Several Questions Alignment, Lift, Tires

Just got my 3" lift on, then took it to the shop for some 31's and an alignment....shop said they couldnt align my jeep because it wasnt adjustable anymore, drove my jeep for 3 months with the lift and wore my old drivers side tire bald on the outside, what am i missing here or what do i need to get to fix the problem, this is a daily driver....(2000 with 198,000 miles)...next problem is since i have lifted it, my front brakes feel like the abs system kicks in sometimes when i stop...tried everything you guys suggested before and its still doing it (brakes are in great shape) Please help im almost at the point im regretting lifting my jeep
Thanks a lot

It is alignable if nothing is wrong, your original alignment shop guy must have a cousin in the tire business. Find a new alignment shop, one that will tell you if something is wrong, not give you a BS answer just because they dont want to mess with it.

they aligned it, just couldnt completely correct the problem because they were out of adjustment room

did you install a trac bar reloaction kit or an adjustable trac bar? if not this could be the problem, and wouldnt give you the slack needed to adjust the steering.

i havent, i had heard good and bad things about them....i will definately do that if i need to....this still doesnt solve my brake problem though and do i need to be concerned about tire wear still or will the trac bar fix that too?

the trac bar will allow proper alignment and help with bump steer a bit.

as far as the brake issue goes,
Phase 1:

test it good a few times and take notice of several things.


1. does the vehicle pull in either direction as you brake?
2. does the pedal pulse and decrease frequency of said pulse as your speed decreases?
3. can you hear the ABS kicking in?
4. If you slam on the brakes does it skid, if not, does the pedal push back on your foot?
5. If you pull the fuse to the ABS system and repeat the tests, does anything change? if so what?
6. did you put new front shocks on with the lift?
7. is the wiring to the front ABS sensors intact? perhaps it was damaged in the lift.

Phase 2:

:dunno:

Phase 3:

Profit!

Did they fit shims into your lower control arm frame brackets and then spaced the arms forward to adjust caster? You can get 3/8" think ones in there and you normally get pinion vibes before needing that much. What is the print out on your alignment say? I really think they just took the easy way out by saying you are out of adjustment and dont believe it one bit. How much lift have you got now because unless you are pushing over 5" you can still adjust everything just fine with even stock arms.
See my site on how to check what they have done and fix it yourself.
www.go.jeep-xj.info

Its not a bs answer the alignment shop is giving you, its a common problem with 2000 and 2001 xj's with lp 30 axles. I had the same problem with my 2000. You have too much caster and the only way to fix it is with adjustable upper control arms.

What was included with your lift? are EITHER of the upper/lower control arms adjustable? You'll need to tweak one or the other, depending on what they offered for adjustments. Unfourtanatley, that only addresses the pinion angle to the transfer case- steering and alignment is a whole different issue, sir.

The adjustable track bar is just about a MUST have, with a lift... I messed around with a 4.5 (which immediately went to 6") lift, and the track bar would have saved an awful lot of grief from day one. Once the lengths move around, you might get the steering right, but it will go out of alignment as soon as the suspension moves any at all.... Once I dropped the $100, I and my XJ were very happy campers. It's all about the "ups and downs" versus the "lefts and rights". Get one set up, and the other is just some simple tweaks...

After installing an adjustable track bar, go visit "GoXJ's" website, and find out how to align your Jeep yourself, using a tape measure, or some other common measurement device... it can be done in MINUTES, and it makes you feel much more secure to know it's done TO YOUR liking. You will begin to get a "feel" for when things aren't right, and be able to go back and see what may have changed. Do things change? Yeah, as soon as your front springs begin to sag from some load, things have changed- as well as you aligment.

I followed GOXJ's directions, and my alignment (to match my new 31's) earned me a "nice job" comment from the shop's alignment tech, as well as a friendly refund on what I had paid, for what ALL of us expected to be a real horror show. Alignment shops DO NOT like to mess with lifted vehicles, and many just won't take your work, because there's so many varibles involved. GoXJ explained just how simple it is to understand, and there's no reason you can't do what he says in a driveway, or a garage.

99% of wobble issues involve some kind of "toe-in" problem- as well as any scrubbing problems on the inner or outer most tread. You CAN fix it yourself.
Honest!

so bare minimum i need a trac bar....
what about a steering conversion or adjustable control arms???
Thanks so much

I'm running 5 inches of lift without any adjustable control arms, but I have a HP 30. I fail to see how the pinion location can have an adverse effect on caster:dunno:. Get yourself an adjustable trac bar, with 3 inches of lift I doubt you will need the adjustable CA's,

C​

​

Generally, caster is not considered to

affect tire wear, but is important in the
handling and driveability of the vehicle.
Overall effects of caster can be
summarized as follows:
—Too little caster causes:
• Unstable steering
• Constant corrections required
• Wander and weave
• Oversteer
• Failure to return to straight ahead
out of a turn
• Roadwalk
—Too much caster causes:
• Hard steering
• Shimmy
• Road shock
Vehicle manufacturers normally
recommend caster settings for their
vehicles. Proper caster is that which
gives best handling in combination
with the camber and king pin inclination
designed into the axle​

taken from http://www.goodyear.com/truck/pdf/radialretserv/Retread_All_V.pdf#search='alignment%20nomenclature%20vehicle%20caster%20camber'​

If the caster was affected by the lift you would have too much caster. but I seriously doubt that is the case.​

​

​

My lift consisted of 4.5" front springs, fixed lower control arms, adjustable tracbar, extended brake lines, rear leaf packs and quick disconnects. I went to a personal friends alignment shop and had him do the alignment. The best he could get the caster was 11 degrees. My jeep only had 20,000 miles on it, never been wrecked or abused. I cant tell you if its because of the lp 30 or something else, but I know of other 2000 and 2001 cherokees with the same problem. The only way we could get it properly aligned was with a set of adjustable upper control arms. This is not info from a friend of a friend or my buddy down the street. This is from personal headache. The best thing you can do right now is take it to a shop, put your jeep on the rack and have them give you a print out. Most shops should do that without charging for an alignment (maybe $10 or some beer). Post the specs here so everybody can help you a little better.

Waiting on a trac bar....so i will keep you guys up to date on that
now my brakes are still acting crazy. I have had a shop check them out, and i have personally checked them out and they are in great shape. When I pull up to an intersection they dont engage right away, then my pedal starts pulsating quickly, and then my brakes lock up and i slide to a stop...
Please Help.....

Got the Trac Bar in today, hoping to get some advice on how to get it on quickly, ordered my lca's from rustys today and hopefully this will set me in the right direction.......so now some help on getting this trac bar installed

I have a 2000 with LP D30. Caster is a PIA. it doesnt take a lot of extra length in the UCAs to get the caster angle you need, so be easy on it. Try to get as close to factory as possible, but watch you pinion angle. It is a judgement call to get a happy medium between the castor and the pinion angles. It may take a couple of times to get it driving like you like. Good luck, and book mark www.go.jeep-xj.com it is a handy resource to have.

On the brake issue:
Have you blead them?
Has the fluid resivoir ever gone dry?
Are the seals on the calipers rotten?
Are you leaking fluid from any line?

Good luck with that, by the way.

everything checks out with the brakes, every time i check...could it be an ABS sensor going out...because it happens intermitently
with everything else, im at a 3 inch lift, and hopefully will in the end have one of the nicest riding lifts out there HA!
Pretty sure im going to order the UCA's just because of a search i did that said with 3" of lift and new UCA's it became an amazing ride and had way better articulation
any thoughts

UCA's cannot not change you ride at all. Most after market ones will make it slightly worse in fact as they often have harder or smaller bushes than stock so more vibes will transmit into the body. You dont need adjustable arms upper or lower at 3". I have perfect caster setup at 4" without them just using shims for the lowers.

ok unless the UCA mouting points on the axle are closer to the tube on the LP 30 than on previous years, the effect on Castor angle is the same as any other year model when you lift it. do you have the symptoms of having too much castor, or are you just looking for a scapegoat to avoid blaming your alignment guy?


did you unplug the ABS fuse and does it brake smoothly without ABS? if so it is probably one of the wheel sensors as you mentioned.

my alignment guy is a family friend, the only guy i trust with my jeep....from what i have read other people have the same problem with their 2000 and 2001 xj's.....so i will go with what i have heard will give me a better ride, beefier is always better in some department right?

bholt5035 said:

Good luck, and book mark http://go.jeep-xj.info it is a handy resource to have.

Click to expand...

Fixed the link for ya...