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Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

Hucke_250

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Holy !!! 454 pages!..

Question... does your Wrangler have to be under warranty to claim replacement of the steering box ?? ... my JLU is from 2018 so I don't think is still under warranty.. Thanks!
How many miles? My 2018 has 25k miles and the TSB will be covered under warranty. I did contact JeepCares prior to making the appointment and verified with them that my Jeep is covered by the TSB. Once I made the appointment I told JeepCares which dealership and they did the rest. Worth a shot.
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CaJLMetalHead

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How many miles? My 2018 has 25k miles and the TSB will be covered under warranty. I did contact JeepCares prior to making the appointment and verified with them that my Jeep is covered by the TSB. Once I made the appointment I told JeepCares which dealership and they did the rest. Worth a shot.
cool.. mine has about 34K miles..
 

JeepCares

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cool.. mine has about 34K miles..
Hey, CaJLMetalHead. Do you need any assistance? I can't find your original post, but if you need some help having your steering addressed at the dealer, send us a private message!

Kate
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drvn

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I have a 2020 JLUR which I had the steering box replaced per the TSB. Iā€™m not sure if itā€™s my imagination or not but after almost a year, it seems to be feeling loose again. Iā€™m considering having the Synergy Manufacturing track bar and sector shaft brace installed. Has anyone had this done and was there a noticeable improvement??
I did. No change.
 

hardrock_sea

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I did. No change.
I installed SteerSmarts sector shaft brace and the loose steering was improved a lot. Looking at how the brace works, it does help to ensure steering box does not move when making turns. Mine is a 2021 JLUR with the new steering box. With 37 BFG KO2, steering turned very loose recently with the hot weather, it could be due to tire pressure increasing. But, overall, I think the brace does work. This is the first mod Northridge did on their 2021 giveaway JLU. I assume they have good reasons to install it.

Here is Northridge's installation video:
 

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Markham

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I purchased the Mopar LCAs from my dealer, the same P/N that comes with the Mopar lift kit.
Awesome! I did too but caster is at 5 after the swap, I thought someone on here said the Mopar LCA wonā€™t push caster much towards 6. Good to hear it is doable.
 

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Puckn19

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Well it looks like I will need to see about getting my gearbox replaced with the steel version. Notice a noise when turning, checked and the gearbox is flexing pretty bad. You can't really see if from underneath but from above you see a good bit of movement. I check it some time back and it was fine but now not so much. Seems like all of the flex is happening towards to the top of the gearbox.
 

drvn

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Is you Jeep stock or with a lift and larger tires?
Yes. 3 in lift 34 in tires. I did Extensive work done to fix problem. In the end, The items that ended up helping were.....new steering box in cast iron and going from 12.5 in width tires down to 10.5 in.
 

richk225

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I had my LCA replaced last week, my caster went from 4.81/4.93 to 6.07/6.30.
Daniel, what issues were you experiencing before you put on the longer lower control arms from Mopar? I am dealing with wandering, real twitchy steering. constant driver input on the steering wheel to keep it straight and lastly when making a left or right 90* turn i have to help the steering wheel get back to center and that is one of the biggest signs of not enough caster

With your new caster settings how does your Jeep drive now vs having the stock lower control arms?
 

2mnycars

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Unfortunately Jeep doesnā€™t grasp that concept, it will be very interesting over the next few years to see how they scramble to deal with the Bronco. From someone that has been in the collision industry for 30+ years I have seen many new platforms come out, I couldnā€™t tell you the last time I seen one that the build quality and the engineering has impressed me as much as the new Bronco. I actually just had a opportunity to see the body repair manual from Ford, they thought things through on this one. Jeep will need to really step it up to keep up.

One major thing to consider is the cost to repair these things after a collision, this directly relates to the cost to insure these things. I will be willing to bet the Bronco will cost 1/2 of what the Jeep does per year.
There should be a recall.
 
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Wanted to thank all those people who took time to share their experiences and tips on trying to fix their JL steering. Here is what worked for me.

Issue: I had the 2 inches of dead play, worse in heat, with extensive wondering since the day it came off the assembly line. It was scary and exhausting to drive. Slack in steering box got worse quickly over a couple years.

JL Specs: 2018 Jeep JL Sahara, 3.6, hard top, all original suspension/tires etc. Currently has around 16k miles/26k kms. Factory order, picked up in June 2018 with around 5-7 miles on it from dealership.

What we have done to date:
  • Dealership verified that suspension bolts torque to spec (I personally checked with recently calibrated torque wrench) in Fall 2018. All were to spec ā€“ no change.
  • Dealership performed software update in Winter 2019 ā€“ no change.
  • Dealership updated mopar steering dampener - Felt worse for some reason.
  • Dealership updated mopar track bar in Fall 2019 ā€“ slightly stiffer feeling, but still wondering with dead-play and tracking all over.
  • Dealership performed new alignment using revised specs that came with the new track bar ā€“ no change.
  • Pulled the fuse (waited, put back in, turned wheels) to reset ā€“ felt better, but may have been subjective (wanting it to be better).
  • Tightened factor box very slightly (1/8), made it feel more darty/dangerous (wheel still centered by itself) so put it back to factory setting ā€“ no improvement.
  • Dealership replaced the steering box (AE version) the end of July 2020 and adjusted the toe - Steering has improved 90% !! Far better than when I picked up new from the dealership! There is only a small Ā½ inch in play now, wondering is much better and steering is thankfully stiffer.
The new steering box made the greatest change to the overall driving dynamic. It is still not as good as my Jeep JK was, or any IFS vehicle, but after many visits to the dealership, it is finally livable! May try the longer control arms to get it above the 90%. Good luck to you all.
Hey Everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on my Jeep (2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara). I recently had the newer cast iron steering box(68507569AB) installed, with the new programming and new alignment. I already had the new track bar and dampener installed. Believe it or not, the previous AE version of the steering box was more accurate and had less wondering/darting than the newer black box. I was really hoping the new box and software flash would get by above 90% but it is worse now. I guess the last option are the longer control arms on the stock jeep.

Moral of the story - If your steering is ok, not perfect, but ok, it may be better to stick with your current box setup. There is alot of variation in the boxes being installed, and sometimes newer isn't better. Good luck to everyone who is having this issue.
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