[spartan9]

just purchased first jeep and lifted it with 3.5 sport R/E RE7145M kit.
did not use high steer kit based on shops recommendation, but did change front trac bar R/E 1673. everything feels great but steering is not like stock. would this high steer kit have made it steer closer to stock feeling? any suggestions?

 

[mommymallcrawler]

Did the lift come with adjustable control arms at that height? Or does RE do brackets? Did you get an alignment? Did they give you a printout? Caster being off will cause flighty steering. Have this checked before throwing parts at it.

2 or 4 door?

 

[mommymallcrawler]

And...what tires did you put on?

 

[kjeeper10]

Yes, i dont know why they would recommend against it.

 

[spartan9]

4 door, trail country - cepek tires 315/70 r17, kit had control arm geometry correction brackets. Front and rear cam bolts for caster and pinion. did not get printout but will get it - have to go back at 500miles to have checked - what should caster be set at?

thanks,

 

[Pressurized]

That kit should have plenty of caster. Quite a few kits don't do steering correction at 3.5, but its the height that can definitely take advantage of it.

Tell us what you are feeling different?

 

[spartan9]

not sure if terminology correct but i'll try. steering wheel straight and tight. turns fine. steering feels better at highway speeds. at lower speeds 25-45 on bumpy or roads with a lot of crown feels like i'm driving a boat at times. feel like road controlling jeep. didnt feel anything like this before lift and tires

 

[Pressurized]

not sure if terminology correct but i'll try. steering wheel straight and tight. turns fine. steering feels better at highway speeds. at lower speeds 25-45 on bumpy or roads with a lot of crown feels like i'm driving a boat at times. feel like road controlling jeep. didnt feel anything like this before lift and tires

Got it... First I want to answer a question you asked that I missed. You should have caster somewhere near 4.0° to 4.5° with that set up. It could be a little higher, but too much and you are over working the drive shaft.

The high steer in the Rubicon Express kit is the proper drag link flip with front track bar bracket... It requires them to drill the knuckle to install.

What you are describing, very well could be bump steer... Which is exactly what the high steer is designed to eliminate. When you hit a bump and the suspension moves, the Jeep tracks to one side or the other.

Now, this gets me thinking... If they put on the front track bar bracket without the drag link flip, it would likely be worse. Those 2 pieces go hand in hand. Can you take a photo of your front axle for us to examine?

 

[spartan9]

front

let me know if this pic works

 

[kjeeper10]

let me know if this pic works

I dont see a bracket.

 

[mmlboz]

I just ordered this kit for my jeep. I looks like you didn't use the track bar bracket either. From what I understand is by raising the track bar and using the high steer kit it flattens the angles of both the track bar and draglink . When you lift a jeep over 3" the angles start getting steep so when you start hitting bumps and the suspension moves up and down you get more side to side movement of the front axle and also steering . Also caster being off will make for wandering all over the road . I plan to install raised track bar bracket and high steer kit when I get my kit . Also how much lift did you get with this kit ? It seems like a lot of spring kits raise the jeep more than 3.5" .

 

[Pressurized]

I agree, looks like the bracket was not installed. It very well might "fix" what you are feeling to have the bracket installed, the drag link installed and have your axle centered again... High steer, like geometry brackets, is designed to put things back close to stock.

 

[spartan9]

thanks for the info. supposed to be 3.5" lift but looks higher. didn't measure. thought my 315 tires were close to 35" but really only about 34". looks like i could fit 37" tires with stock fenders.

 

[kjeeper10]

thanks for the info. supposed to be 3.5" lift but looks higher. didn't measure. thought my 315 tires were close to 35" but really only about 34". looks like i could fit 37" tires with stock fenders.

Measure the back side of the front coils. From the base to upper lip of the perch. Stock = 9 3/8
If you have stock flares, from mid wheel to fender lip = 20 1/4 stock.

 

[mmlboz]

Do you have any pics of your jeep lifted ? Also how is the ride ? I was all over the place trying to decide on a lift . Not much info about this lift online but it seems to come with everything needed to set the jeep up . So many kits out there don't address all the issues with lifting these jeeps. This is my first jeep project but have had many early Broncos and know if the caster is not right after a lift it can be a handful. I should have my kit next week .