Castor after lift

resqman911

resqman911

New member
Hey guys quick question.

I lifted my Jeep a couple weeks ago and added lower control arms last week. Took in for an alignment. Thought everything was good, didn't really look at the numbers on the paperwork, just figured they knew what they were doing.

Jeep drives good but I feel like I'm picking up a little bit of vibration, I check everything out, everything is tight and looks good, so I start reading and see that improper castor can cause some driveline vibration. So I pull my paperwork out and my castor is 6.2 and 6.3, on the paperwork it says they didn't adjust castor because the vehicle does not have castor adjustment, which it does, adjustable lowers.

So my question: Is my castor out of adjustment for a 2.5 lift with 35's? what should it be? and should I take it back to the shop and have them fix it or just adjust my lower myself?

Im a little worried about having a shop that didn't even realize I had adjustable control arms start making adjustments.
 
branman

branman

-
Sounds like you need to pull your lowers in a little bit - Did you add a new front drive shaft when you lifted it? Stock is around 4.2ish degrees
 
BC-2

BC-2

New member
I believe the spec for a stock JK caster angle is 4 degrees with 2 degrees pinion angle. So if your caster is over 6 degrees, your drive shaft is definitely at an excessive angle which is probably the vibration you're feeling.
 
mds22

mds22

New member
resqman911 said:
Hey guys quick question.

I lifted my Jeep a couple weeks ago and added lower control arms last week. Took in for an alignment. Thought everything was good, didn't really look at the numbers on the paperwork, just figured they knew what they were doing.

Jeep drives good but I feel like I'm picking up a little bit of vibration, I check everything out, everything is tight and looks good, so I start reading and see that improper castor can cause some driveline vibration. So I pull my paperwork out and my castor is 6.2 and 6.3, on the paperwork it says they didn't adjust castor because the vehicle does not have castor adjustment, which it does, adjustable lowers.

So my question: Is my castor out of adjustment for a 2.5 lift with 35's? what should it be? and should I take it back to the shop and have them fix it or just adjust my lower myself?

Im a little worried about having a shop that didn't even realize I had adjustable control arms start making adjustments.
Click to expand...

Most normal alignment shops won't touch control arms.
 
resqman911

resqman911

New member
Thanks for the write up, looks easy enough and I prefer to do it myself, wondering if Lowes carries an angle finder in stock
 
mudmobeeler

mudmobeeler

Caught the Bug
resqman911 said:
Thanks for the write up, looks easy enough and I prefer to do it myself, wondering if Lowes carries an angle finder in stock
Click to expand...

The lowes close to me has one but it isn't like the one in the write up. The one in the write up looks a lot better.
 
BC-2

BC-2

New member
resqman911 said:
Thanks for the write up, looks easy enough and I prefer to do it myself, wondering if Lowes carries an angle finder in stock
Click to expand...

If you have a smart phone, you should be able to download an app (free or cheap). There's a good one for the iPhone called "Clinometer".
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
MotoMatthew said:
Metalcloak told me to set castor at 5 degrees instead of the oem 4.2 for their 3.5" kit.
Click to expand...

LOL!! I'll bet they did. :crazyeyes:

More positive caster is awesome and it will make your ride handle better. I tried doing this back when the JK first came out 8 years ago and used to recommend it as well. However, over time, I learned that this was in fact a mistake. Unfortunately, the steeper angle WILL cause driveline vibrations especially if you're running 5.13 gears or higher and that can lead to a transfer case housing failure - ask me how I know. Metalcloak is new to the off road world and clearly, they just haven't learned this yet.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
MotoMatthew said:
Is it true that the left and right sides will never have equal caster?
Click to expand...

Yup, they will both be off but just by a bit. Take an angle finder to both your end forgings and see for yourself. But really, it's no big deal and don't let a manufacturer try and convince you that you can use adjustable control arms to change the caster on a SOLID front axle.
 
MotoMatthew

MotoMatthew

Member
Following their instructions I set the right front at 5.2 which made the other side set at 5.7. I'm pretty certain I kept all arms equal length on both sides but now I'm second guessing!
 
olram30

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
Holy smokes, at 5.7° your pinion is probably pointed down pretty good. Hard on u joints. Hope they don't ask people to jump off a cliff.
 
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