New JL Steering Issue TSB 08-074-20 (for "Improved Steering Feel")

[roaniecowpony]

Sad.
That was what we reported day 1 with our JLU. Took 1-1/2 years to get the new black steering gear in. It's a Jeep Thing. Heard that a bunch of times.

I'm coming up to year 3 of owning my JL. I had the issue from the moment I drove it on the interstate coming home. I have changed things over the years that improved it greatly. But the steering box is the last piece of the puzzle to fix the wandering/loose steering I still have. Albeit, no where near as bad as when I first bought it. It's still a bit tiring to drive it and just doesn't feel like you can confidently put it where you want it at highway speeds.

I'm about to run out of warranty and I need to get it in to request the TSB work.

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[2mnycars]

I'm coming up to year 3 of owning my JL. I had the issue from the moment I drove it on the interstate coming home. I have changed things over the years that improved it greatly. But the steering box is the last piece of the puzzle to fix the wandering/loose steering I still have. Albeit, no where near as bad as when I first bought it. It's still a bit tiring to drive it and just doesn't feel like you can confidently put it where you want it at highway speeds.

I'm about to run out of warranty and I need to get it in to request the TSB work.

I had the first TSB done. It made a great difference.

The Second TSB is more thorough.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/attachments/tsb-08-003-21-pdf.420454/

* it's been written better; hopefully the tech is given the right steering gear for the vehicle.
* new steering gear is installed
* track bar is replaced (if it hasn't been done before) for older JL's. There's a date they have to check.
* I thought they did an alignment. However, I didn't see that now.

My concern was that the computer may not have been re flashed. After all, it's was to put the code on the form. It takes time to re flash the computer.

The work on ours was beautifully done. I'm grateful.

 

[2mnycars]

Gee it's nice seeing this post with only 18 responses. I've read the others. Oh my. And started with gratitude when they first started. I had heard for the first time, "It's a Jeep Thing" when I complained about steering the day we got the Wrangler. And I told them it's the steering gear. Adjust it....to no avail.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Gee it's nice seeing this post with only 18 responses. I've read the others. Oh my. And started with gratitude when they first started. I had heard for the first time, "It's a Jeep Thing" when I complained about steering the day we got the Wrangler. And I told them it's the steering gear. Adjust it....to no avail.

My first modification was to change the trackbar to a SteerSmarts Yeti with polyurethane bushings. This took a huge amount of the play out. I later changed the tierod and draglink to SteerSmarts, more because I had ordered all these parts with the trackbar and they were all laying around in the garage. They did nothing to reduce the remaining play.

I drove it a number of months that way, then finally just decided I didn't care about the warranty of the steering gear and adjusted it down until it was much better. I had it very tight and it drove like a modern car (yes car) despite the solid front axle, but I was a bit concerned about the lock-ups of steering that were being reported. I backed it off a little. It's still good but not great.

I now suspect the "lock-ups" are related to the electric steering pump pressure interruption and loss of power steering, rather than to steering box binding.

I took it to my dealer in December, the last month of my warranty, to do the TSB. They said they ordered the parts and would call when they came in. Still waiting.

 

[2mnycars]

I don't understand why we have to modify a Jeep to make it safe. I understand modifying it to make it stronger if we need to.

My own experience--long ago. If I adjusted a steering box too tight there was no return to centre. I put it back and adjusted it a little bit, and took it for a test drive. That way I found the sweet spot.

I know all dealers don't fill the power steering reservoir. I've read that quite a few times here.

 

[poncho@home]

My 2020 Wrangler is the dealer for oil change and a fuel leak. I asked them to check if there was an open TSB for my serial number, they said there wasn't. I'm in Canada. Is that normal?

 

[2mnycars]

My 2020 Wrangler is the dealer for oil change and a fuel leak. I asked them to check if there was an open TSB for my serial number, they said there wasn't. I'm in Canada. Is that normal?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...r-jl-wrangler-check-your-jl-for-recalls.9784/

Hope this helps.

 

[Jeepin_Donnie]

My first modification was to change the trackbar to a SteerSmarts Yeti with polyurethane bushings. This took a huge amount of the play out. I later changed the tierod and draglink to SteerSmarts, more because I had ordered all these parts with the trackbar and they were all laying around in the garage. They did nothing to reduce the remaining play.

I drove it a number of months that way, then finally just decided I didn't care about the warranty of the steering gear and adjusted it down until it was much better. I had it very tight and it drove like a modern car (yes car) despite the solid front axle, but I was a bit concerned about the lock-ups of steering that were being reported. I backed it off a little. It's still good but not great.

I now suspect the "lock-ups" are related to the electric steering pump pressure interruption and loss of power steering, rather than to steering box binding.

I took it to my dealer in December, the last month of my warranty, to do the TSB. They said they ordered the parts and would call when they came in. Still waiting.

Regarding the lock-ups you mentioned, are you referring to the "sticky steering" issues some people are experiencing? I had the "sticky steering" issue which began in late 2019 (weird that it didn't happen the Winter of 2018/19). Pryor to having a house with a garage to park my Jeep in, when the temp was at or below freezing, for the first 5 minutes of driving or so at 40 mph+ going around a turn it was very hard to steer. I had to use some muscle to make the steering wheel turn (sorta like when wheeling in rocks) and if I was not careful, I could have oversteered once it "released". It was very dangerous. I believe it was in late December 2021/early January 2022 I received a recall notice (maybe a TSB notice? I didn't save a copy, UGH). All the dealership had to do was a "flash" to adjust the power steering. It mentioned the "sticky steering" issue at temperatures around freezing and speeds around 30+. When I got it back I left it outside overnight in below freezing/around 20 degree temperature. And thankfully the sticky steering issue was gone!

 

[Jeepin_Donnie]

Regarding the lock-ups you mentioned, are you referring to the "sticky steering" issues some people are experiencing? I had the "sticky steering" issue which began in late 2019 (weird that it didn't happen the Winter of 2018/19). Pryor to having a house with a garage to park my Jeep in, when the temp was at or below freezing, for the first 5 minutes of driving or so at 40 mph+ going around a turn it was very hard to steer. I had to use some muscle to make the steering wheel turn (sorta like when wheeling in rocks) and if I was not careful, I could have oversteered once it "released". It was very dangerous. I believe it was in late December 2021/early January 2022 I received a recall notice (maybe a TSB notice? I didn't save a copy, UGH). All the dealership had to do was a "flash" to adjust the power steering. It mentioned the "sticky steering" issue at temperatures around freezing and speeds around 30+. When I got it back I left it outside overnight in below freezing/around 20 degree temperature. And thankfully the sticky steering issue was gone!

Here is the description of the recall from my service invoice.

 

[B-man]

I’ve got a 2018 JL that’s out of warranty now. I got a 2,5 inch lift and the first TSB done on my jeep (which helped initially but the looseness came back after a while). Am I too late to have this new TSB done without a charge?

 

[Vinny2002]

My Jeeping buddy and I ordered our parts after he was rejected from local dealer who said he would not do it... Well we found a great dealer rated number one service dealer in western NC which is an hour away.

So we took his 2018 JLRU in yesterday and picked it up to day... We drove my 2018 Jeep JLR to get my Jeep done... So he drove his Jeep back and said he could not see a difference but I reached over and could be feel a difference... Very tight... I should say he only has 780 miles... not a weekend driver more like a monthly or two drive. They also replaced his steering stabilizer, a second one.

I get my Jeep back tomorrow with 14k miles and we both did not have issues with aluminum gearbox with limited miles but steel is better and sooner is better then later.

Update to follow.

Update:
Just got my Jeep back from the dealer, drives great with fixed steering at 13k miles. Took an extra day as dealer was missing a part. You see they ordered parts based on old TSB 08-074-20 Rev A,B,C,D,E for 2018+ Jeeps ... So the new TSB 08-003-21 added Mopar 68394087AA which is a Front Track Bar for 18-21 Jeep Wrangler JL & Gladiator JT.

So if got your Jeep fixed on a earlier TSB and they did not add this part, go ask for that Front Track Bar. I could not find post for the new TSB 08-074-21.

Attached is my service order... got other several other stuff done, TMPS died, did computer updates and fixed reboot of Nav center. O and I forgot to get my vehicle inspected and update my license plates, they noticed and charge me the usual $14 fee. So the other work came to $1,500 all under warranty. Happy camper with peace of mind.

Anyone have the latest TSB... I had mine done early on and they didn't do a track bar.... Also had to fight for alignment which wasn't right... About 6 months ago they flashed the latest computer update. Wonder if it changed again.

 

[timn1984]

Latest steering steering TSB O8-003-21 pdf

Is this worth doing if I’m not really experiencing any of the symptoms? I can’t really say that my steering wanders or pulls to right or left, but I can’t help but think that new parts for my 2018 good???

 

[roaniecowpony]

Anyone have the latest TSB... I had mine done early on and they didn't do a track bar.... Also had to fight for alignment which wasn't right... About 6 months ago they flashed the latest computer update. Wonder if it changed again.

The trackbar revision is a good one to get. Just my speculation, but I think the 2018-19 JLs had inconsistent hardness of the trackbar bushings. Some people had no issue with them, others could feel the squirmyness of them even after getting revised steering boxes. I think Jeep finally just changed the part number of the trackbar once they got a handle on quality control and engineering for the correct hardness of rubber bushings in them. Normally, engineering does not change a part number unless it's a design change. But, sometimes quality control issues demand a way to identify manufacturing batches with possible descrepancies. Get the latest trackbar or buy a good reputable aftermarket bar. You'll like it.

 

[Vinny2002]

Is this worth doing if I’m not really experiencing any of the symptoms? I can’t really say that my steering wanders or pulls to right or left, but I can’t help but think that new parts for my 2018 good???

if it ain’t broke.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Is this worth doing if I’m not really experiencing any of the symptoms? I can’t really say that my steering wanders or pulls to right or left, but I can’t help but think that new parts for my 2018 good???

I think we grow accustomed to things over time. If you have an extended warranty, I'd recommend you get this TSB done. If you want it done under warranty, read the TSB and use the words from the section where it cites the customer complaint when you go to the dealer. Nothing less, nothing more.

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