After Lift, Driver Front Tire Sticks Out Further

[jeepmarine312]

so i lifted my MJ about 4-4.5" and everything else is fine, no shacking, not bouncing weird, no death wobble, but yesterday i did notice that the driver side front tire sticks out further then the rest, out as in to the left. i havent done an allignment yet, will as soon as possible and won't be driving till then unless NEED to. i thought it was just the flex since my sway bar is disconnected at the moment, but i moved the truck several time to even ground, and un-even ground, aswell as un-even on both sides, and while on even ground it didnt stick out as far, it was still out there further. this worries me as i don't know what the deal is. any help or ideas? greatly appreciated, thank you

[shelbyluvv]

Did you replace the track bar with an adjustable one? I think you need a new track bar that is designed for the amount of lift you're running. There is a relocation bracket you can buy but they are junk and come loose constantly.

[mnkyboy]

Some people drill a new hole for the trac bar mount on the axle and move the trac bar over centering the axle but as stated the best way is to get the proper trac bar or an adjustible track bar.

[jeepmarine312]

but if it were the trak bar wouldnt that move the one tire forward closer to the fender well? mine is out further, like towards a car your parked next to.

[mnkyboy]

The trac bar controls side to side, the control arms control front to back.

 

[jeepmarine312]

I'm not trying to be annoying here, I'm just trying to learn for future reference and so that i may be more helpful to others myself, also love to learn and think, but if that were the case, and it is indeed the trackbar, then why isnt the other tire pulled inward aswell. I'm thinking that if it was the trackbar and that controls the side to side movement of the wheels themselves then as one goes further out, the other should move further in. but that is not the case with my MJ however. The driver side wheel is further out, while the passenger side wheel is the same as before if not a milimeter or two out aswell, but surely not inward.

[noboundaries.jd]

i would assume yu put new wheels/ tires on? if thats the case then i would assume they are wider wheels/ tires? and if thats the case then your pass side should not have the profile it did before lift, wheels/ tires. see where i am going with this? fact of the matter being the factory length TB was in no way intended to keep your axle centered after that much lift. in fact with that much lift and a factory TB you SHOULD be sticking out of your driver's side wheel well.

[jeepmarine312]

i actually havent put new rims/tires on yet, getting to those when cash falls into hand. before and after lift i had/have 15 rims with 30 tires. 

[87manche1]

Its the trackbar if one stays the same ur axle is fubar and I doubt that. Take a pic

[JeepcoMJ]

trackbar increasing angle has pulled axle towards driver's side.

[Keyav8r]

If you have the same front axle and wheel/tire combination and your left tire moved to the left with the lift, your right tire also moved to the left even though it may not look like it did. The track bar length is constant, so as you lift the body above the axle the track bar pulls the axle to the left (driver) side.

Disconnect your track bar and roll the truck forward and back and forth a few times (don't drive it that way) and note if the tires line up better in the wheel wells. Be careful disconnecting it as it probably has some preload on it due to the lift.

[mnkyboy]

It might look the same to you on the pass side but its not, the pass side has to be pulled in some if the drivers side is pushed out as they are connected to each other by the axle.

 

Look at the pic I posted and imagine what happens to the entire axle as it moves up and down.

The trac bar causes it to move side to side as it cycles up and down, when it goes up it pulls the axle to the drivers side which is why the drivers side tire sticks out more then the pass side. When the suspension cycles down the trac bar will push the axle towards the pass side and the pass side may stick out.

 

Your goal is to center the axle at ride height but it will always move side to side as it cycles.

[jeepmarine312]

HOLY CRAP! okay thank yall, i just ran through it doctor who style in my mind and i see exactly what yall mean. holy crap, thank yall so much, 

[zackcj7]

 Unbolt the trac bar from the axle. Then bounce up and down on the front bumper really aggressively. That should recenter the axle. When you go to bolt the trac bar back in place you'll see that it no longer lines up with the hole. Sometimes you can drill a new hole and re-use the stock trac bar. If not you'll need to get an adjustable.

[randomguy310]

its the track bar....

[jeepmarine312]

thank you to all of you (shelbyluvv, mnkyboy, noboundries.jd, 87manche1, jeepcoMJ, keyav8r, zackcj7, and randomguy310). seriously thank you to all of you, really helped me out.

[87manche1]

Did it fix it?

[jeepmarine312]

havent gone out to do it yet, been raining for hours... will as soon as i can though and ill let yall know...

[MJ_Milam]

here's a nice adjustable track bar. don't drill out the mounting hole on the axle mount :thwak:

http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xtras_1079.html

[jeepmarine312]

i need to figure something out, cause i aint got the money to get an adjustable trackbar too... what kinda bull is it when you buy a 3" lift that lifts it 4.5", wtf

[mnkyboy]

Drilling the mount is kinda hokey IMO, but that's exacly what RC says to do with their basic 4.5" kit.

[jeepmarine312]

yeah i know, thats why i don't understand why its such a big deal to some people. even when the tv shows do builds, some of them just drill a new hole. and id be reinforcing it, not gonna just drill a new hole and just go with it, lol