Front Axle is not sitting square under xj

The only thing i can figure out is that i wasnt very nice to the jeep when i was recently installing the 3" lift. I had to pry the front end down inorder to fit the coils. The sway bar actually hits on the spring only on the driver side. When compared to other jeeps the passenger side sits correct. I recently bought the jeep and never noticed it before the lift. The only thing i can think of is the control arms? I can not visualize any worn out bushings or movement. Doesnt appear to have been crashed however is it posible for a unibody to even tweak like a framed vehicle could have done?

I suppose worst case scenario i could purchase adjustable arms and adjust them different to make up for it but i would like to know why it is doing what it is doing.

The driver side is about a 1/2" forward compared to the passenger side which is causing the swaybar to actually hit on the coil. The coil is also not sitting straight up and down when compared to the bumpstop like other jeeps do however the coil is resting perfectly in both the upper and lower pads????

Thanks

Look at the unibody end of the lower control arms, the bolt hole is oblong and that allows you to be able to move the control arm forward or back for adjustment. Look and see if you have room to move that control arm back.

Did you get a different trac bar with your lift or are you still using the stock one?

lose the sway bar - no more interference!:looser:

toast said:

lose the sway bar - no more interference!:looser:

Click to expand...

Yeah that's real smart.....

The swaybar has room to slide back and forth an inch or so in its bushings. Its possible that the swaybar being off center along with your axle being a half inch off center because of your lift and trackbar is the reason the swaybar is contacting the spring.
Do you have aftermarket control arms? If you do, chaeck at the frame end to see that they are both tight against the rear of the pocket or tight against the caster shims if there are any.

I appreciate the help!
The UCA and LCA are all stock. They do have enough adjustment to help the problem i just found it odd that the adjusters only appear to pull the LCA back. If i move the LCA forward it may roll the perch back somewhat helping the problem. I cant actually move it back because it appears the adjuster is adjusted all the way back? I am running the stock track bar however i have unhooked it to see and it actually made the problem worse when the jeep went to its happy position which is about 1/2 to 3/4 of the bolt hole off of the original hole in the trackbar. I am sure i can purchase adjustable control arms and fix the problem but why do i need to THAT is what i keep asking myself.

Ray H said:

The swaybar has room to slide back and forth an inch or so in its bushings. Its possible that the swaybar being off center along with your axle being a half inch off center because of your lift and trackbar is the reason the swaybar is contacting the spring.
Do you have aftermarket control arms? If you do, chaeck at the frame end to see that they are both tight against the rear of the pocket or tight against the caster shims if there are any.

Click to expand...

So they are adjusted by shims? That would explain why the system only makes sense to me if you are able to tighten the back adjuster nuts.

Did you have any problem when you lifted yours??

The trac bar locates the axle under the center of the XJ. When you lift it you change the geometry of the front suspension and the axle will shift off center (towards the driver side I believe). Measure from the center of a tire tread to the shock or shock tower, now measure the same 2 spots on the other side. It may look like a control arm issue but the axle being shifted lets it contact the coil spring. X2 on the swaybar being able to shift side to side in the bushings. Try moving the swaybar around a bit.

You should look at getting an adjustable trac bar first before you look at adj. control arms.

Tim_MN said:

The trac bar locates the axle under the center of the XJ. When you lift it you change the geometry of the front suspension and the axle will shift off center (towards the driver side I believe). Measure from the center of a tire tread to the shock or shock tower, now measure the same 2 spots on the other side. It may look like a control arm issue but the axle being shifted lets it contact the coil spring. X2 on the swaybar being able to shift side to side in the bushings. Try moving the swaybar around a bit.

You should look at getting an adjustable trac bar first before you look at adj. control arms.

Click to expand...

Here is what he said in his first post:

4x4 Station Wagon said:

The driver side is about a 1/2" forward compared to the passenger side which is causing the swaybar to actually hit on the coil. The coil is also not sitting straight up and down when compared to the bumpstop like other jeeps do however the coil is resting perfectly in both the upper and lower pads????

Click to expand...

He is talking about the relation of the axle in the wheel well front to rear, not under the jeep side to side. Side to side would be the trackbar, and then your reply would apply, but since the axle is further forward on one side causing the rubbing issues he describes, then that would be a control arm issue. Not a big deal, but just wanted to point that out since you telling him a trackbar would fix his problems instead of control arms, which in the case is not correct.

4x4 Station Wagon, you said in your first post it doesn't appear to be crashed. Have you looked real good at your LCA mounts on the axle and compared them to eachother. Those LCA mounts are pretty weak and like to buckle to the side and back, which could cause the axle to sit funny like your describing. It doesn't take much to collapse those mounts, even a simply bump on the curb or tire stop in a parking lot if one tire hits first and hard. Let me know if you need pictures of what a collapsed LCA mount looks like for reference. Otherwise, the control arms sound like the best option, however I would be concerned if the LCA bolts in the unibody mounts were spaced the same on both sides but one side of the axle was further forward/back than the other side.

4x4 Station Wagon said:

So they are adjusted by shims? That would explain why the system only makes sense to me if you are able to tighten the back adjuster nuts.

Did you have any problem when you lifted yours??

Click to expand...

Ive got a very slight wobble around 45MPH. Coincidently, Ive been searching around for caster shims and no one has any or arent willing to part with them if they do. The dealer gets them from the local alignment shop and the shop wont sell to me, but they did offer to do an alignment for me ($$$$) No thanks. Another shop I called doesnt even use shims, they use offset ball joints to adjust caster as well as camber. Thats stupid if you ask me. Anyway, the shims seem to be harder to find than they should be. I'll try another dealer then NAPA then I Guess I'll make some if I still cant find any.

I just got off the phone with another dealer. They have .95mm shims. I figure I need a total of six of them. they want $3+ a piece for them. Im not paying nearly $20 for six little pieces of metal. Im now making my own.

Honestly i would like a picture of a collapsed bracket. I am actually fairly knowledgable so please dont think your dealing with a waste of time however jeep is new to me. The UCA bracket is a lot harder to see do they tend to collapse? And yes you are absolutely right on my situation with the axle being forward on the driver side not side to side that would be simple! But thanks to the others that tried to help!!!!

I just reread your reply.... no i hadn't looked long and hard at the mounts on the LCA that attach to the axle i have taken a fine tooth comb to the unibody -i will check and take some pics however i am new to this site and may take me a minute to attach pics

Here are some pictures of a local acquaintance's LCA mount. Like I said, it doesn't take much to collapse one, just a good bump to one side of the axle at a little speed.

Nope mine are straight as an arrow. I am not saying they arent bent however if they are it is slight and unnoticable to the eye. Am i safe to say that since the passenger side is correct (appears) then the top and lower control arm would have to be suffering from the same thing in order for the driver side to be pushed out? If only lets say the upper was out to far or the lower was slightly adjusted wrong it seams to me as though the other side would offset the problem atleast a little and even a mis adjusted control arm would not push the front end what appears to be a 1/2 forward. I will be re measuring from the t-case bolt to the bracket in order to determine if i have correct bracket placement from factory in about 30 minutes so i will be back!

Gotta be,
I saw that part of his post and I think he is jumping to a conclusion on the need for Adj control arms before he considers all the possiblities for his situation. A bowed coil spring or one touching a sway bar mount is not a critical flaw.

4x4 wagon,
Have you been to an alignment shop and did you get a printed output from the alignment machine? When you say your axle is 1/2" different, what are you using as your reference points? Does the Jeep drive straight or does it pull to one side?

No it drives straight however i haven't determined if it is dog tracking yet. It is far enough forward that when i go around a corner (fairly hard) the tip of the swaybar actually binds up my coil and a lovely little popping sound and jerk is felt. As far as reference points i was using a plumb bob and measuring off of several points which i realize may or may not be the same. I am also going off of a visual using the bumpstop tower. I may be jumping to conclusions yet at the same time i do have another one sitting beside it that is lifted 2" instead of 3". Also a friend down the street that is 4.5" but it has all the drop brackets so it isnt all that much help. So in conclusion i have taken my measurements and compared them to measurments taken off of other jeeps. ??
I just got back from tearing all back apart. I unhooked the swaybar, the trackbar (again), and loosened the lower CA's. I then adjusted the driver side (bad side) all the way out since there virtually is no adjustment in and it made it worse (no suprise). I then with the driver side still adjusted out loosened the passenger side and i couldnt even pry it forward. Well i could about 1/4" and it wasnt tight or something because it would spring back smoothly and quickly. I would have thought with the driver side adjusted long the passenger side would have liked to follow but it was the exact opposite.???????

Any ideas . And no disrespect but i am not just jumping to conclusions or i wouldnt have spent all night working on it i would have just ordered adjustable control arms.

Oh ya when i set it back down and installed the tires it appeared to be only 1/2 as bad (without swaybar connected). This leads me to believe along with the passenger side resistance that i have some wierd bind/force that is twisting my axle and the rubber bushings are soft enough to give a little on both sides which ofcourse could add up to 1/2" (well a little anyway)

Any Ideas

I hate to say this but no i havent been to the alignment shop yet so i may ( i dont think so) be wrong however at my les shwab everytime you go there they will align your vehicle and then when you pick it up they will tell you something was worn out or they couldnt get it perfect and if you have it fixed by them they will re align it for free. It is always the truth they arent lying they just work it so that you pay them to fix it! I know it is a rip but that is a smaller town for you and i do think i have a problem.?????

O.K. I have to say this.....get a professional alignment! This is not something that can be fixed at home! It really doesn't cost much.
I don't understand why so many people do a lift then expect everything to be o.k.
A good 4x4 shop will do it right or call around to the "normal" shops and see if any of them have lift experience.
Last time I went to Les Swab the guy said stuff is old but still o.k. and had no problem aligning, (with a 2" lift on my wife's DD)
Please if anyone has a problem with this statement fire away!

:gee: As you can see i am new here but i was so stumped at this that i decided to give a Forum a try but Answers like this are the reason i choose to just figure it out on my own!!

Thank you to every one that tried to actually help.

Also thank you 88XJLOVER for setting me straight this is my very first lift ever in my life i wish i would have thought of getting an alignment OR I have three lifted vehicles in my driveway and numerous before which included anywhere from moving the front end forward, bobbing the beds, shortening rear wheelbase so actually bobbing the bed front and rear. And i never had any problems with any of them!!!

I apolagize to everyone else for this childish reply but ?????????????????????

4x4 Station Wagon said:

:gee: this is my very first lift ever in my life i wish i would have thought of getting an alignment OR I have three lifted vehicles in my driveway and numerous before which included anywhere from moving the front end forward, bobbing the beds, shortening rear wheelbase so actually bobbing the bed front and rear. And i never had any problems with any of them!!!

I apolagize to everyone else for this childish reply but ?????????????????????

Click to expand...

So which is it? And my response is more for those who don't suggest an alignment in the 1st place not so much at your problem. Sorry if it sounded like a rant!