TJ highway driving has me scratching my head

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BlackRubi

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Dec 19, 2018
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6
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Louisville ky
So on my 2004 wrangler, I have been chasing to make hwy manners better. Tends to wander with uneven pavement, semi wind etc. Dana 44 front rear, warn free spin kit up front. Etc.
Lifted 4" on 35 bfg mt. (Cheap skyjacker lift with fixed lowers on it when i got it havent replaced yet, jj core 4x4 front uppers, stock rear upper, aj trackbars) currie antirock with currie correctlync steering, stock pitman arm. It drives well but still no one hand driver on hwy speeds. Looking at alignment sheet from shop shows several areas that I don't like. One being camber, other being thrust. I've pulled dimensions with tape but can't guarantee anything is accurate based off pull points. From what I see the front axle is 3/8 out of square with the rear axle. I do get light dive/pull on hard brake/accel likely due to that. I'm no driveline expert, but neither is No one around me that I know apparently bc shop said zero about my alignment. Tires have been road force balanced, did require good amount of weight. Any ideas where to start?

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Camber is not adjustable. If your camber is out of specifications, something is bent or broken. Worst case, your axle is bent. Or it could even be as simple as bad ball joints.

Do you have adjustable track bars? That is how you can center your axles under the cars.

What width and backspacing wheels do you have? If the stance is too wide, you will get zero or positive scrub radius, which will cause wander.

Take a few good pictures of your suspension and steering and post them here.
 
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Your caster is rather low. Since you have a free spin kit you can crank that up with no worries of vibes. Take a look at the balljoints and unit bearings for play. Either can cause excessive negative camber.

for the thrust angle you need to adjust your rear control arms to point the axle straight.

Edit: I now see he adjusted your caster.
 
Balljoints are new, I replaced them about a month ago, jeeps just a toy so hardly no miles on them. Camber has had a tilt since I've owned it, axle is sleeved and gusseted but idk if it was done prior to cs being tweeked or what. Only option to fix it would be new tubes/cs but not sure if its a big deal or if offset joints would be fine. No vibes, front I run freespin so could run whatever caster I wanted really. Yes their adjustable and axles show within 1/8" measuring from multiple frame points.
Rear axle shows square measuring from tube center to points along the frame (body mounts, skid bolts). Not to mention its on fixed poly joint arms so non adjustable
15x10 fuel wheels on 35x12.5
 
At -1.4 and -1.2 camber, I wouldn’t be too worried. Stay on top of tire rotations and you shouldn’t see much if any adverse tire wear.

the only way to fix the thrust angle would be to get adjustable control arms.

.6* is only 1/4”
 
Lou said:
At -1.4 and -1.2 camber, I wouldn’t be too worried. Stay on top of tire rotations and you shouldn’t see much if any adverse tire wear.

the only way to fix the thrust angle would be to get adjustable control arms.

.6* is only 1/4”
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I may throw in offset joints, cause I literally stare at the tilt anytime I walk to the jeep. Least till I decide to fix that axle or go 1 tons
 
BlackRubi said:
I may throw in offset joints, cause I literally stare at the tilt anytime I walk to the jeep. Least till I decide to fix that axle or go 1 tons
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an offset joint is a weaker joint(since the "joint" is smaller). At your measurements I wouldn't do it if it was mine.
 
My front end is pretty tight but I do experience a small amount of wander. I can grab my steering shaft right above the steering box and it’s got some play while stationary. I attribute my symptoms to this. Not sure yet if I’m going to attempt to tighten the backlash as I don’t drive the Jeep a lot and there mixed opinions on that adjustment.
 
BlackRubi said:
3.75bs. I had 15x8s before, didn't notice any difference. Like I say it drives decent, just drove it 4hrs this weekend to jeep invasion running 75-80 entire way, but definately has room for improvement.
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That might be a bit wide for those axles, but it shouldn't be too big of a deal. 3.75 backspacing on 8" wide wheels is the standard for 35x12.5, your tires would center at 1" outboard of that standard.
Lou said:
an offset joint is a weaker joint(since the "joint" is smaller). At your measurements I wouldn't do it if it was mine.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be too concerned about offset ball joints myself. I'd use them if I needed them.
Rubicon John said:
My front end is pretty tight but I do experience a small amount of wander. I can grab my steering shaft right above the steering box and it’s got some play while stationary. I attribute my symptoms to this. Not sure yet if I’m going to attempt to tighten the backlash as I don’t drive the Jeep a lot and there mixed opinions on that adjustment.
Click to expand...
I adjusted mine as a temporary measure until I could replace the steering box. I wouldn't see it as a permanent solution.
 
Good to know on the joints, 1st Ive heard on that, nor have I ever used any to date. I may leave it be then till I get bored enough to yank and rework. I'll check my intermediate in a few and see about play. Under 60 drives sweet, above that gets light and really twitching to road defects. Past owner said he replaced the gear box, doesn't leak etc but could have backlash slop. I'll have the wife dry test it in a few to confirm any play
 
Check out the trackbar joints when you can. If the joints get loose or sloppy, your steering will suffer noticeably. On the lower end, if the bolt isn't properly torqued, the end can slide around and elongate the hole.

If any part of the trackbar fails, you will lose steering entirely.
 
If you have loose crap skyjacker control arms you are going to have loose crap steering. Check for loose steering and suspension parts like @Steel City 06 says but beyond that it's not going to change much tweaking what you've got. I would suspect control arms long before the steering box. Pry on that stuff with a really big bar and see what moves.
 
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This is why I do my own alignments and usually stick to factory control arms. Everything is so much easier when you "set the toe and let it go".:) All of my Jeeps could be steered with one finger at 75 mph. The only time I ever had your symptoms was when I bought a Jeep with a DPA. Good luck OP.
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