Suspension help please. Axle off center w/ sway bar links being flexed out.

Pixel

Pixel

New member
Ok so first a little backstory to this. Was out on a little trail a little while back and I got hung up on a rock that was under some small tree branches/leaves and tore off the passenger side lower control arm bracket. Now at the time I didn't know how badly it was damaged it was driveable (a little off, figured I needed new tie rod ends and alignment). It wasn't until I had it back home and got it up on a lift and saw what I did.

The vehicle is a 2007 JKU with 104,XXX on it so I did the ball joints, front axle u-joints (worn out) and then figured I would go get the alignment looked at. Unfortunately I saw that the control arm bracket had been completely cracked and bent outwards, no bueno.

I purchased some Rock Krawler front lower control arm mounts (RK00396JK) and had them installed along with a TeraFlex FlexArm kit (couldn't beat the price so I went for it, I know some guys hate their stuff but..) So after this was all put back on I noticed something was not right. My sway bar is completely shifted to the passenger side forcing the outwards hitting the front coil springs and also the bump stop rubbing on the spring.

What should I look at to determine what else this needs tie rod? drag link? or could the sway bar just gotten knocked out of place? Forgive my ignorance but suspension work isn't my thing, I would like to learn more however. I am going to bring it back to a suspension place that was recommended to me however I would love to find a starting point before I do that. I have attached several photos, I do not know what specifically one would ask for so I took several. If you need something specific just let me know what you would need a photo of. Any help is greatly appreciated as I did not budget for this additional expense. Many thanks in advance.

IMG_0579.jpg I added white lines so you could see how skewed it is.

IMG_0582.jpg Passenger side

IMG_0585.jpg Driver side

IMG_0600.jpg

IMG_0601.jpg

IMG_0603.jpg

IMG_0608.jpg Track bar

IMG_0610.jpg Track bar again

IMG_0609.jpg What appears to be the sway bar shifted?

IMG_0613.jpg Passenger side tire out past fender, driver side not even to the fender
 
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I'd bet on a track bar issue since that's what centers your axle, the sway bar is probably in the right spot but the track bar has allowed your axle to move front either being bent or idk what else it could be. I'm no suspension expert but at first thought that what I think of
 
Using a straight edge up against the tire (parallel with the tire), measure the distance between the fender and the straight edge. Go to the other side and compare the dimensions. Let me see if I can find Eddie's write-up.
 
JudeinPa said:
Could you post a picture of the front of your jeep (street view)? Maybe a side view as well?
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I was able to get a decent front shot but I don't have enough room for the side at the moment and it there is nonstop rain outside at the moment.
 
Based on what I see, the track bar is off center. It appears as if you have an adjustable track bar already? If so, follow Eddie's write-up on making the adjustment and you should see it make the correction. :thumb:
 
Your sway bar is shifted because your axle shifted. Once you correct the axle shift, that should correct the sway bar. I would also check all of your control arms and bushings to make sure something didn't bend or break during the impact. And as others have said, track bar very possible.
 
^ Also just noticed. Did your RF bottom coil spring perch shift? It looks like the actual perch shifted from the photo. It may just be optical, but I just noticed that.
 
thardy said:
Read through this and see if any of it can help.

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?3861-Basic-Do-it-Yourself-Jeep-JK-Wrangler-Front-End-Alignment&p=42377&viewfull=1#post42377

Also, if you get the measurements, and it's off, it pretty much means you have an issue with the track bar.
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I actually just came across that again thank you. I knew it was somewhere but I couldn't remember where I had seen it. I am definitely off because the passenger tire is poking out past the fender while the driver side is tucked inside it.
 
WJCO said:
^ Also just noticed. Did your RF bottom coil spring perch shift? It looks like the actual perch shifted from the photo. It may just be optical, but I just noticed that.
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Yes it definitely did its rubbing against the bump stop.
 
Pixel said:
I actually just came across that again thank you. I knew it was somewhere but I couldn't remember where I had seen it. I am definitely off because the passenger tire is poking out past the fender while the driver side is tucked inside it.
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So which side is pushed out? Here you say passenger, the picture of you measuring says driver side is pushed out. But the rest of the pictures look like the track bar is adjusted to long pushing it further to the passenger side. Good news is it would be hard to bend the track bar and make it longer so it's probably just adjusted out too much.

Edit I understand the measuring picture now. I thought you had that much gap between the flare and tire. Adjust the track bar.
 
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Big b said:
So which side is pushed out? Here you say passenger, the picture of you measuring says driver side is pushed out. But the rest of the pictures look like the track bar is adjusted to long pushing it further to the passenger side. Good news is it would be hard to bend the track bar and make it longer so it's probably just adjusted out too much.

Edit I understand the measuring picture now. I thought you had that much gap between the flare and tire. Adjust the track bar.
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Sorry for the confusion. I took the photos at diff angles so it was a little confusing. If you are looking at the vehicle head on the passenger side wheel it pushed out towards the left past the fender. The driver side is push left inward and sits inside the fender. Going to read that write-up thoroughly and give it a shot tomorrow night after work.
 
Pixel said:
Sorry for the confusion. I took the photos at diff angles so it was a little confusing. If you are looking at the vehicle head on the passenger side wheel it pushed out towards the left past the fender. The driver side is push left inward and sits inside the fender. Going to read that write-up thoroughly and give it a shot tomorrow night after work.
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I'd say bent track bar if it was correct before you ripped your control arm mount off
 
Is it just me or is your drag link also bowed? Look at 6th photo from top (start counting from left to right). Could be optical distortion from the lens. IDK maybe throw a straight edge or level on it to check?
 
I had this happen to me, it was the track bar, it didn't look like it at first, but when I swapped it out, it was clearly bent. I had the bumpstops rubbing and shifted sway bar like you have here. Below is a shot of the slightly bent sway bar and the straight one I put inImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1441976684.671875.jpg small difference but you an see it is shorter which caused the axle to shift
 
Stegertime said:
I had this happen to me, it was the track bar, it didn't look like it at first, but when I swapped it out, it was clearly bent. I had the bumpstops rubbing and shifted sway bar like you have here. Below is a shot of the slightly bent sway bar and the straight one I put inView attachment 164415 small difference but you an see it is shorter which caused the axle to shift
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To be clear, the Track bar is brand new. It was put on after I broke the old LCA mount off. When the new brackets were welded up the other day the new adjustable track bar and control arms were installed. I checked the stock one
 
Pixel said:
To be clear, the Track bar is brand new. It was put on after I broke the old LCA mount off. When the new brackets were welded up the other day the new adjustable track bar and control arms were installed. I checked the stock one
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Then I'd assume you need to do some adjusting haha
 
You need to shorten up that trackbar homeslice. Measure the difference between the two sides than divide by two. Shorten it that much and that will center your axle. For example if your passenger side tire sticks out two inches more than the drivers side shorten the trackbar by one inch
 
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