The only thing that controls where the axle rides from side to side is your trackbar. Provided your upper and lower control arms are fixed and equal length uppers / equal length lowers, then your backward and forward tire position should be the same on both sides. Only other thing I can think of is check your control arm mounting locations at the unibody and make sure they're not tweaked or something else - maybe check the trackbar brackets also.

 

I did front lower arms also. Both look the same but i know the length is slightly different. The uppers really cant be confused because they will only fit in the rear upper mounts. Its is however possible i mixed up one of the rear lowers with one of the front lowers and the difference in length is causing the problem. The front axle is in the perfect position though? I have owned the Jeep for over 2 years and never noticed the axle off center before. The control arms are all fixed length front and rear. Is there an inside and outside to the control arm or does it not matter which way they go in?

 

The track bar is what determines where the axle sits.

 

Yep Track bar 4 sure...

 

It's not the track bar. Axle is still in the same exact spot even with the brand new mopar bar from the dealer.

 

The track bar determine side-to-side positioning of the axle and control arms determine front-to-rear positioning of the axle. It must be something with the track bar.

 

Say the control arms on one side are longer than the other. Wouldnt that push the axle over to one side also?

 

no, that would make the axle sit at an angle, meaning ex left side is further forward than the right, track bar is your problem

 

It's gota be a mount then. No way it's the bar itself.

 

by the way are you looking at it while the jeep is on its own weight or not? if the jeep is on jack stands or a lift the axle will swing to one side during droop some, set it down and it will be centered. i had that problem with a tj, looked at on the lift and was freakin out. then set it down and was like... oh

 

It's in the driveway on it's own weight.

 

Is it an adjustable trackbar?

Sent from my DroidX because I should be doing something else

 

No the Jeep is at stock height no lift or anything and it's a brand new bar from the dealer.

 

Pop it back off and lay it over your old one and see if its the same

Sent from my DroidX because I should be doing something else

 

I did that before installing it. They are both exactly the same and the axle sits in the exact same spot with both track bars.

 

Take a picture to show everybody whats going on.

 

Then it is an issue with the mounts, one is probably bent a bit.

 

Ill get a picture up before the end of the day. If you look at the jeep from the passenger side the rear tire is flush with the wheel well. If you look at it from the drivers side the tire is tucked in pretty good.

 

its either the mounts then or dumb question, do you have aftermarket rims? and is it at all possible that they have a slightly different backspacing? because that would definitely do it

 

Stock 5.9 rims Im going to double check the control arms are matching part # pairs front and rear. It may mean nothing if they arent but just for me lol. I asked before but didnt get an answer. The lower control arms have the bushings sticking out one side more than the other. Does it matter how they go in? Id think with them being that way that maybe that could shift the axle over to one side or the other?

 

Not that much to notice. I have a 2" BB with stock everything else and I have to look really close to see the axles difference.

 

That has nothing to do with the control arms though. BB is just 2" spacers on the coils. I have owned the Jeep for over 2 years and never noticed anything till i did the control arms. Im going to have to pull the lowers front and rear one at a time and check em. I know it doesnt make sense but thats all i can think of. I have owned a lot of Jeeps and installed a lot of lifts over the years. I know how the track bar length works and all the rules behind everything. Doesnt make any more sense to me that you guys lol.

 

Yes, it has nothing to do with the control arms. When you raise the Jeep the front axle moves to the right while the rear moves to the left because of the track bars.

 

Sorry for the mis-leading info I posted, I wasn't thinking straight. I removed/edited this post it so as not to confuse anyone further.
My wrong info is quoted below in post 28.

 

I know some of the older ZJ's had slightly adjustable lower control arms. Not sure about the later years like yours. When I changed out my rear end recently I had to mark the lower control arm nut position at the axle when i removed it. The rear bolt had like 1/2" play in it either way. I had to move the jack around on the rear differential to be able to get the lower control arms the same as length as when I removed it. My Hanes manual (which I don't trust) says 1998 and early models may have had this lower control arm adjustment.

Cam bolts are only in the front, you didn't need to mark the rear. A messed up bolt or hole does not make something adjustable, it makes it broken.

 

Photos would be useful...............

 

Gotta be a bent bracket on either the axle or the body, its a physical impossibility for the control arms to misalign the axle to one side or the other with the trackbar installed.

 

So i am told the ZJ with the 44A rear has an offset pumpkin and every one of them came from the factory with the axle out the passenger side 1" more than the drivers side. Im told they did this to keep the driveshaft at the proper angle. Anyone with a V8 ZJ with the 44A wana run outside and see if yours is like this also? Drivers side tire sits farther in the wheel well than the passenger side tire.

 

Thats completely absurd. The axle was custom built by dana FOR the zj. Its the ONLY vehicle you will find that set up in.

 

Mine is off set to the right slightly