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Steering Geometry

D

Dirt101

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lincoln, NE
Im getting some bumpsteer and wondered how the geometry looked on my steering..I bought the jeep just how it is, its at 4.5" with an adj trackbar ...any thoughts or advice? Thanks

steering2.jpg
 
OK not steering geometry, but where's the sway bar?

Also, I have a different trac-bar, but the installaion instructions had the adjustable end towards the axle and that the adj end part was parallel with the ground. I think if my drag link was at the steep an angle I would want a drop pitman arm.
 
Put the trackbar back in the original axle side mount.
 
Dirt101 said:
I wondered about this..should I not have the drop mount w the adj bar?
Click to expand...

No. Take the bracket out and mount the trackbar in the stock location.
 
passxj said:
Put the trackbar back in the original axle side mount.
Click to expand...


X2!! You might have to re-drill, if your tracbar does not extend enough. OR, get a different tracbar. This is ONLY if the one you have is nto long enough once you remove the bracket.

Good luck!
 
It looks to me like that bracket allows for a slightly longer trackbar which is a good thing, not bad.

Assuming there are no clearance issues with the trackbar in its present form, I'd also think that having the adjustable end at the chassis end would keep it out of harms way to avoid bunging up the threads.

When are you experiencing bump steer? Can you describe what happens? Some guys get a shake in their steering wheel when hitting a bump, and call that bump steer, which it isn't. Do you get bump steer on dips or bumps, on single wheel bumps or both wheels hitting something at the same time?
 
Its not the steering wheel shake, my TJ did that a little bit...its usually when hitting something at an angle or with just one wheel, honestly its not bad at all and Ive driven it for a few months already but just got to looking and figured if taking the bracket off will put the TB and DL in line then why not.
 
lowrange2 said:
I wonder who makes that bracket. Mine had that same bracket on it when I got my Jeep and I recently removed it and wondered who made it.
Click to expand...
Pro-comp and Rough Country
 
lowrange2 said:
I was thinking RC... good to know - I don't know why but yeah - good to know.
Click to expand...
I have had one floating around for years,use it whenever I get a CAB,but I always get it back later after they figure out it sucks!
 
Dirt101 said:
Its not the steering wheel shake, my TJ did that a little bit...its usually when hitting something at an angle or with just one wheel, honestly its not bad at all and Ive driven it for a few months already but just got to looking and figured if taking the bracket off will put the TB and DL in line then why not.
Click to expand...
bump steer occurring with both wheels hitting a dip or bump simultaneously is the result of steering geometry design issues.

When only one wheel hits a bump or dip, the control arms come into play. With the steep control arm angles of a lifted XJ, the axle will move forward on the side hitting the bump. This imparts a steering input that, in your case, will be more pronounced the the affect due to your steering geometry. In other words, if you were to achieve perfection in the relationship between your track bar and drag link, the bump steer would still be there.
 
It looks like your yellow line(relocated) doesn't terminate at the original track bar axle mount. If you were to redraw the line more accurately, the yellow and red lines would still not be parallel and you would lose some track bar length compared to the current setup. The net result would be slightly closer to parallel than the current setup at the expense of a greater difference in length. Probably a wash.

Djjordache said:
put it back in the stock spot the trackbar and drag link are supposed to be parallel see pic:
steering2.jpg
Click to expand...
 
MaXJohnson said:
It looks like your yellow line(relocated) doesn't terminate at the original track bar axle mount. If you were to redraw the line more accurately, the yellow and red lines would still not be parallel and you would lose some track bar length compared to the current setup. The net result would be slightly closer to parallel than the current setup at the expense of a greater difference in length. Probably a wash.
Click to expand...

No I'd say it terminates dead on the factory tracbar bracket... I believe you're looking at the wrong bolt.
 
lowrange2 said:
No I'd say it terminates dead on the factory tracbar bracket... I believe you're looking at the wrong bolt.
Click to expand...
yeh, I think you're right, although I still think the control arm angle is the bigger culprit here
 
go with Djjordache picture and remove the drop bracket at the axle end and install the trackbar back where it was from the factory. you will however have to re-adjust your trackbar to keep your axle perfectly centered. but that's why you have an adjustable trackbar, so you can make fine adjustments like that when required.

and i don't really see a problem with his control arms being the "bigger culprit".
while i'm not saying they are perfect, i'm saying that loose/worn or incorrect parts will cause bigger problems than short arms.

my XJ sits on 5" lift with currie lower arms and stock uppers, and i've had various vibs/bumps for a while. turns out the hole in my passenger knuckle where the draglink connects was starting to wear out and the tie rod end was bad. my inner driver tie rod end was bad. both of my hubs were bad, and i had a bad control arm bushing.
guess what happened when i fixed all of that??? no more problems.

and no, not all problems are always dead obvious. there was such a tiny amount of slop in my draglink tie rod end and the knuckle that it took me several times with the vehicle on the rack before i finally was able to locate it.
 
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