Push the front axle forward?

[Infidel Edition]

now that I chopped the snakap out of my fenders = cj flares
and I ordered the RC control arm drop brackets and IronMan adj uppers...
I'm thinking about pushing the front axle forward a bit when I bump the lift to 4.5"

not a lot... at least to stock.
maybe an inch more than that?
..but mostly back to stock.

so the question is ~ how do I know where stock is?
is it centered under the bump stop?
and would there be any handling benefit if I went further forward than stock? vs. negatives?

[jimmixj]

Stock does look to be centered on bump at full compression. I'm anxious to see other replies too as I run the RE longarm kit and have the ability to do that as well. I almost did it when I installed the kit but got afeared when I started thinking that might be too long of a draw for my front D shaft. As it is I'm about an inch rearward in the well on my front tires and do get a little rub under compression especially if anything but straight ahead. Hard picking a line that doesn't require SOME steering input!

[Infidel Edition]

Stock does look to be centered on bump at full compression. I'm anxious to see other replies too as I run the RE longarm kit and have the ability to do that as well. I almost did it when I installed the kit but got afeared when I started thinking that might be too long of a draw for my front D shaft. As it is I'm about an inch rearward in the well on my front tires and do get a little rub under compression especially if anything but straight ahead. Hard picking a line that doesn't require SOME steering input!

I've come across a post or two where the individual had 33" or bigger tires and had pushed the axle forward to compensate. But not forward of stock.
Rather, centered in the wheel well.
But no explanation other than to make is stop rubbing the back of the wheel well.

...my wheel well is now all the way to the front bumper.

[4.3LXJ]

Yes you can push the axle a little forward. Probably an inch before you run into driveline problems. About 2" before you start hitting the track bar on the drag link

[Infidel Edition]

OK. So I was talking to a retired car guy... This is his wisdom~
A lift will rotate the axle and push it back with stock arms like thus:
4431

By increasing the control arms and pushing the axle to "0" off center there is less axle rotation like thus:
4432

And by pushing it forward, of center, even less... until there is zero rotation (like under the front bumper:
4433

How far you can push forward is limited by clearance of things like the track bar as well as how far you can safely extend the front drive shaft before it needs to be replaced with something longer.

The rotation of the axle needs to be weighed against the change in the front pinion angle to caster (or is it camber? ~ ability to drive in a straight line without fighting the steering wheel...).
On Jeeps, they're set to be like 8* or something like that stock. But have a +/- of 4 or 5 degrees.
*I've heard 3 degrees is the minimum before it's a PITA to steer.

And the bigger the Pinion angle off the front axle, the rougher the drive line vibrations will be.

Thus, his suggestion (other than, "trust the engineers that didn't lift it and leave it alone"), was to push it as far forward as you can without compromising clearance or drive shaft intageraty.

...and per 4.3LXJs note, not more than an inch.

Does that make sense?
Or did I completely miss what he (the car guy) was saying?