TJ has lots of body roll and wanders

Trail Rider

Trail Rider

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Midlothian, TX, USA
As you can tell by the number of my posts I am new to this. Ok, here's the deal. I have a 2000 jeep TJ 4.0 wrangler sport. I installed 2" lift OME front heavy duty springs and 2" lift rear springs. It has a smitty built front bumper with a superwinch nylon rope winch in the front. The rear aren't the heavy duty because I only have the stock bumper and spare tire in the rear. The guy at ARB said to stay with the light weight springs for now, so that's what I did. The jeep seems to roll from side to side a lot more now than it did with the stock springs. I installed the quick release sway bar links and set the sway bar to 10 degrees per the instructions. I also installed the Bilstein 5100 shocks for a 2" lift. The toe in on the front before the lift was just about 1/16" inward and I haven't checked it since I put the springs in. My guess would be I may need to toe in the tires just a bit more because the jeep seems to wander a bit on the road. The track bar seemed to be in good shape when I checked it. The tires are 32x11.5x15 BFG KM3 on 8" wheels. Is this normal on a lifted jeep, even at 2", or do I need to adjust the sway bar more as well as the toe in? Thanks for any help/advise in advance. I bought this jeep to pull behind my class A and do some wheeling out west next summer.
 
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In terms of body roll, shocks, spring ratings, and sway bars will have to do with that.

Your sway bar isn't the issue I can tell you, as it's the stock sway bar. The HD springs would definitely be the better choice (I never recommend the lightweight springs to anyone with a TJ) in terms of mitigating body roll I would think.

Bilstein 5100s are also a stiffer riding shock, which should help in reducing body roll.

In terms of the wandering, you need to have your toe-in set as a start point, but I'd also check to make sure you don't have a dropped pitman arm either.


Adjusting the sway bar via the disconnects won't do anything in terms of body roll.
 
Chris said:
In terms of body roll, shocks, spring ratings, and sway bars will have to do with that.

Your sway bar isn't the issue I can tell you, as it's the stock sway bar. The HD springs would definitely be the better choice (I never recommend the lightweight springs to anyone with a TJ) in terms of mitigating body roll I would think.

Bilstein 5100s are also a stiffer riding shock, which should help in reducing body roll.

In terms of the wandering, you need to have your toe-in set as a start point, but I'd also check to make sure you don't have a dropped pitman arm either.


Adjusting the sway bar via the disconnects won't do anything in terms of body roll.
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I didn't change the pitman arm, but I will check to see. How much of a drop does a dropped pitman arm have?
 
Trail Rider said:
I didn't change the pitman arm, but I will check to see. How much of a drop does a dropped pitman arm have?
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82899367377dd2ef72856bcd587bbde5.jpg
 
The pitman arm on your TJ should look like the second one (the black one) in that picture posted above. It is dropped (like the silver one on top), then you have an issue.
 
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Does anyone know what the correct toe in would be? I read somewhere that it should be 1/16th to 1/8th in at the front. But, I have also read somewhere that guys have up to 1/2" toe in, seems kind of excessive to me but what do I know!
 
If you have sway bars and decent shocks, then look at the bushings. Worn shock and sway bar bushings will allow body roll.
 
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Trail Rider said:
Does anyone know what the correct toe in would be? I read somewhere that it should be 1/16th to 1/8th in at the front. But, I have also read somewhere that guys have up to 1/2" toe in, seems kind of excessive to me but what do I know!
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The correct toe-in is between 1/16" to 1/8". No more than 1/8".
 
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Trail Rider said:
Does anyone know what the correct toe in would be? I read somewhere that it should be 1/16th to 1/8th in at the front. But, I have also read somewhere that guys have up to 1/2" toe in, seems kind of excessive to me but what do I know!
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1/16" to no more than 1/8" toe-in is what you want.

Make sure your tires are not overinflated as most tire shops like to do. Exactly what size are your tires and exactly what air pressure is in them? And are they a Load Range C, D, or E?
 
Jerry Bransford said:
1/16" to no more than 1/8" toe-in is what you want.

Make sure your tires are not overinflated as most tire shops like to do. Exactly what size are your tires and exactly what air pressure is in them? And are they a Load Range C, D, or E?
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The tires are BFG Mud Terrian TA KM3
32x11.5x15
I believe they are load range E
30 psi
 
30 psi is excessive for a 32x11.5R15, that size works better with 26 psi when the TJ is unloaded or 28 psi when it's fully loaded. You sure it's a Load Range E? That's a very stiff tire, LR C is what's appropriate for a TJ. I'd run even lower of a pressure if it's a Load Range E.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
30 psi is excessive for a 32x11.5R15, that size works better with 26 psi when the TJ is unloaded or 28 psi when it's fully loaded. You sure it's a Load Range E? That's a very stiff tire, LR C is what's appropriate for a TJ. I'd run even lower of a pressure if it's a Load Range E.
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Not sure on the load range, I'll check
 
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My TJ had the exact same issues... I installed all terrain tires Rancho Shocks a decent quality lift and if you don't replace the lift at least look closely at the bushings because that is where so much of the movement comes from... This post is a little over simplified but it will give you a general idea I think of where to start... But if it contradicts anything posted prior.... Some of the guys on here have vast experience and are well worth listening to.
 
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AndyG said:
My TJ had the exact same issues... I installed all terrain tires Rancho Shocks a decent quality lift and if you don't replace the lift at least look closely at the bushings because that is where so much of the movement comes from... This post is a little over simplified but it will give you a general idea I think of where to start... But if it contradicts anything posted prior.... Some of the guys on here have vast experience and are well worth listening to.
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Thanks for the input Andy. I looked at the bushings when I was installing the springs. They look like typical 18 year old bushings, not really bad but have some substantial weather cracking. Wouldn't be a bad idea to put them on my "to do" list and change them out. I'm not taking the lift off because there is no clearance in the front with the 32" tires, plus it just looks better, lol.
 
What about the front and rear sway bar bushings? Hold one in your hand and rock the Jeep side to side. Is the joint sloppy? Mine were long gone before 100k miles.
 
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I run OME lightweight spring on the rear of my Jeep, and don't have problems with body roll. I'm also running the 5100s and 33" tires and springs in front. So...basically the same setup. Look at your sway bar links to make sure they aren't shot. Did you install a trackbar bracket in the rear? It's not just to relocate the axle... It will change the roll center of your vehicle too...
 
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