A friend and I have been installing a BDS 2" lift kit of springs and shocks in my 99 Wrangler. The directions said to lower the weight back onto the axle on the ground before toquing all the fasteners. So as I was torquing all the bolts this morning I notice that the driver's side rear tire just touches the upper spring mount, and there is over an inch of clearance at the same spot on the other side. I didn't study the clearances before starting the job but there must have been symetry there, right? Can anyone help me understand why the rear axle appears to have moved right an inch and how I might fix that?

Also, on the front end, there are 2 cam bolts which I'm installing, but I can't remove the driver's side bolt because it hits the differential housing just before it would fall out of the bracket. Anyone know the trick to getting out that bolt so I can replace it with a cam bolt? (I don't know what the cam bolt is for exactly, but it appears it will be for an adjustment in front end alignment.)

Okay, its all together but the rear axle is moved over more than 1/2 inch, so much that the tire rubs the spring mount so I can't drive it until I fix it. My research tells me the problem is the track bar, which holds the axle in place and which pivots and because it is raised higher it pivots the axle less to the left than it was before. Seems I can get either a new bracket for the track bar or an adjustable track bar. I think I'll get the new adjustable track bar because I've read the brackets get fatigued or loosen.

Also I've been advised that the front axle has likely moved over as well due to the front tracking bar also pivoting down at a different angle due to the lift. So I will have to get an adjustable track bar for the front as well. They cost about $117 each (free shipping).

What frustrates me the most about this is I would have bought the track bars when I bought the springs and shocks and cam bolts and steering stabilizer, if only BDS had told me I'd need them. As soon as I described the problem to their tech guy he told me its the track bar --and yet they don't even carry a front bar for anything smaller than a 3" lift, even though they sold me a 2" lift. Now after having had it apart 3 days and thinking I'm finally done I find I need to order parts and can't drive it until the days go by waiting for the parts.

It seems to me the suspension co's should advise about the axles moving over before you buy the kit. Personally, I want to have the Jeep centered on the axles and am willing to change the track bars to do the job right. The lift co's seem content to sell kits that put the vehicle off-center without advising the buyer . I'd condemn BDS more forcefully on this except none of the other 2" kits I checked out mention this problem either, and none mentioned anything about the track bar, and come to think of it in all the questions I asked here and everywhere else about which lift to get nobody ever mentioned the track bar either.

So is this unusual that I need it for a 2" lift on a TJ or is it just a conspiracy of silence I've discovered?

i'm trying to figure out your problem. see i put in a 2.5 lift, with new springs, shocks, lower links and it came with a reloction bracket for the rear trac bar but didnt need one for the front. Your cam bolts, are you refering to the bolts on the lower links? i'm just making sure were on the same page.

Hold on here, how can the tire hit the spring?? there's a fixed distance from the perches to the wheel, unless what your saying is that the springs comming from the frame sort of slant down to the axle via a parallel angle to axle, if this is so then your spring may have shifted, a tracj relocate bar is a good think but not really needed for 2.5 inch lift, I would re trace the steps on the install something isn't right there
ML

Mudlover, The drivers' rear tire is hitting the top spring mount. Not because the springs aren't right but because the axle has moved over towards the passenger side. The track bar connects diagonally from the frame on the passenger side to the axle on the drivers side. Think of it like the hour hand on a clock, in stock set-up that bar comes down at an angle of about 4 o'clock, and by coming down at exactly that angle it holds the axle into a centered position vis-a-vis the frame and body and suspension. But when I put in taller springs, the track bar now has to hang down at a sharper angle to reach down to the axle, falling to an angle of, say, 4:20 rather than 4:00. Just like on a clock, as the hand reaches down further it drops down straighter, and this is moving the rear axle over. At least I think that's what's going on, and the tech guy Dave at BDS seems to think it too.

tcoff, the cam bolts are indeed for the front lower links. They're in fine now, though my kit did not come with new links or track bar relocation bracket --just springs and shocks, plus the recommended optional steering stabilizer and cam bolts. The cam bolts I guess will be used by the alignment tech when I finally get it all together and take it for an alignment.

It sounds like you needed a new rear track bar position when you put in a 2.5 inch lift, so I don't know why BDS never even mentioned the possibility of needing one with their 2" lift. What brand kit did you buy? Was the track bar relocation bracket included or recommended, did you buy it separately because you knew you'd need it?

And your not needing to change anything with the front track bar set up --was that just because all your clearances were okay or because you know the front axle really did not move over? I get contradictory advice on the need for a front track bar fix. BDS tech guy Dave told me that both axles would have moved over, not just the rear. After all, the front track bar also pivots down on a specific angle from the frame at top to align the axle at bottom.

Now, if my wheels had a shorter backspacing (BDS recommends 3.5" but my stock wheels are 4.5") the rear drivers tire would still have an inch clearance instead of just touching the spring mount-- and then I might never have noticed the axle moved. So I guess they sell the kit without it to keep the price down and the install simpler. But they don't mention that the vehicle is now off-center on the axles. And if I had that backspacing clearance and thus never noticed the axle moved, I'd be driving it now with the whole vehicle mounted off-center vis-a-vis the axles, and I don't want that. So I'm glad I noticed the asymetry so I can fix it for best balance and handling of the vehicle. And along that line of reasoning, even if I have no clearance problems in the front, I want to be sure the vehicle is centered on that axle as well. So I'm curious why you needed a rear axle relocation bracket but no fix to the front track bar set-up. Are your front and rear axles both centered on the vehicle now? If you drive in a straight line, do your rear wheels track the exact same path as the front wheels, or is your front axle a half-inch over from your rear axle? I always learned it is very important for the wheels to track exactly in a straight line.

I purchased a skyjacker 2.5, and it came with the rear trac bar relocation bracket. i just re-used the cam bolts. Who is BDS is that Black diamond? anyways, it seems to me the link bars should keep the axels straight or should i say centered from going side to side. I do remember when doing my instalation, they did say to mark where the existing cam-bolts were, so to make sure they go back in the same position. Because you shouldnt have them uneven, for the front anyways. are the shocks and springs straight? what happends if you take the rear trac bar out or disconnect one side will it go straight? are your link bars bent? (just random thoughts) do you have a digital camera mabey take some picts.
i would stay away from the spacers until you figure out this issue.

Time, Yes the pan head bar (aka trac bar) will be shifted towards the pass side with a lift, but with a 2.5 lift , I think very suprised, pick up a relocation bracket, or adj track bar.

Time,
I installed a 2" spacer lift on my TJ, and it did exactly what you are describing: the inside of the tire hit the spring mount, or cup, on the frame (not the spring). This ocurred with the stock, heavily backspaced wheels. I fixed it by trimming of a small piece of the cup, the ground it smooth. It is not enough to cause any problems, and the price was right. I don't know of any lift kits that provide track-bar correction for anything under 3".
Just my $.02
Corona