Jeep JK Questions

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
One of my customer's sons has '15 JKU. It was towed behind an RV for the first part of it's life, 45K now. It has 31's so they say but I think they are bigger. NO LIFT. I've always thought the front springs are trashed because it's low in front. Dad says it leans left but their driveway is tilted so I've not paid attn to that., but front end noticeably squats. Dad took it to Rowell's of all places and they replaced front springs and tried to align it and said it wouldn't align. Said sway bar may also be bad but inconclusive. They said it needs a new front axle/diff without giving a reason other than it would not align.
I told them when they got it that it needs a budget lift to square it up. So now they're wanting a second opinion because they don't trust Rowell's. I've not looked real hard at it because my Jeeps are '56 and '68 so my tech advice is archaic.
What inherent issues would a JKU with these issue have?
 
Springs are cheap and spacers are cheaper to level it. I see no reason it wouldn't align other than A: Rowells is full of shit or B: It's been wrecked.

I've seen a handful of jks that seem low in the front for no apparent reason.
 
willness33 said:
Springs are cheap and spacers are cheaper to level it. I see no reason it wouldn't align other than A: Rowells is full of shit or B: It's been wrecked.

I've seen a handful of jks that seem low in the front for no apparent reason.
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There were also 2wd JKs for a year or two. But I think most of them are because of the grumper, and the dust accumulated on the winch and bumper from lack of use.
 
What does the caster look like?
 
jeepinmatt said:
There were also 2wd JKs for a year or two. But I think most of them are because of the grumper, and the dust accumulated on the winch and bumper from lack of use.
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The 2wd ones were really low in the front. I think they were only available in 2007, maybe 2008.
 
First off, I hate Jeeps, but I own one for my teenage son that insists on learning something the hard way. I was told, it’s pretty common to bend the front axle tube. “Pot holes can do it”. I added a truss and inner C gussets to hopefully prevent it. Might wanna check yours out before you go throwing too many parts at it.
 
I've not inspected it closly yet and it won't be there today when I go there. They said that the new springs did help raise it a bit. Heres a couple pics. From these the right front does look bad but it could be the angle of the pic
1713439361093.jpeg

1713439376521.jpeg
 
RF looks bent. Upper half of the yoke looks leaned inward. Could be the angle of the picture. In any case, that's an alignment issue, not a ride height issue.
 
@R Q I edited the post, you posted pictures right as I replied the first time.
 
You need to actually measure it. Set it up on jack stands and level the axle tube, remove wheel, measure the angle off the wheel mounting surface. Your eye isn’t calibrated well enough to decide if the camber angle is correct.
 
Andy J. said:
You need to actually measure it. Set it up on jack stands and level the axle tube, remove wheel, measure the angle off the wheel mounting surface. Your eye isn’t calibrated well enough to decide the the camber angle is correct.
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If it's been to the shop, the owner probably has the report saying the RF has 2* of camber.
 
Andy J. said:
You need to actually measure it. Set it up on jack stands and level the axle tube, remove wheel, measure the angle off the wheel mounting surface. Your eye isn’t calibrated well enough to decide if the camber angle is correct.
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Psh. What do you know about bent front axles in a white JKU?
 
jeepinmatt said:
Psh. What do you know about bent front axles in a white JKU?
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But seriously, and to jeepinmatt’s point, I dealt with this on my JKU. After bouncing mine off a boulder at Potts, I swore the axle housing looked bent. It was obvious that one tire was leaning more than the other. So what did I do? The most logical thing of course - replace it with a ProRock44.

After spending thousands of dollars on the upgrade, @Chris_Keziah looked at the housing and said something like “are you sure this is bent?” Then he measured the housing and it was perfectly straight. :buttkick: I never told my wife this last part. :laughing:
 
So far, the owner can't get alignment report from Rowell's. But she has set up an appointment with someone that I referred her too check it out. I was at their house today but the Jeep was gone with junior at school. AND the new front springs came alive after the ride home and got the front to a desirable ride height. Now they need new rear springs, lol I was hoping to see it in person to check it out. I see the Jeep all the time and have commented on the low front end but haven't seen the funky tire leaning but it's always nosed into the driveway plus I'm busy while there.
I'll follow up when I hear more.
 
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R Q said:
I don't know of him but I sent them to a friend that I trust and they have an appointment in the morning.
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Ig all else fails I trust max. He's a solid guy. He did a lot of work on our fleet when I was in the landscape biz in the area.
 
So this Jeep has been sagging in front since they got it. I think the damage was done before they got it. It's never been muddy or off road dirty since they got it and I'm the there every week.
Funny thing is, I helped the wife figure it out because she always contacts me when in need of someone that knows things. I've guided her through this and sent her to Jason and I recommended getting a takeout axle and installing but her husband who is cool but I guess tat he wants to handle it, so I backed off. He's going to buy a new Dana axle from advice from a different shop. I had already lined up 2 housings to switch parts to as needed but was still hoping to find one with the correct gear ratio.
 
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