Too Tall

[dirty4x4money]

So I found my LJ YAY!!!
Picked this up about 500 miles from home. Then drove it home and it drives OK ish. But I'm about to fix all that.
How I picked it up:
06, 6 speed hard top
RE 5.5 long arm and antirock in front, 35" BFGs, G2 axles, 4.56s, Eatons, and Atlas II 3.8, some bumpers, a winch, and dual optima batteries under the hood.

 

[P man]

Is this going to be a build?

 

[dirty4x4money]

So I found my LJ YAY!!!
Picked this up about 500 miles from home. Then drove it home and it drives OK ish. But I'm about to fix all that.
How I picked it up:
06, 6 speed hard top
RE 5.5 long arm and antirock in front, 35" BFGs, G2 axles, 4.56s, Eatons, and Atlas II 3.8, some bumpers, a winch, and dual optima batteries under the hood.

View attachment 508601

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The plan:
Lower it 3 inches and fix the steering geometry.
2.5 OME springs
Cut all the Track bar brackets off and start over. (They did a piss pore job putting the front end together)
And add an antirock to the rear.

 

[dirty4x4money]

Is this going to be a build?

More like a rebuild and fix all the crap originally done poorly.

 

[P man]

More like a rebuild and fix all the crap originally done poorly.

Just wanted to make sure we have it in the correct category. Please keep it updated and remember we love pictures!!!

 

[Mike_H]

Wow...I bet it has some TERRIBLE bump steer.

You said you're going to cut the TRE brackets off? Which tie rod ends are you talking about?

 

[dirty4x4money]

Wow...I bet it has some TERRIBLE bump steer.

You said you're going to cut the TRE brackets off? Which tie rod ends are you talking about?

Oh yep you are correct wrong acronym. Sorry, fixed it. I cut all the track bar brackets off. I would like to move the track bar over the knuckle but running into pitman clearance issues. I'm not really ready to relocate the steering box so that may come a bit later.

 

[dirty4x4money]

Track bar shit show removed. The track bar mount would have been the first thing to hit under compression by more than 2 inches. Got some new brackets tacked up but I'm not sure I am happy with them yet. Still waiting for the stock pitman arm and I still need to center the axle.

 

[dirty4x4money]

I'm way happier with how it sits now. And it drives much better than before. But I'm still not satisfied with drivability.

 

[dirty4x4money]

A little more about what my front end has going on. I'm not happy with the amount of bump steering I am getting or how it stops.
G2 axle 4.56s Eaton E-locker
Stock pitman reamed for TRE over (tre under and it hit the tie rod before anything else.
GM TREs
VANCO 15" Big Brake Kit.
Warn hub conversion.
2.5 OME springs
Antirock
Drag link and track bar currently sitting at 12 degrees. (Too much?)
@mrblaine is there a crossover steering knuckle available for the 15-16" brake kit?
Any other recommendations are welcome thank you.

 

[mrblaine]

A little more about what my front end has going on. I'm not happy with the amount of bump steering I am getting or how it stops.
G2 axle 4.56s Eaton E-locker
Stock pitman reamed for TRE over (tre under and it hit the tie rod before anything else.
GM TREs
VANCO 15" Big Brake Kit.
Warn hub conversion.
2.5 OME springs
Antirock
Drag link and track bar currently sitting at 12 degrees. (Too much?)
@mrblaine is there a crossover steering knuckle available for the 15-16" brake kit?
Any other recommendations are welcome thank you.

Short answer is no but what is the exact current configuration of the front end components and steering?
Who installed the brake kit?

 

[Mike_H]

A little more about what my front end has going on. I'm not happy with the amount of bump steering I am getting or how it stops.
G2 axle 4.56s Eaton E-locker
Stock pitman reamed for TRE over (tre under and it hit the tie rod before anything else.
GM TREs
VANCO 15" Big Brake Kit.
Warn hub conversion.
2.5 OME springs
Antirock
Drag link and track bar currently sitting at 12 degrees. (Too much?)
@mrblaine is there a crossover steering knuckle available for the 15-16" brake kit?
Any other recommendations are welcome thank you.

A picture or two taken from the front, about axle level, back far enough to capture both wheels would go a long way toward helping you out

 

[Rickyd]

If you want good steering at 2.5" lift then put stock type steering on it and factory track bar mounts.and a stock pitman arm

You aren't really upgrading anything having a shorter track bar and inverted t steering

 

[dirty4x4money]

Short answer is no but what is the exact current configuration of the front end components and steering?
Who installed the brake kit?

Here's a current photo taken today of steering setup.
I don't know who installed the brakes I recently bought the jeep already built. Here are also a couple of shorts of the rotors. Passenger side seams to not be getting a good contact pattern.

 

[dirty4x4money]

If you want good steering at 2.5" lift then put stock type steering on it and factory track bar mounts.and a stock pitman arm

You aren't really upgrading anything having a shorter track bar and inverted t steering

Stock track bar brackets were long gone when I got this thing. This is the third time the track bar has been reconfigured from what I could tell. The bracket I cut off was the first thing that hit in up travel.

A picture or two taken from the front, about axle level, back far enough to capture both wheels would go a long way toward helping you out

 

[Mike_H]

Ok. That’s a start. I looked at all your pictures and I can’t see the track bar or its mounting locations. I’m not sure how I feel about that pitman setup. I would think that as the suspension droops, the TRE is binding bad.

I’d like to recommend going back to factory,…but without seeing the track bar mount, I’m hesitant to actually suggest that. It might be able to work fine as configured.

 

[Rickyd]

Ok. That’s a start. I looked at all your pictures and I can’t see the track bar or its mounting locations. I’m not sure how I feel about that pitman setup. I would think that as the suspension droops, the TRE is binding bad.

I’d like to recommend going back to factory,…but without seeing the track bar mount, I’m hesitant to actually suggest that. It might be able to work fine as configured.

Look how short that track bar is.

Stock track bar brackets were long gone when I got this thing. This is the third time the track bar has been reconfigured from what I could tell. The bracket I cut off was the first thing that hit in up travel.


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There is no reason not to source whatever you need to run a stock style track bar and steering. Anything else you do is going to be worse.

These jeeps can drive very nice if done right

 

[dirty4x4money]

Ok. That’s a start. I looked at all your pictures and I can’t see the track bar or its mounting locations. I’m not sure how I feel about that pitman setup. I would think that as the suspension droops, the TRE is binding bad.

I’d like to recommend going back to factory,…but without seeing the track bar mount, I’m hesitant to actually suggest that. It might be able to work fine as configured.

Here are track bar mounts. Set up to possibly go over knuckle steering later. I've always done full crossover on my other rigs. But trying to work with what I have and not start completely over. I guess I didn't realize how much different TJs are than old 44s or even new 44s. They are kinda their own beast I guess.

 

[mrblaine]

Here's a current photo taken today of steering setup.
I don't know who installed the brakes I recently bought the jeep already built. Here are also a couple of shorts of the rotors. Passenger side seams to not be getting a good contact pattern.

That rotor got rusted, the caliper is not retracting as nicely as it should. The caliper needs to be pulled, guide pins lubed, dust boots pulled to make sure rust isn't pushing against a piston(s), and then the pistons popped out and the bores check for crud and rust. After that, get the rotors turned, do the break in on the pads pretty aggressively and it should be good to go. If not, get in touch and we'll help you out.

View attachment 516664

Well, there is good news and bad news. The good news is all of that is fixable, the bad news is you will have to practically start over from scratch.
Not enough backspacing to start. It is never going to steer and handle well with that much offset.
Dump that crap inverted T steering and go back to the factory style.
Put the trackbar back in the stock location on the axle. Get a nice adjustable on it.
Dump that pitman arm, go back to stock with the TRE under it.

That will all show you if other than those parts are in need of fixing.

 

[Rickyd]

Is this half of the bracket hiding behind the triangle? Shouldn't be too hard to make a front plate

Its easy to find aftermarket versions of stock axleside trackbar mounts too.