with solid axles.

A friend has one and couldn’t understand what I was experiencing. Must be the Jeep setup on that model.

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