Jeep feels like it's leaning

97JadeTJ

TJ Enthusiast
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Hot Springs, AR
On my old 97 TJ I had pretty much replaced everything in the steering and suspension and it was tight, it had 33” tires, a 2.5” lift and 1.25” body lift but it drove like it was 6” off the ground… the new 97 TJ seems tight, no slack in the steering that I can find and it’s got a procomp 4” lift, (springs, shocks, lower control arms, rear sway bar relocation bracket and front sway bar hole redrilled) with no body lift and 33” tires… the only difference between the 2 TJ’s is the motor, 2.5 vs 4.0, and the previous tj had a soft top and the new one has a hardtop… it’s hard to explain but driving straight it’s smooth as silk but when I get to a curve it feels like it leans into the curve and I have to grab the steering wheel with both hands because it feels like i could oversteer real easy… other wise it drives great!… is this the weight difference between the hardtop vs the soft top or is something else going on that I’m missing… also the procomp lowers have poly bushings… any thoughts?
 
do you mean leaning like this ? it's normal.....
1690138987106.webp
 
My tj drives differently going from hard top to soft top. Is the new 97 a 4.0l? Its heavier too.

Having a bigger suspension lift you could have more travel?

When you talk about two handing it for tracking purposes though i think about caster angle and 15x8 vs 15x10 wheels. 15x8 being much better. Idk which you have
 
...when I get to a curve it feels like it leans into the curve and I have to grab the steering wheel with both hands because it feels like i could oversteer real easy

It feels like it leans into the curve? That would be very odd because cornering causes body roll to the outside. Controlling body roll in corners is the main purpose of the anti-roll bars. Are the front and rear anti-roll bars intact on the new TJ? How about the old TJ - what anti-roll bars did you have on it?

I drove my LJ without the front anti-roll bar for a few weeks while waiting for powder coating. I didn't like it at all on the road without it. It wasn't so bad for "normal" driving, but I knew that if I had to brake and steer quickly to avoid something ahead of me, it would have probably rolled in the process.
 
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It feels like it leans into the curve? That would be very odd because cornering causes body roll to the outside. Controlling body roll in corners is the main purpose of the anti-roll bars. Are the front and rear anti-roll bars intact on the new TJ? How about the old TJ - what anti-roll bars did you have on it?

I drove my LJ without the front anti-roll bar for a few weeks while waiting for powder coating. I didn't like it at all on the road without it. It wasn't so bad for "normal" driving, but I knew that if I had to brake and steer quickly to avoid something ahead of me, it would have probably rolled in the process.

The anti sway bars are intact on the new one as was the old one… I changed out the front sway bar end links to disco’s last week thinking maybe that was it but It wasn’t… I‘ve never driven a tj with a hardtop and wondered if that could make a difference in the way it cornered but obviously that’s not it… lower control arms with poly bushings vs. stock CA’s maybe?… I don’t know, maybe me, I’m fixing to tear into the front end to do brakes, unit bearings, ball joints, a xj drag link, upper control arms and a locker… maybe it’ll work itself out!
 
May be worth investigating the springs. Are they good quality ones?
Mine had sagged, particularly the rear right hand side.

Cornering was not unlike being on one of these!
1690152254744.webp


Otherwise perhaps it's just how it operates with the longer lift through the coils?

How long have you been running with the new lift?

I imagine jumping into a TJ with a 4" lift would feel pretty weird to me having only driven at stock height 😕
 
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May be worth investigating the springs. Are they good quality ones?
Mine had sagged, particularly the rear right hand side.

Cornering was not unlike being on one of these!
View attachment 443939

Otherwise perhaps it's just how it operates with the longer lift through the coils?

How long have you been running with the new lift?

I imagine jumping into a TJ with a 4" lift would feel pretty weird to me having only driven at stock height 😕

I got this one @AndyG ! sir you get penalized 20 postings for this posting ! you are on a Jeep forum and that image is totally unacceptable here. in the future please use this type image instead !!!!!! this is one of many in Andy's front yard .....


1690153404634.png
 
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Hardtop and hard doors are definitely noticable as more roll than without, for all the obvious reasons. Sway bars and shocks will mitigate the roll. But there will be a difference between with and without in the otherwise same rig.
 
Hardtop and hard doors are definitely noticable as more roll than without, for all the obvious reasons. Sway bars and shocks will mitigate the roll. But there will be a difference between with and without in the otherwise same rig.

That’s what I wanted to hear… I think that’s what’s going on is I’m not used to the extra weight… Thanks
 
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