Changing loose steering box for the new one AE

[Wabujitsu]

Sorry I was not referring to your post as BS....it was all the other junk in between. WRT your post I was just referencing lots of tire discussion that has happened.

Good copy. Please know that whenever this discussion comes up, it will be, by necessity, repetitive.

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[Arrowhead]

How can it be a moot point if changing tire brand and/or pressure corrected the problem for a number of us? The cause of the steering issue varies from vehicle to vehicle. For some it’s tires. For some it’s geometry. For some it’s alignment. For some it’s etc etc. Offering a solution for just one of the possible causes is a GOOD thing. It’s just one solution for one problem out of a plethora of causes.

I understand the frustration. I do not understand the dismissal of ONE solution for ONE cause out of a variety of causes.

Peace.

This whole topic is getting so old. Here's my response from back in May to a similar thread:

So let me see if I understand this correctly. Tens of thousands of early Jeepers buy MY 18 & 19 Wranglers and had so many steering issues that FCA has used up half the alphabet in upgrading the parts and the current crop of people buying new Wranglers that drive just fine think this "bubble" of previous owners just need to check their air pressure?

Just for fun I think every Wrangler owner should go out, lie on their back and safely have someone continuously turn the wheel back and forth while you check for looseness in every steering joint. It's quite an eye opener.

 

[Wabujitsu]

This whole topic is getting so old. Here's my response from back in May to a similar thread:

It may be old to us, but new Wrangler owners join this group daily. It is unreasonable to expect folks to read through a thousand pages of posts hoping to find opinions or solutions - although arguably many could do SOME research before reigniting this issue in a new thread.

I understand everyone’s frustrations.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Anyone that believes a solid front axle (SFA) inherently drives with looseness and wandering, should drive a Super Duty Ford. I have thousands of miles driving a couple of them. They never felt anything but tight and precise like a late model truck should feel.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I have read a lot of concern about our steering "software" and how that may be affecting the wandering/steering vagueness. I just don't see how software can affect the wandering/looseness issues. If I understand the system correctly, the software just tells the electrically driven hydraulic pump when it pumps and how hard. I believe you could put an engine driven pump with our steering box and it would perform appropriately. Anyone know differently?

 

[roaniecowpony]

As far as I know, there's no direct electronic/electrical connectors on the steering box. I think the software simply controls the pump for pressure demand. Some of the "steering lock up" threads have testemonials that software was the solution. If so, it's possible there was no "lock up" but rather loss of pressure for power assist, which would cause manual reversion of the steering and result in extremely heavy steering forces.

 

[Aceman]

How can it be a moot point if changing tire brand and/or pressure corrected the problem for a number of us? The cause of the steering issue varies from vehicle to vehicle. For some it’s tires. For some it’s geometry. For some it’s alignment. For some it’s etc etc. Offering a solution for just one of the possible causes is a GOOD thing. It’s just one solution for one problem out of a plethora of causes.

I understand the frustration. I do not understand the dismissal of ONE solution for ONE cause out of a variety of causes.

Peace.

I apologize if I read some previous posts incorrectly or their intent. Since this thread is about changing to the new AE Steering box, I thought some comments were pulling us away from that topic. So no disrespect meant toward you. I guess I'm assuming people that are interested in this particular thread have narrowed down the culprit to the box. I'm glad new tires fixed your issue. However, for those that have excessive play in the wheel, I don't see how a different brand of tires has any impact on the fact that the pitman arm doesn't move when you turn the wheel a few inches each way. I could be wrong and am just not seeing it, just my take on it.

 

[Wabujitsu]

I apologize if I read some previous posts incorrectly or their intent. Since this thread is about changing to the new AE Steering box, I thought some comments were pulling us away from that topic. So no disrespect meant toward you. I guess I'm assuming people that are interested in this particular thread have narrowed down the culprit to the box. I'm glad new tires fixed your issue. However, for those that have excessive play in the wheel, I don't see how a different brand of tires has any impact on the fact that the pitman arm doesn't move when you turn the wheel a few inches each way. I could be wrong and am just not seeing it, just my take on it.

Sir, you are right. I regret causing some thread drift; I am the one who misinterpreted, not you.

I am constantly amazed at how thoughtful, reasonable, and kind folks are in this forum, compared to the average Internet forum!

 

[roaniecowpony]

Just another thought. If you install a steering damper with a higher damping rate (stiffer) it will resist turning the wheels and put more force from the power steering into moving the axle laterally, which is held by the trackbar. So a stiffer damper means the trackbar and its bushings need to be stiffer or you'll get spongy steering. Imagine if you replaced the steering damper with a straight bar of steel. Virtually all the steering forces would be pushing or pulling the axle laterally.

 

[Aceman]

Sir, you are right. I regret causing some thread drift; I am the one who misinterpreted, not you.

I am constantly amazed at how thoughtful, reasonable, and kind folks are in this forum, compared to the average Internet forum!

This forum does have a lot of great folks for sure. Happy Thanksgiving and Thank You for your service Sir!

 

[Wabujitsu]

This forum does have a lot of great folks for sure. Happy Thanksgiving and Thank You for your service Sir!

Thank you for your support, and Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

 

[Baker the Grey]

Smart. There were initial reports of the steering on the new JL (when it first came out) being fantastic. But then there were reports that in cold weather, the steering would lock up completely....resulting in an extremely dangerous condition.

I'm of the opinion that FCA's new aluminum box and electronic steering pump is the cause of the majority of the vagueness issue and that the issue is a result of the lockup condition that occurred in cold weather. I'm betting the band-aide "fix" was to loosen the adjustment in the box to keep it from locking up and that that adjustment is what's resulting in vague steering. So...tightening it up could potentially cause the lock up issue.

Again, just speculation, but it seems the most plausible scenario based on what we know.

I tend to agree with this, I have a 2020 JLUR and it sucks too...AE steering box...updated to Yeti track bar and Fox2.0 steering stabilizer. Those did improve it but the real difference was adjusting the box...1/4 turn...removed 3/4 inch play. I haven't noticed any locking or additional friction(stiffer from stabilizer though) in any part of the rotation and I've had it in -15c weather. I'm leaving it like this for the winter, avoiding highways, when the spring comes I'll try additional 1/8 turn because even a 1/4inch dead spot is too much.
Ultimately...I'll replace with the AF box from the 2021, surely they will have it sorted by then. Fingers crossed

 

[word302]

I tend to agree with this, I have a 2020 JLUR and it sucks too...AE steering box...updated to Yeti track bar and Fox2.0 steering stabilizer. Those did improve it but the real difference was adjusting the box...1/4 turn...removed 3/4 inch play. I haven't noticed any locking or additional friction(stiffer from stabilizer though) in any part of the rotation and I've had it in -15c weather. I'm leaving it like this for the winter, avoiding highways, when the spring comes I'll try additional 1/8 turn because even a 1/4inch dead spot is too much.
Ultimately...I'll replace with the AF box from the 2021, surely they will have it sorted by then. Fingers crossed

1/4" is too much? What vehicle do you drive that doesn't have that much of a dead spot? If you're at 3/4" I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[DadJokes]

Having test driven a 2020 with no perceivable dead spot, maybe there is room for additional preload in the sector shaft of the steering gearbox. I guess it’s possible the one I drove that was like any other vehicle could have been “defective” and outside Jeeps desired specs but it drove great. I guess I can’t complain too much, my 19 that I ended up coming to terms on has under 1/2”, maybe a 1/3” dead spot. I’d like it like the 20 I drove.

 

[word302]

Having test driven a 2020 with no perceivable dead spot, maybe there is room for additional preload in the sector shaft of the steering gearbox. I guess it’s possible the one I drove that was like any other vehicle could have been “defective” and outside Jeeps desired specs but it drove great. I guess I can’t complain too much, my 19 that I ended up coming to terms on has under 1/2”, maybe a 1/3” dead spot. I’d like it like the 20 I drove.

Could have simply been the difference in tire pressure. Most of the new deliveries have well north of 40psi in the tires. If you're down at 30 or less psi (I run 25 in my 37s) your going to have some play just due to sidewall flex. 1/2" is really nothing.

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