Hey.
My 2016 4 door has a 2.5 inch MC game changer with 285/70r17 falkens. Got a falcon stabilizer and Teraflex ball joints, but all other steering components are stock. My Jeep wanders all over road. In order to keep the Jeep straight I gotta constantly either pull the steering wheel left or right. I’ve had multiple alignments. Everything is within spec besides my camber. My camber is off at every shop I’ve took it too (6 places). Could it be possible that my knuckles are bent? My trusted Jeep mechanic also said everything is tight underneath. Track bar, bushings etc. Im gonna take it back to him for another look. But I guess I’m just asking if anyone has any ideas of what this could be before I take it back to the mechanic?
It's a lifted Jeep. Every one of them I have ever had (over 10, maybe more like 15) could best be described as loose. Even the stock ones.
I flipped the drag link and raised the track bar on mine and it only gave like a 20% improvement. It was probably worth the grand it cost but it's still by no means "tight". Not that that matters since you can't quite go that route yet anyway at 2.5".
30k on it, brand new steering. Nothing else worn out yet. Still pretty damn sloppy compared to my 4runner with 140k on it and an inch level in front.
Your C's could be bent sure, but I'm not sure that's going to make the steering any sloppier. By sloppy I assume you mean play when you move the wheel, you have to move it like what seems too far before you get a reaction, right? Some of that is just softer tires with larger sidewalls for sure. Some of it is natural lifted Jeep.
Or are you talking about wandering on the highway? If so, What did the caster actually come out to be at and what tire pressure are you running?
How many miles on it? I have seen really sloppy steering boxes before, some of that can sometimes be adjusted out of it or the box swapped out - but I wouldnt think that to be the case yet if the lift was just recently done and you didn't seem to notice an issue before.
I understand that jeeps will never have perfect steering. My steering was loose compared to my brothers Tacoma since the day I got it. But I should mention that my steering was perfect (to my standard) even with the 2.5 inch lift and 35s(before I went to 33s). But about two months ago I got death wobble. That problem seemed to be solved and I no longer have death wobble but now my steering is terrible compared to what it use to be. It’s actually tiring. I’m constantly fighting the wheel to keep it straight.
My new mechanic said he’s gonna do an alignment himself even though he doesn’t have the machine. He said he’ll measure and take my jeep for test drives until its right. And adjust my toe until it’s perfect, even though it’s in spec according to the alignment shop. I’m just confused. My Jeep use to be fine with a regular alignment. I’m tempted to just buy all new HD steering components and see if it solves anything.
If it helps any, I'm dealing with the same issue of loose or sloppy steering. It's drivable, but not what I would consider tight. I'm running a 2.5" Terafelx suspension lift with 35x22.5 Cooper MT tires. I've changed out the tie rod, drag link, and steering stabilizer with all Terafelx HD components, it helped but didn't bring it back to "tight". I have a Terafelx track bar in the box, but haven't gotten around to putting it on yet. Maybe next week for that. I also have Terafelx ball joints sitting in the box waiting to be taken to a garage to be installed. I tried to do it myself this summer but failed miserably. The HD steering components may help, but if your idea of tight is the same as mine, it won't do it but still worth the time to upgrade. I'm not looking for 18 year old tight, but like 30 year old tight. I'm sitting at about 38 year old tight right now with the upgrades I've mentioned
Yes we have very similar situations. I wonder if steering box could actually be an issue? Also does your Jeep also experience wandering and do you need to pull the steering wheel left/right constantly to keep your Jeep straight?
While it could be a bad steering box, that isn't that common and certainly should be easy to confirm. There is either play in the steering box or there is not. If there is not play in the steering box (you can turn the steering wheel back and forth without the pitman arm moving) than replacing a steering box will do nothing.
Death Wobble is about play, play in the track bar ends, play in the ball joints, or play in the steering linkage. If there is no play, there is no DW.
To the OP, what did your MC lift include for caster correction, and what is your caster at currently?
MC lift included front and rear track bars and all 8 adjustable control arms. I live in NL Canada, and a lot of alignment shops are uneducated on jeeps and straight up said no to adjusting my arms. My caster is currently at 5 degrees though. Camber is at -.7 and -.8 each side(slightly out). And toe is within spec with the total front tow at 0.11. My new mechanic thinks the toe needs a specific adjustment and add more toe in himself and see what happens
That’s a good point. I generally have my 285/70s at 30 psi. I should check and make sure that one of the many shops I took it too didn’t add more air. But my wandering steering have been an on going problem since May. Tire pressure may be contributing but I’m not sure if it’s the source. I’ll check it out! Last year one time a shop decided to put 45 psi in my old 315s. The Jeep felt like it was driving on rocks for wheels lol
Have you checked the backlash in the steering box? My 2015 JKU came with decent steering feel but when I put the 37's and the 3.5" MC lift on it was noticeably worse. Took me about 5 minutes to tighten up the steering box a tick and feels a lot better.
Of all the things that I replaced, this is what improved my steering the most. I have 6 degrees of caster and virtually 0 toe.
Is your front track bar mounted to the stock position (on the passenger side) or has it been relocated?
I'd check the backlash in the steering box (google youtube videos on this) and if this doesn't resolve it than call MC. They are very helpful!
Thanks! Yes my MC track bar is mounted in stock position but rear track bar came with a bracket from MC. My front track bar is parallel with my draglink. I was unaware that tightening to the steering box could be done, especially in 5 mins. I would have assumed that the steering box would need to come out. I’ll google some videos
I have a 2010 Jeep Islander with 101,000 miles on it. A few years back I installed a Teraflex 2.5" lift on it. Put 35's on it a year later. I Installed a Steinjager adjustable track bar front & back. I recently started to experience the wonderful DW. I ordered a set of Synergy ball joints, a new drag link and tie rod since they had a tremendous amount of play in them. I spent the weekend installing them all. Everything went well. Took for a test drive and I was all over the road. Steering was floating all over the road. Very scary. I took it in for an alignment. He said the Toe was way off. He aligned it but mentioned there is still a floating in the steering. He said he thought it may be the steering box. Before I put all these new parts on the steering was fine...normal play for a lifted jeep. Now its aligned great but I have a floating feeling some of the time.
Really not looking to change the steer box but if I have to I will.
any one have any ideas? I see all these posts about flip drag link. I dont know if I need it... looks like my geometry is good. Just trying to figure it out.
I keep reading these horror stories about lifted Jeeps driving terrible, wandering all over the road and then spending copious amounts of money to try and fix them. I ask members with lifted Jeeps is this the exception or the rule? I'm planning on installing a 2.5 AEV lift and 34's this spring but keep reading these disaster stories that a simple lift caused all these unacceptable driving issues.
My 2016 has 27k miles so I don't think my steering components should be worn out? Does it make a difference when these lifts are being done on high mileage JK's? In these posts I don't read much about installing the recommended geo brackets. Do they really make a difference and if so why not install them on all smaller lifts (2.5 and less)? I don't want adjustable control arms as it seems like something else to get screwed up or improperly adjusted.
Bottom line are these lift horror stories mostly anomalies or are they very common when jeeps are modestly, professinally lifted? Doesn't seem to me if a good lift kit is used and properly installed Jeeps should suddenly become these unsafe unguided missiles wandering all over the road? Is this much to do about nothing or really a huge problem for most owners that perform modest lifts?
I keep reading these horror stories about lifted Jeeps driving terrible, wandering all over the road and then spending copious amounts of money to try and fix them. I ask members with lifted Jeeps is this the exception or the rule? I'm planning on installing a 2.5 AEV lift and 34's this spring but keep reading these disaster stories that a simple lift caused all these unacceptable driving issues.
My 2016 has 27k miles so I don't think my steering components should be worn out? Does it make a difference when these lifts are being done on high mileage JK's? In these posts I don't read much about installing the recommended geo brackets. Do they really make a difference and if so why not install them on all smaller lifts (2.5 and less)? I don't want adjustable control arms as it seems like something else to get screwed up or improperly adjusted.
Bottom line are these lift horror stories mostly anomalies or are they very common when jeeps are modestly, professinally lifted? Doesn't seem to me if a good lift kit is used and properly installed Jeeps should suddenly become these unsafe unguided missiles wandering all over the road? Is this much to do about nothing or really a huge problem for most owners that perform modest lifts?
In most all cases, either a cheap and poorly executed lift is installed by someone less than competent with little to no knowledge of solid axle vehicles. That, in conjunction with the age and mileage leading to worn parts that are not addressed at the time the lift is installed is where most of the horror stories come from. Pay for a quality engineered lift, have it installed by an experienced installer, and make sure all of the other suspension and steering components are in good shape. Have it aligned properly after the lift is done, and routinely inspect components and bolts for proper torque and enjoy your lifted Jeep. The number of properly lifted and maintained Jeeps here far outnumber the ones you read about. Also, learning about how the components work together will help you to figure out any little issue that may come up, so that you know if someone working on your Jeep knows what the hell they're doing.
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