Sponsored

shadowmoto17

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jonathan
Joined
Jun 25, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
171
Reaction score
82
Location
Honolulu, Hi
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLU Sport S
Occupation
Military
Vehicle Showcase
1
Was out checking out some car lots today. Found three 2021 JLs (both 2 door and 4 door) and can confirm they all have the new steering box from the factory:
902330B5-8949-4137-8374-6307E27674CF.jpeg
My question would be if this steering box is coming standard in jeeps now, why not recall? Is it possibly going to take some large accidents to trace back to the steering box being the cause, or would it be swept under the rug? Makes me want to see if there are any accidents in the past year due to faulty steering.
Update- from awhile back:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/2384252001
And:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ca...tsa-jeep-wrangler-steering-shimmy-complaints/
And:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2019/JEEP/WRANGLER
 

Holymoly1963

Well-Known Member
First Name
Walter
Joined
Dec 19, 2017
Threads
13
Messages
419
Reaction score
374
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle(s)
Mazda 3, Wrangler JL Sport with bad steering
Was out checking out some car lots today. Found three 2021 JLs (both 2 door and 4 door) and can confirm they all have the new steering box from the factory:
Jeep Wrangler JL Confirmed: 2021 Jeep Wranglers have new improved steering gear box (from TSB 08-074-20) 902330B5-8949-4137-8374-6307E27674CF
Very interesting, so maybe my bad steering on my 2018 JL wasn’t a Jeep Thing ....... or was it? I’m really confused now and probably won’t sleep tonight.
 

aldo98229

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aldo
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Threads
86
Messages
11,019
Reaction score
27,682
Location
Bellingham, WA
Vehicle(s)
2023 Jeep Gladiator, 2018 Fiat 124 Spider
Occupation
Market Research
Vehicle Showcase
3
Edit: the new steering box is black painted steel; the old steering box is aluminum.

New JL/JT steering box
Jeep Wrangler JL Confirmed: 2021 Jeep Wranglers have new improved steering gear box (from TSB 08-074-20) 1598888388016


Old JL/JT steering box
Jeep Wrangler JL Confirmed: 2021 Jeep Wranglers have new improved steering gear box (from TSB 08-074-20) 1598888364506


Sorry I had it backwards before. Apologies for the edit.
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

ExpeditionBuilds

Well-Known Member
Rock Sponsor (Level 1)
First Name
Steven
Joined
Feb 11, 2020
Threads
22
Messages
1,423
Reaction score
2,850
Location
Chicago
Website
www.youtube.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Wrangler Recon
Build Thread
Link
Occupation
Photographer/ Content Creator
My 2020 Recon with a build date 6/20 has the new Steering Gear Box, and the steering feel is great.

It would be interesting to see when the new steering gear went onto the assembly line?


-Steven
 

aldo98229

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aldo
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Threads
86
Messages
11,019
Reaction score
27,682
Location
Bellingham, WA
Vehicle(s)
2023 Jeep Gladiator, 2018 Fiat 124 Spider
Occupation
Market Research
Vehicle Showcase
3
Regarding the TSB, apparently production of new steering boxes are a trickle. Dealers are getting one each time.

The steering on my JL is okay. I’m just going to wait for the recall notification to come in the mail.
 

aldo98229

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aldo
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Threads
86
Messages
11,019
Reaction score
27,682
Location
Bellingham, WA
Vehicle(s)
2023 Jeep Gladiator, 2018 Fiat 124 Spider
Occupation
Market Research
Vehicle Showcase
3
This unit is steel, correct?
I'm having a hard time understanding how a weaker material can cause the issues I get. I'll get occasional rubberband steering, where it starts wandering to the left, corrective inputs don't do much until it seems like I should be lurching into the right lane. Then other times its completely fine. Do we know if the aluminum steering box is overheating?
Yes, the new steering box is steel.

Wonder if aluminum was too weak.
 

WilderJL

Active Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
32
Reaction score
28
Location
Edmonton, AB
Vehicle(s)
2020 JLUR
My 2020 Recon with a build date 6/20 has the new Steering Gear Box, and the steering feel is great.

It would be interesting to see when the new steering gear went onto the assembly line?


-Steven
If your Steering Box is black, you have the new one. My 2020 is in right now getting the silver aluminum one replaced with the black steel one under the TSB this morning.
 

Sponsored

SecondTJ

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Threads
8
Messages
1,212
Reaction score
1,133
Location
Il
Vehicle(s)
Jeep
Yes, the new steering box is steel.

Wonder if aluminum was too weak.
Aren’t the 2021’s also getting cast iron steering knuckles vs the 2018-20 aluminum ones? Sounds like FCA may have gone a little too far trying to save weight on steering components
 

XxsullyxX123

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Jun 22, 2020
Threads
5
Messages
301
Reaction score
264
Location
Somers, NY
Vehicle(s)
2020 JLU Rubicon Recon, 2020 Honda Pilot Touring
My 2020 Recon with a build date 6/20 has the new Steering Gear Box, and the steering feel is great.

It would be interesting to see when the new steering gear went onto the assembly line?


-Steven
My 2/20 build date Recon is the old box. That being said, with Mopar LCA’s and tire pressure at 36-37 psi feels great
 

emptyminded42

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
304
Reaction score
366
Location
Cleveland, OH
Vehicle(s)
Hellayella JLU Sport S 6MT, Forester XT
Occupation
Engineer
This unit is steel, correct?
I'm having a hard time understanding how a weaker material can cause the issues I get. I'll get occasional rubberband steering, where it starts wandering to the left, corrective inputs don't do much until it seems like I should be lurching into the right lane. Then other times its completely fine. Do we know if the aluminum steering box is overheating?
Yes, the new steering box is steel.

Wonder if aluminum was too weak.
Could be that the internals are steel and therefore the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion between steel and aluminum could have caused looseness in the original assembly. Aluminum expands more with temperature than steels.

I can't tell if my steering is loose or it's just how SFA vehicles are.
 

aldo98229

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aldo
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Threads
86
Messages
11,019
Reaction score
27,682
Location
Bellingham, WA
Vehicle(s)
2023 Jeep Gladiator, 2018 Fiat 124 Spider
Occupation
Market Research
Vehicle Showcase
3
Aren’t the 2021’s also getting cast iron steering knuckles vs the 2018-20 aluminum ones? Sounds like FCA may have gone a little too far trying to save weight on steering components
Perhaps.

IIRC, JL weighs 200 lbs less than JK, despite being larger, having a bigger transmission and more “stuff”. They had to remove the weight somehow.

The new, lighter, Dana axles have been holding together well as far as I can tell. Sure hope they keep doing that.
Sponsored

 
 



Top