WK Grand Cherokee won't align after budget boost install....

REDLYNER

REDLYNER

Mall Crawling Race Rig
Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Location
Mountain Island
Any suggestions here?

I installed a Rough Country 2" budget boost on my Overland WK and now the passenger front won't align. I've taken it to two different shops and have had 3 alignments done, and both shops said the same thing: can't get passenger front into the green (spec). So now the car pulls to the right. It's really a pain on long trips, any thoughts?

Anyone else have this happen?
 
what on the passernger front will not align ??? caster??, camber?? toe ??
the only thing i can think of is the camber & toe would be affected with a lift kit if it is IFS but with only a 2" lift not by much
& just the toe if it is solid axle
what year is your Jeep WK & is it IFS or a solid axle front ???
should be able to ajust the alignment to speck with only a 2" lift
 
Post up all the numbers from the alignment sheets. I bet your cross-caster is out of spec. That's the problem with a lot of "alignment" guys nowadays, if it is anything but stock they don't know what to do, since the computer cannot tell them. I don't have an alignment rack but have the "lifetime" alignment package from Firestone, last time I took it in there I had to tell them how to fix the alignment because their alignment tech did not know how to handle a lifted IFS truck.
 
OnlyOneDR said:
Post up all the numbers from the alignment sheets. I bet your cross-caster is out of spec. That's the problem with a lot of "alignment" guys nowadays, if it is anything but stock they don't know what to do, since the computer cannot tell them. I don't have an alignment rack but have the "lifetime" alignment package from Firestone, last time I took it in there I had to tell them how to fix the alignment because their alignment tech did not know how to handle a lifted IFS truck.
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I have the lifetime too, on my now full width long arm Xj lol... Can't wait to take it back and watch the guy squirm. They have attempted to refund me my money on 2 seperate occasions.
 
My lifted WK pulls somewhat too and I;ve had it aligned several times. Of course it could be that I need new upper control arms. But I rarely drive it so it really doesn't bother me.

I would try to find a shop that installs a lot of lifts, they may be better suited to align a lifted vehicle
 
Why is it the morons doing alignments now days only know red or green.
If they could read the numbers and know what they mean they could fix the problem even if it involved pulling the cam bolt and slotting the hole a little.
Sounds like you need to find a shop that specializes in suspension repair.
Better yet if you find an old guy that still uses a toe stick and a bubble gauge theirs your man!

BUCKEYE PERFORMANCE INC. 828-779-2242.
 
novacayne75 said:
Why is it the morons doing alignments now days only know red or green.
If they could read the numbers and know what they mean they could fix the problem even if it involved pulling the cam bolt and slotting the hole a little.
Sounds like you need to find a shop that specializes in suspension repair.
Better yet if you find an old guy that still uses a toe stick and a bubble gauge theirs your man!

BUCKEYE PERFORMANCE INC. 828-779-2242.
Click to expand...


Yes Sir. I learned early on working on race cars with my old man. I don't think I've ever paid to have an alignment done on any of my Jeeps or trucks. I always get the strings and toe plates out and get after it for a couple hours. This way I know it is right when I back it out of the garage.
 
Weird... this thread stopped sending me post updates. I'll try to get a sheet emailed from one of the shops and post up.
 
I don't have the print from either shop, but after calling them up they are saying it has negative camber and there is no more room to adjust it. It is "adjusted to the max" and still has negative camber.
 
You can loosen the LCA bolts slightly and pry the arms until they are in spec. Slotting the bolt holes may be needed. It can be done and is common practice.
 
Jody Treadway said:
You can loosen the LCA bolts slightly and pry the arms until they are in spec. Slotting the bolt holes may be needed. It can be done and is common practice.
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That's what I was thinking. I bet the guys doing the alignment are just using the upper control arms for adjustment.
 
OnlyOneDR said:
Upper arms are not adjustable on WKs.
Click to expand...

So if I put together what you and Jody are saying there is no adjustment on the front of a WK for camber. I find that hard to believe.

Jay if you haven't figured this out by Saturday I'll be up at my shop in Denver and I would take a look at it for you to see if there is anything that can be done for you.
 
ABadJeeper said:
So if I put together what you and Jody are saying there is no adjustment on the front of a WK for camber. I find that hard to believe.

Jay if you haven't figured this out by Saturday I'll be up at my shop in Denver and I would take a look at it for you to see if there is anything that can be done for you.
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I'll be in Denver on Saturday, maybe we can take a look. I'm thinking about hitting that new off road park in Vail...
 
ABadJeeper said:
So if I put together what you and Jody are saying there is no adjustment on the front of a WK for camber. I find that hard to believe.

Jay if you haven't figured this out by Saturday I'll be up at my shop in Denver and I would take a look at it for you to see if there is anything that can be done for you.
Click to expand...


There is no OEM camber adjustment. If it is out of spec, we had to look for a bent or failed component. There are ways of modifying the mounting holes to do so, but the OEM arms do not allow adjustment.
 
If it's anything like my truck your only adj will be the lower control arm with two cam bolts. Need to push the rear bolts out more than front ones to keep caster happy.
 
Something to keep in mind, the driver front is in spec, it's just the passenger front.


I found this info earlier:


Quote:

Crawl under your Jeep and look at the LCA bolts. Is there space to move the LCA's out? There is about 1/2" stock, but I don't know if they already tried to move these or not. If there is a little space, take it back and show them how to do it.

From the service manual:

Camber and caster angle adjustments involve changing the position of the lower control arm with the slots in the
frame brackets to move the lower control arm inwards or outwards for proper adjustment. This can be achieved by
using a long pry bar with a curved tip and inserting the pry bar into the lower control arm frame brackets
and prying inwards or outwards.
NOTE: Camber and caster adjustments must be made at the lower control arm Do not use the upper control
arm for Camber and Caster adjustments.
NOTE: When the lower control arm pivot bolts are loosened the lower control arm will normally go outwards
automatically with the weight of the vehicle.
CASTER
Moving the rear position of the lower control arm at the frame in or out, will change the caster angle significantly
and camber angle only slightly. To maintain the camber angle while adjusting caster, move the rear of the lower
control arm in or out. Then move the front of the lower control arm slightly in the opposite direction.
CAMBER
Move both the front and rear of the lower control arm together in or out. This will change the camber angle significantly
and caster angle slightly.
After adjustment is made tighten the lower control arm bolt & nuts to FRONT169 N·m (125 ft. lbs.) and the REAR
88 N·m (65 ft. lbs.).
TOE ADJUSTMENT
The wheel toe position adjustment is the final adjustment.
1. Start the engine and turn wheels both ways before
straightening the wheels. Secure the steering
wheel with the front wheels in the straight-ahead
position.
2. Loosen the tie rod jam nuts (3).
NOTE: Each front wheel should be adjusted for
one-half of the total toe position specification.
This will ensure the steering wheel will be centered
when the wheels are positioned straightahead.
3. Adjust the wheel toe position by turning the inner
tie rod (4) as necessary.
4. Tighten the tie rod jam nut (3) to 75N·m (55 ft. lbs.).
5. Verify the specifications.
6. Turn off engine.

DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATION
PREFERRED CASTER
4.0°
CAMBER
2 0.25°
TOTAL TOE-IN
+ 0.25°
RANGE 3.55° to 4.45° + 0.15° to - 0.70° 0° to + 0.5°
MAX RT/LT DIFFERENCE 0.5° 0.5° 0.5°
REAR AXLE
SPECIFICATIONS
DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATION
PREFERRED CAMBER
-.25°
THRUST ANGLE
0°
TOTAL TOE-IN
+.25°
RANGE 0° ± 0.5° 0° ± 0.25° 0° + 0.5
 
What kit did you use? I had a wk with the 3-1/2" rock crawler and didn't have any issues. It was a spacers kit that bolted to the bottom of the strut.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
 
cgm147 said:
What kit did you use? I had a wk with the 3-1/2" rock crawler and didn't have any issues. It was a spacers kit that bolted to the bottom of the strut.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Rough Country 2.5" spacer lift.
 
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