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Loose Steering

2K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Pressurized 
#1 ·
Hi everyone.

I'm new to Jeeps, so go easy on me. I come from the world of building and racing superbikes, sports cars, and pickups to haul them.

I recently bought an 07 unlimited and the steering seems awful loose. The jeep drives great, but there just seems to be a lot of play in the steering wheel. Same with the gearbox (but that may be the longer shifter making me feel that way)???

I'd appreciate any insight y'all have for me. Thanks in advance.

-Darren
 
#3 ·
Rod ends wear out. Steering boxes wear out. With an older, high mileage vehicle, you are going to have to replace these parts.

the drag link has 2 rod ends, the tie rod has 2 rod ends, your balljoints may be worn, your steering box may have play (but that is the least likely).

Start replacing parts with quality aftermarket stuff, I use Moog everything in my superduty, JK's have a lot more options.
 
#4 ·
I just replaced ball joints, so it's not them.

It has the Sahara setup on it now, but I'm installing a 2.5 inch lift this week and 35 on 17s...

I'd rather not throw money at it and hope it sticks. A little better idea of what might be going on would definitely help. I know how to tear down, diagnose, and build bikes..... Jeeps, not so much, lol
 
#5 ·
My 08 does this also. for instance if I'm on a straight black topped road and I let go of the steering wheel my jk will dart over into the other lane then a second later dart back over into the bike lane. No site seeing for me lol. I have 3inch evo/bilstein with aftermarket track at and as sitting on 35.
 
#7 ·
Hi everyone. I'm new to Jeeps, so go easy on me. I come from the world of building and racing superbikes, sports cars, and pickups to haul them. I recently bought an 07 unlimited and the steering seems awful loose. The jeep drives great, but there just seems to be a lot of play in the steering wheel. Same with the gearbox (but that may be the longer shifter making me feel that way)??? I'd appreciate any insight y'all have for me. Thanks in advance. -Darren
I bought my 07 with 30k, soon after i replaced all the steering components and ball joints.
 
#13 ·
Sounds like it's yeti time. Especially if you are going to 35's shortly.
With the 35's shortly added to the suspension and also adding the lift to the older suspension, new steering linkages will eventually be needed and show the best results for improvement. The YETI with the reverse pin technology (no linkage flop) would also help improve performance with the other worn parts.
 
#9 ·
Check the front track bar to see if the bolt holes are wallowed out. 1 end of the front track bar connects to the frame and the other to the passenger side axle. Lots of guys here go with the 9/16" grade 8 bolt kits for their front track bars, I bought mine from Allen Off-Road (forum sponsor).
 
#23 ·
Update:

After installing a 2.5 inch lift and 35s, the problem got much worse. Took it to Jeep and had it inspected and alignment done.

They pulled the toe in (to spec) and advised that I need adjustable ball joints and some adjusting bolts for castor... But the tow alone fixed most of the issues...

When I get the other parts in, I'll let you know how it turns out, but so far so good... What a difference....

Seems like it just needed someone that knew how to set it up and align it properly.
 
#24 ·
Unfortunately, the ball joints are for camber and you likely do NOT need them. And caster bolts are a crappy solution... You should have front lower control arms or geometry correction brackets to do it correctly.
 
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