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Steering shake at 50mph

15K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  Wrangler mic 
#1 ·
I need some help guys. Been really frustrated because I can't get a straight answer from anyone. I have a 2014 JKU on 35's and a new 3.5" AEV dual sport lift. After getting the new lift, my steering has not felt the same. The shop is a very reputable AEV installer and they do awesome work. At 50 mph I sometimes get a vibration in the steering that causes the steering wheel to shake / move left to right on its own if I take my hands off the wheel. Also On down hill canyon driving, the steering shakes as I come into turns and apply the brakes . It doesn't happen all the time but about 30% of the time. Shop is telling me that I have a little play in my tierod ends and a little play in my ball joints as well. I only have 24k miles on it and most of those miles are daily driving miles. I have gotten my tires balanced 3 times in the last 5 weeks (by the same shop) but no change. Shop wants me to get the Yeti steering upgrade, new ball joints and a new front driveshaft. This Is going to cost me over $3000. And that doesn't guarantee that the problem will go away. Isn't there a better way to diagnose my issue? What would you do? Oh and someone also recommended getting a new steering gearbox. Please advise.


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#2 ·
First thing to check, did they remove the clips off the rotor when the 35's where mounted? If that is ok then I would rotate the tires. If it gets better then you have a bad tire. I had this happen on my Corvette. Balanced perfect but on the vehicle there was a shake. Also what tire pressure are you running?
 
#6 ·
Not sure about the clips. I have had these wheels on for 2 plus years and never had these issues. I originally had off-road Evolution's EVO Enforcer 3" lift and just went to the AEV, 3.5". Wondering if the new lift or the install may be causing the issues.


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#3 ·
Could very well be the tires. But just as likely with a 3.5 lift and big tires that it is ball joints, TRE and driveshaft. Yes, even at 24k. Big tires and lifts exert a lot of stress and wonky the driveline and steering. Big Jeeps are a pay to play sport with big tires.

Ball joints, driveshaft and TRE should not be $3k. Find another shop. Edit: I misread, they are doing the steering too. That still seems high tho.

The stock steering box is whimpy. Turning big tires exposes that weakness. That said, doubt it would go that quickly unless you really romped on your Jeep. There is a shaft brace by Synergy - but I believe you also have to run their steering for it to fit so look into it.
 
#7 ·
You may want to go to a different shop for balance. I had the same issue after going to 35's (wheel shudder around 50 mph) even after balance. Discount Tire took their machine down to it's most sensitive level and rebalanced - problem went away.

Worth a shot before spending big money.
 
#11 ·
Ok .. when you get it back from the alignment if they are a reputable shop they will tell you if you have bad or questionable ball joints and tierod ends because that will effect the results of your alignment. They may even tell you they will not do the alignment until those parts are replaced if they are a really good shop.

Once you get it back and they say its all good you will need to look at your front driveshaft. At the transfer case side look for a torn boot and a bunch of grease flung all around. If you see that then yes you are on borrowed time with your front driveshaft. If that looks ok and you dont see a bunch of grease flung around or a torn boot at the joint at the transfer case then you will need to remove your driveshaft and drive your jeep a bit and see if your vibrations go away.

I forget the size of the bolts at the axle end (I think they are like 12mm or something like that) but remove those 4 first and then remove the 8 bolts at the transfer case end. These are 8mm and you will need to use a 1/4 drive standard depth socket for it to fit in there. With the front of the driveshaft disconnected you will need to shift the transfer case into 4wd High (You can do this without starting the jeep). This will hold the shaft in place while you loosen bolts. Then shift back into 2wd to be able to rotate the shaft to reach the remaining bolts. It will take three or so shifts of the driveshaft position to get all the bolts out without removing skidplates. Also remove the driveshaft with the jeep cold, you will be working right around the exhaust and burns are no fun.

With the driveshaft out you can check it over for dings, dents, missing weights etc. I am willing to bet its not your driveshaft with the symptoms explained but if the shop wanted to replace it its best to figure out why rather than just trusting and maybe spending money you don't need to. My jeep still has stock driveshafts front and rear, now I do replace them frequently but having a friendly shop at my work I get them cheap so its not a priority upgrade for me yet.

If you want to check out your ball joints and tierod ends yourself before paying to have them replaced if your alignment shop doesnt say anything about them being bad I can give you a little how to or do a search on Youtube and I am sure you will find any number of "how to's" that will tell you how to do it and what to look for.

Hope this helps some.

Lunatic Fridge
 
#12 ·
This might sound like a silly fix, but it happened to work for me. When I first got my wrangler I had 35's on it running full psi. I had the exact same problem, so I bought a new set of tires and had them put on. No fix! I was going to jeep week and decided to put the old tires back on. I lowered them to 27 psi and they have ridden perfectly fine ever since. I'm aware of how much money you can spend on trying to fix this problem, when its as simple as lowering tire pressure. Hope this helps!
 
#14 ·
Above is the alignment check. The shop did not perform the alignment as they didn't think it was off enough to justify doing an alignment. I did have them balance all tires again. This is now the 2nd shop to balance the tires. I had the steering shake when driving down the mountain as I turned the wheel and applied brakes. This is not the only time it shakes. Slight vibration is constant in the steering. Tierod ends are next.


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#16 ·
The camber being off would be ball joints. Use a jack and pick the front axle off the ground one side at a time. Then grab the top and bottom of your tire and wiggle it in and out. If you get movement then your ball joints need to be replaced. Youtube will have plenty of how to videos for this check. I am on my phone or I would search for one and link it here.

Lunatic Fridge

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