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MJ steering/lift problem

Jonnyjpr

Jonnyjpr

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Oceanside, CA
My buddy put on a RE 5.5 lift on his MJ. The tie rod link is rubbing the bolt for the stabilizer on that goes thru the mount thats on the axle. I dont know if anyone else has run into this problem. we even got a drop pitman arm but that didnt really do anything at all either. Upon further investigating, the axle might actually be torqued on the passenger side. That could be the culprit. I'll try to get some pics to clear it up a little. Whatta u guys think?
 
do you mean the axle isnt centered side-to-side? if so, adjust your tracbar untill it is. if you dont have an adjustable tracbar, thats your problem.

as far as the steering rubbing, thats what happens when you lift something 5.5 and dont change the steering...

just fyi, thats not mj specific.
 
no i'm talkin about the axle housing tube twisted on the passenger side. Making the the trackbar mount, stabilizer mount, and coil spring mount on the passenger side twist forward.
 
unfortunately not. the two tubes that go into the differential, i believe that the passenger side tube has twisted. How likely is this?
 
Well come to find out the axle was twisted about 3 or 4 degrees. but unfortunately that did not fix our problem. hopefully some of these pics will show u guys what i'm talkin about.

heres some pics
steer1.jpg


steer2.jpg


steer3.jpg
 
this was with the new axle that we measured to make sure it wasnt fubard
 
Its very common.Wheelbase and castor/pinion angle all play a factor.
 
Wait till you put in the RE lower sway bar mount and the hitch pin to hold the link on. Then it will really rub that TRE.

Like xcm said, upgrade your steering.
 
xcm said:
d00d- UPGRADE your steering. you cant run 5.5" lift and stock steering without stuff rubbing
Click to expand...

Thats total bull,been running all 3 of my rigs at 6"+ for years on stock steering.As I always say,I lifted the 2K 3 weeks after buying it(about 600 miles),its still drives better than stock.Ive never replaced a single tre or anything on the 2k,and its been severly beaten.
 
Last edited:
RCP Phx said:
Thats total bull,been running all 3 of my rigs at 6"+ for years on stock steering.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, how did you address the rubbing issue? Even with nothing bolted to it, my lower sway bar link still gets hit by the draglink knuckle when the suspension is drooped on the passenger side.

LSBMBracket4.jpg
 
fyrfytr1717 said:
Out of curiosity, how did you address the rubbing issue? Even with nothing bolted to it, my lower sway bar link still gets hit by the draglink knuckle when the suspension is drooped on the passenger side.

LSBMBracket4.jpg
Click to expand...

I rolled the swaybar links back about 1/2" and inverted the steering dampner.
 
Ive had to replace the steering on my XJ, my bros ZJ, and a buddies MJ all because of this exact steering issue when i lifted it to 5-6"s.

Can we get a pic of all 3 of your 6" lifted rigs' steering RCP Phx?
 
RCP Phx said:
I rolled the swaybar links back about 1/2" and inverted the steering dampner.
Click to expand...

By rolled do you mean heated them up and bent them back toward the coils? Or do you have some other method?
 
In regards to the stabilizer bolt head hitting, another thing that will cause this is having the control arms (upper and lower) pushed forward too far. If you shorten up all the arms a little while still keeping angles properly aligned, it may help. The pitman arm is a fixed point and if you pull the housing back the steering will pull away slightly.

I had this issue on my MJ when I first installed the kit, and I found that I had all the arms stretching the wheelbase out. I shortened them up, and now it clears. I still had to do some custom lower sway bar mounts for the steering to clear there though.

I'm sitting at about 6 - 6.5", originally had stock steering with no problem, but went to the Currie HD cuz I got a smoking deal on it.
 
Jonnyjpr said:
The arms arent adjustable. They're fixed
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. Fortunately I don't have a clearance issue with the stabilizer bolt head. I was thinking though... what about replacing it with a pan head or a truss head bolt. You probably would have a tough time finding a hardened one, but I don't think that bolt is subject to much force anyways.

 
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