Advice needed

gafirefighter20

New member
A little back story. I bought my 2015 JKU back in September. I bought it from the dealer brand new with a 2.5" lift with 35's. From the beginning I noticed it pulled to the left pretty bad. I was new to the JK at that point so I kind of figured that it was just a lifted jeep and took some getting used to. So of course the first month we drove it a ton but it was all on road. Then after 2000 I noticed the front tires were starting to wear on the outside shoulders. They are Cooper Stt. First thing I did was head up to the dealer to have the alignment checked. After the drove it and looked it over the service manager came out and told me that everything they could check looked ok. He told me that the ride was just part of a lifted jeep. Then I noticed on the alignment sheet they gave me that my camber on the drivers side was -1.1. This is when my problems started. I brought it to the attention of the service manager and told them that something was obviously wrong. The kept playing the game that this is what happens with a lifted jeep and that the camber couldn't be fixed. They ended up bringing in someone from the local shop they use for the lifts. After waiting for nearly 7 hours one of the techs from the shop came to me and said that they couldn't find anything wrong. Well, luckily I had spent the time waiting on here and other forums researching the problem. I brought up that obviously either the ball joints were already toast or the c was bent. They more or less blew me off and the shop tech even tried to tell me that camber gets thrown off when you lift a Jeep. He said it's just part of it. When I told him that camber is set from the axle when it is welded and isn't affected by a lift I got a blank stare. I was insistant that I wanted the axle warranteed or at the very least adjustable ball joints installed to fix the camber. The tech tried to give me a lecture that the ball joints wouldnt fix anything and kept on thay this is part of having a Jeep. Finally, the owner of the shop came out and told me to keep an eye on it and promised me that if the tires start to wear he will warranty and replace them. So, here we are 4 months later and right at 8000 miles. Since I left there. I have religiously kept up with the air pressure. I have rotated the tires every 3000 miles. I've had the dealer check the alignment 3 more times. And, I have yet to take the Jeep off road because I knew that if they could find a way to make this my fault they would. So I now have 4 tires that are 50% worn from the center out and 2 that are less than 10/32. I went back to the shop last Friday and met with the owner. He was shocked. His first idea was we need to put an adjustable ball joint to fix the camber. Exactly what I said from the beginning. He also said he was contacting Cooper to see about a warranty on the tires. He contacted me today and told me that Cooper is prorating the warranty for the tread that is left on the tires. So now he is expecting me to come out of pocket for the rest of the tire cost. I don't know who else to contact. The dealer is telling me that Chrysler will not warranty the axle and they aren't either. And I'm about to lay into the shop owner for shaking my hand and promising to replace the tires if they wear. I love the Jeep but I can't believe I spent 40k on a vehicle with a factory defect that no one will take care of. And I'm going to have to come out of pocket for tires that will be worn out in 10-12000 miles.
 

gafirefighter20

New member
I'm working on getting my alignment sheet scanned in and I'll post it too. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's killing me not going wheeling. I just don't want them to have any reasons to turn this around on me.
 

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
That sucks, what kit was installed? There are jeeps with -1.1 camber and still drive straight. So are both front tires doing this?
 

gafirefighter20

New member
It is a Rubicon Express 2.5 coil lift. All 4 tires that have rotated through the front have worn. But, unless I'm missing something, negative Camber would cause the insides to wear correct? They are all worn from the center to the outside shoulder. I would think a toe problem but it has been checked by them numerous times and was in spec. I'm planning to order RK adjustable front LCA's and track bar soon. I'm waiting to see how much I will have to come out of pocket for tires first. Then I will eventually replace the coils with RK too. It has been a long time since I was around Jeeps and back then Rubicon Express stuff was pretty high end. I see that changed with the JK and being now owned by 4 wheel parts. I can live with going to adjustable ball joints since the factory ball joints seem to be junk anyway. But like I said l, I can't belive I have a brand new vehicle that I'm having this much headache with and no backing from the dealer.
 

gafirefighter20

New member
And the passenger camber is in spec. Since I went in the last time to have the alignment check the issue of pulling is gone. Could have been new tires or something settling. I don't know. The main issue right now is tire wear. It is flighty to drive at highway speeds but I know that will be taken care of by getting the caster back in spec. I have learned a lot through reading and wish I had from the beginning but that's part of it I guess.
 

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
So you have negative cam ber, that would cause the insides to wear I would think. Since the top of the tires are inward. Sounds like maybe another issue. I would think your toe is off or caster issues. Not sure what the re kit uses for caster correction. Good luck fixing this.
 

gafirefighter20

New member
I was thinking the same. The wear doesn't match the camber issue but it was the only problem found. The RE kit does nothing to correct caster. I know the only thing they can do for alignment at this point is toe adjustment with all the factory stuff still in place. I have just been using them since we had an issue to begin with. They have been through it and can't find anything else out of spec. I will know more after I talk to the owner of the shop today and get the tire deal figured out. If I can keep from coming out of pocket I am going to get everything ordered and get the geometry straightened out.
 

jknikos

Member
Ok what i say may have no reason and i cannot justify it BUT its the tires. :crazyeyes: I can tell for sure because i ran cooper stts for more than 60k miles and moreover around here if you want a 35inch there is no other 'mud' tire available.:grayno: So almost every lifted jk i know runs STTs. With every possible combination of usage,lift,wear. When i tried a different tire (3 different tire combinations precisely) it did not pull. When i put the STTs it pulled hard. It doesnt matter if the tires are new or have 60ks on them. They pull. And everyone blames the lifted jeep thing for that. I know run Mickey's baja claw ttc and no pull :D Just dont do anything until you try another tire with the exact same setup you have. Try a different tire and make them replace your tires because STTs pull. :yup: I cannot jystify that, i cannot explain that. Just try and let us know.

Note: They always pull left.:idontknow:
 
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jeeeep

Hooked
document every visit and every conversation. There are lemon laws, check what it is for your state.

Since you purchased the Jeep new with the lift and tires installed by the dealer they should make it right. Don't install anything else until you get the tire issue sorted out.

You may call they Chrysler customer care or contact your local news outlet consumer affairs to see if they can help resolve it (dealers hate this kind of attention)

For them to say it's "normal" for lifted Jeeps to do this is BS, it's only normal when they do a half-assed job and not install all the components to make it a "safe" and proper handling lift.
 

MTG

Caught the Bug
TLDR all of it, but if it's bent C's how do you know they didn't bend on the road with 35s?
 

OscarMike2.0

New member
What stealership did you buy it from. Im in GA as well and have never had anything but a pleasant experience with my dealership (Ed Voyles)
 

gafirefighter20

New member
They should know the 35's didn't cause the issue because it's been a documented problem since day one. Within the first month of owning it I went in 3 different times because of the pull and that's when the alignment numbers showed the camber issue. The shop that told me they would warranty my tires held back that they will only warranty whatever Cooper pays them for. They are paying for 70% of the tire cost. So I am stuck paying out of pocket for the rest. He was supposedly going to call the service manager at the dealer today and pass along that the axle needs to be warranted and replaced. I told him I'm not settling for ball joints. I don't want a bandaid...I want it fixed. I'm going to call the service manager myself tomorrow and give him one last chance. Then I'm going to Chrysler customer care and on to possible lemon law if this doesn't get straightened out. If I didn't love it so much I would drive this thing through there front door and tell them to keep it.
 

jango

Member
Another jeeper from Atlanta here, If you ever wanted a second opinion on your setup from a really good shop that specializes in off road vehicles try Allsouth Autosports in Buford.

I didn't buy my jeep from Ed voyles, but I do use them for my maintenance and they seem pretty good.

I watched a set of 35" Toyo Mts wear down unevenly on a jeep with a lift as well. (It was Oscar Mike 2.0's jeep) I thought it was due to some sort of toe in issue but I never really knew in the end. Im pretty sure he got under 10k miles on them before the front tires were almost bald and unevenly worn and the rears still had a bit of life left. He now runs 37" nittos and I have yet to see any uneven wear from them.
 

gafirefighter20

New member
I have talked to Allsouth. I am going to be using them for some stuff later. I have finally made a little progress. After enough calling the dealership finally realized I wasn't and that I actually knew what I was talking about. They are taking the Jeep this weekend. They have to check the camber on the rack again and they said depending on how far out of spec it is depends on whether Chrysler will try to fix it with a ball joint or replace the axle. I am going to it by my local alignment shop before I take it to the dealer to have them put it on the machine and give me there measurements just to make sure the dealer doesn't try to adjust the specs in their favor. So, best case scenario I will be getting a new front axle that is in spec so I can start putting my parts on it. I have a set of Bilstein 5100's, Rock Krawler front adjustable LCA's and front adjustable trac bar waiting to be installed. I have held off on installing anything until I got something straightened out with the axle. This has been an absolute nightmare. Just shows you really need to do your research before you just take what the dealer tells you. On the plus side, all of this has shown me what I need to add to the front suspension to get everything in spec and also how easy aligning these things are so I will not be returning to the dealer after all is said and done. Looks like I will be coming out of pocket for part of the cost of the tires that are worn. I guess thats better than having to paid in full when they are completely worn out. I really just want all of this done so I can enjoy the Jeep. I will also be adding a set of the EVO gussets to my list once the axle is fixed.
 

gafirefighter20

New member
We have some progress. I'm dropping the Jeep off Monday. Chrysler wants will either put offset balljoints or replace the axle depending on what the alignment specs read. I made sure to ask the question that if balljoints are used will they replace them when they wear out and the camber issue returns. When I mentioned that the service manager agreed that axle replacement is the only permanent fix. I have a 3/4" spacer from RE for the front to correct my rake, RK adjustable control arms, RK adjustable track bar, 4 Bilstein 5100's, and artec gussets all waiting to be installed when this mess is finally over. This has been a ride for sure.
 
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