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2018 JL steering wander

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glang1992

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JimmyDoom

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But yet my dealership is playing stupid like they've never heard of the issue before. Same with Chrysler. My Jeep is in for round FOUR as of today. I am in a 2019 Sahara rental...drives like a dream.
Unfortunately that's what they're going to do because they don't know how to fix it. They will wait for a recall before they fix anything. Without a recall they are just guessing at what could be wrong and that could cost them time and money and may not end up fixing the problem.
I was fortunate enough that my dealer actually listened to me and my complaints and noticed my steering box had a lot of play in it. They replaced it and it made a world of difference with the "loose" steering. I had about 2" of play from left to right in my steering where the tires didn't respond prior to the new box, now it's very minimal. I'm having them replace the track bar and my LCA's with aftermarket ones to try and help with the "wondering" I have now. Some people say they have a recall on the track bar and other components, I don't have any recalls so I'm taking matters into my own hands and fixing it out of pocket. Sucks, but I hope it will make it better
 

jrohan07

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Replacing just the OEM steering stabilizer may help with wandering but is not the only thing that Jeep needs to correct.
- Track bar is junk with weak bushings
- ball joints are extremely loose from factory
- need adjustable lower control arms to gain/correct caster (even with stock suspension)
- steering box is poorly designed to handle large tires

Did an experiment with my stock 2018 JLU sport right after 12,500 miles noticed play and loose steering.
Took it to the dealership June 2018 stated all was within specs.
-With Floor jack and jack stands checked and torqued all suspension bolts (ball joints front left and right were way off) also found bolts to rear suspension not JL specs
-This was an improvement but not perfect yet
- Next I purchased RR steering stabilizer for $50
Huge improvement over stock (AB)
Steering was tight and the steering wheel would return to center

Fast forward to 2019, still driving almost perfect and I add the Mopar 2" LIFT WITH fox SHOCKS which comes with 1/4 longer LCA's and my caster after alignment improved a ton (6.5).
-Test drive with stock sport A/T wheels/2in spacers and rides and steers almost perfect 9/10.
- Added Rubicon take offs wheels and tires no change in steering still 9/10

June 2019 put everything back to stock and test drive again and now back to loose wandering steering with OEM parts.

Took it in to dealer with the TSB's and they replaced Steering Stabilizer AE version, track bar and a software flash that adjusts the steering sensitivity.

All stock and drives 8/10 now.

Put all my aftermarket parts back on and now 10/10 on steering.
 

Eherbaugh

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I know the head service manager here locally and he informed me a couple of weeks ago the there will be a steering recall coming out. He is unsure of what it is at this point, but it’s coming
 

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I just left my Jeep service department and he said a recall is coming out over this and look for it in the mail.
 

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Tumbleweed

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Replacing just the OEM steering stabilizer may help with wandering but is not the only thing that Jeep needs to correct.
- Track bar is junk with weak bushings
- ball joints are extremely loose from factory
- need adjustable lower control arms to gain/correct caster (even with stock suspension)
- steering box is poorly designed to handle large tires

Did an experiment with my stock 2018 JLU sport right after 12,500 miles noticed play and loose steering.
Took it to the dealership June 2018 stated all was within specs.
-With Floor jack and jack stands checked and torqued all suspension bolts (ball joints front left and right were way off) also found bolts to rear suspension not JL specs
-This was an improvement but not perfect yet
- Next I purchased RR steering stabilizer for $50
Huge improvement over stock (AB)
Steering was tight and the steering wheel would return to center

Fast forward to 2019, still driving almost perfect and I add the Mopar 2" LIFT WITH fox SHOCKS which comes with 1/4 longer LCA's and my caster after alignment improved a ton (6.5).
-Test drive with stock sport A/T wheels/2in spacers and rides and steers almost perfect 9/10.
- Added Rubicon take offs wheels and tires no change in steering still 9/10

June 2019 put everything back to stock and test drive again and now back to loose wandering steering with OEM parts.

Took it in to dealer with the TSB's and they replaced Steering Stabilizer AE version, track bar and a software flash that adjusts the steering sensitivity.

All stock and drives 8/10 now.

Put all my aftermarket parts back on and now 10/10 on steering.

Have you or anyone tried to just pull the steering stabilizer off and see if it helps with the center deadspot/excessive play? i think i may try that tonight if it drops to under 100 degrees while im still up until this recall comes out as ive already re-torqued everything and the dealers telling me its within manufacturer specifications and refuses to research any further until i can do a ride along which is inconveniently the exact hours i work and only M-F :/
 

jrohan07

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I did try it without the old OEM stabilizer before installing the RR and no change in the 2 in play left or right.
Adding the aftermarket before taking back to dealer made it about 1 in play so put the OEM SS back on and I believe the software flash corrected this for me.

I think that ridding and wheeling with jk spec torque values and then this causes the steering box to start to fail.

I also have a 2018 rubicon with 2” mopar lift that developed some of the same symptoms before and after the lift and dealer replaced all like the sport and the Rubicon had the steering box replaced.

It ain’t picky as I have seen all types of JL,s with the same steering issues
 
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glang1992

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I know the head service manager here locally and he informed me a couple of weeks ago the there will be a steering recall coming out. He is unsure of what it is at this point, but it’s coming
Interesting...
 

Rdmitch

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Watching for a recall....not holding my breath
 

Djmatt85

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If this recall is anything like the rollout of “offroad pages”, we might be waiting for a while. :CWL:
 

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Grimace-912

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Thanks Loren, I'll keep that in mind. My Sahara was like a ship without a rudder when I took it home from the dealer. But, I took the advise from forum members, and checked the tire air pressure. There was 42 psi in every tire. No wonder it wandered (;)). At that much pressure the center of the tires was the only thing touching the road. Setting the tries at 32 psi took the wonder out. After that it was up to me to get used to the steering.
Hah - had to smile at this -- My Rubi was all over the place when I first got it - I decided to check the tire pressures. All were at or between 42-44. Seriously? WTF from the Factory? apparently my dealer didn't check them or thought driving a jeep on tippytoes was a good thing -- dropped them all to 34. Now the only time it wanders is in bad cross winds. It's a box so not much I can do in cross winds 'cept hold on tight :)
 

JimmyDoom

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Uhdinator

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2018 JL Sport HT. Wandered when new. Dealer modded and was on the lot with 2" spacers, running boards, off road lights, Mopar gladiator 17x8.5 wheels, 305/65 tires. Looked taller/better than a Rubicon. Tire pressure was over 40 psi.

Set tires @ 30 psi. Was better but experimented and found 33 psi about right and when tires warm up @ about 35-36.
As it warmed up in spring I adjusted and let a little air out to keep @ 33 cold. Tires too squishy made it still feel like it was wandering but was actually tire flex. A couple Psi to much or too less can be noticed. Experiment.

Then added new RS5000X shocks which helped a tiny bit and reduced body roll and controls the bigger tires better.

Then added Falcon 2.2 EF adjustable steering stabilizer set on Meduim. Helped a bit. https://www.quadratec.com/p/terafle...MIpMz7z-ab4wIV2sDICh1Q3ADYEAQYAiABEgKb3_D_BwE

Then at 4000 miles, rebalanced rear tires and put them on the front. Helped a bit.

Once wandering is not an issue the steering wheel play is not really an issue for me.

The wandering + the play is the issue IMO. I can live with it now.

When I rotated again at 8000 miles, I again re balanced the rear tires and put them up front. I noticed a little wander at first but it smoothed out after a bit. Rotation is usually recommended @ 6000 mi. with normal tires. Mud Tires I do sooner before the front tires start getting chopped up and then they get noisy and rough.

If you rebalance the rears and move them up front and the wandering is reduced, You likely had a tire that is not perfect or the balancing was not as it should have been.
 

DWS44

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If the recall ends up being only the stabilizer, then don't get your hopes too high. When I took mine in for wandering, they ordered/installed the latest greatest "AE" stabilizer. Dealer was decent to work with, but that was only thing they changed. If it made any difference, it was negligible. Still wanders, steering still loose. Got too many other things going on to start a back and forth with dealer over it...just played with the air pressures a bit and learning to live with it otherwise. Sucks for long Interstate trips compared to my old JK, but it is what it is at this point.
 

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