Shock tower off center

[rizob]

I just installed a frankinlift 2.5" from All j and JBA upper control arms, new lower ball joints. . I haven't got an alignment yet but noticed the centerline of the driver side shock tower is forward from the centerline of the JBA upper arm. On the passenger side the centerline of both shock tower and contol arm are on the same vertical plane. I didn't loosen the lower control arm cam bolts to do the lift and the alignment was pretty good before the lift. Is this pretty normal before the alignment is done?

I tried to post pictures of what I'm talking about but it kept saying file too large.

 

[Big Al]

I noticed this on the drivers side too on my new to me jeep, no suggestions for you, but wondering what is causing this and what the previous guy did.
They don't look like OEM shocks and the front end sits at 19.5" from the center cap.

 

[tommudd]

Need pictures of what you are seeing
not sure what you are meaning by " shock tower"
I just went out and looked at all 3 of mine , ( 4 plus inch lift, 2.5 inch lift and about an inch over new stock height ) all 3 are the same location as far as how the shock/springs set and location of center of ball joint etc

Have you had it aligned yet?

 

[rizob]

I wish I could post pictures. It keeps saying file too big for only 1 picture. It's probably operator error. I'll try from my laptop when I get to where it is .

To try to explain the problem better, when I have the suspension at full drop the shock/spring doesn't contact right in the center of the upper arm, it contacts a little forward of the ball joint V area. On the passenger side at full drop the spring contacts dead center of the upper arm. Directly inline with the center of the ball joint. On the driver's side it's like my shock/spring is a little too far forward . Not by much, maybe a 1/4" or less.
I loosened everything back up and tried to move it over but came to the conclusion theres no way to move it without moving the bottom control arm . I'm not sure if it was that way before I did the lift or not. It did get in an accident on that side front bumper. But I have drove it for 3-4 years since then. No unusual tire wear or steering. I would think an accident would push the shock tower back too but mine is too far forward. I'm just hoping an alignment makes it better and not worse. It would give me less travel before spring/ control arm contact because it hits up on the arm a little instead of right in the V.

 

[rizob]

Drivers side, off center

You must be registered for see images attach

Passenger side lined up in center of control arm.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[tommudd]

Well you are partially wrong,
little back story here
Buddy slid into a curb at 30 MPH due to icy roads
He got several alignments over the next 5-6 years and was told it is as close to specs as we can get it
didn't really pull , tires wore pretty decent
but just wasn't right, so I started measuring everything and took it to my alignment guy who did all the lifts we installed at my place
From my measurements and them double checking what I found we determined that the cradle was back close to 1/4 inch
We pulled it back where it should be, aligned it and then it drove way better than it had in years

 

[rizob]

Come on Tom. You were supposed to tell me that you have seen this a million times and the alignment will take care of it. That's what I really wanted to hear. I don't want to be the person with the new question. Lol.

Is the cradle supposed to be adjustable? Looks like only 4 bolts. I never took one apart before but it looks like the bolts would locate it in a fixed position. Did you have to elongate holes or anything to get adjustment? If it becomes an issue after the alignment I will probably take it somewhere to get fixed .

 

[tommudd]

You can move the cradle around some,
what I did was leave the rear one on the good side and then pulled the other side just a little
Buddy sat in his with brakes applied
I had the winch hooked to cradle and just barely moved it

BUT GO GET AN ALIGNMENT
it will take care of it LOL