37’s steering wear / issues

[Kevin32199]

Giving an old thread CPR. Not 2 weeks into going from Rubicon stock tires on a 50k+ mile Sport-S 2-door Quadratec (Skyjacker) 2.5" lift to 37x12.7x17 developed an intermittent baby little hangnail wobble that got worse--bad enough to barely need mitigation vs just being an minor annoyance when it started. Investigation revealed track bar appearing to bend up/down under steering side-to-side movement, but it was hard to tell from exactly how--bushings appeared fine. One Rancho steering box brace and one Raptor series adjustable front track bar later the steering was tighter than new. Next, one thorough city/highway test drive later demonstrated very tight steering, but if one tire hit an uneven spot or part of a manhole cover just the right (or wrong) way, the steering wheel would move back and forth in my hands like a death wobble maybe 5 times and go away as fast as it started. Never happened with 285/70s. Im not sure if it was bump steer (probably) and my arms reacting to it or something else. Only happens with some bumps. Only happens very rarely. Only happens between 40-50 mph. The rest of the time its stable and tighter than you'd think it could be. Have OEM Rubicon wheels with 1.25" Stahl spacers. I don't like the idea of waiting for the swing-set grade steering components to fail, so I ordered Synergy's HD steering kit which seems the minimum quality upgrade. I also ordered RC's new V2 DUAL Stabilizer kit. I'll post back with an update in case anyone has any interest or questions or criticism or wants to make snide comments about all the stuff I dont need .

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[sourdough]

Kevin, I was getting that steering wheel feel. Only non up grades to my JLRs steering on 37's were the alum. box and ball joints. Steering box is good and I could find no issues with the BJs wiggling the the tires. I decided to pull the driverside knuckle to really check out the Ball Joint's which have 50K on them. Sure enough the bottom joint stud had a small up down play and both studs moved around very easily. When compared to a pair of DanaHD ball joints, it was clear the stock units were wimped out but not yet flopping around as somehave found. Since the replacement I've drive around 500 miles and the steering system is back to feeling very good again.
If you still have the stock tie-rod and drag link, I recommend up grading those too.

 

[Kevin32199]

Kevin, I was getting that steering wheel feel. Only non up grades to my JLRs steering on 37's were the alum. box and ball joints. Steering box is good and I could find no issues with the BJs wiggling the the tires. I decided to pull the driverside knuckle to really check out the Ball Joint's which have 50K on them. Sure enough the bottom joint stud had a small up down play and both studs moved around very easily. When compared to a pair of DanaHD ball joints, it was clear the stock units were wimped out but not yet flopping around as somehave found. Since the replacement I've drive around 500 miles and the steering system is back to feeling very good again.
If you still have the stock tie-rod and drag link, I recommend up grading those too.

I appreciate the info and will be taking a closer look at the ball joints. I was eyeing the giant pry bar in the corner of my garage the last time I had it up on jackstands, considering perhaps I ought to lever it under a tire to see if I could detect some play, but I thought "Naaah it's only got 50k miles on it....". If the upper joint is tight enough in the "C" perhaps play in the lower is not detectable anyway without taking it apart like you did. Looking at Synergy's website they compare with cutaway views (they band-sawed them open) their BJ with OEM and aftermarket Dana/Spicer. What an eye-opener. I cannot help but be PO'd that FCA would put plastic in a Wrangler ball joint. It's ridiculous. Between that and the swing-set grade drag link/ tie rod and aluminum steering box bolted to a bending track bar bracket, I'm a little (a lot) disgusted. I mean, this incredulous lack of quality on an off-road vehicle shown in FCA commercial videos performing all sorts of over-landing and climbing antics is enough for a class-action lawsuit. That being said, as long as I see a path to fix it, I'll grin and bear it--love the Jeep too much. I'll be biting the bullet and replacing all the steering parts at once except the box just like you have. I appreciate the time you saved me. Please post back after a while how its going!

 

[sourdough]

I have many Synergy products on my JL. That being said, I chose to try DanaHD ball joints after watching the Synergy video. I didn't like how the synegy studs moved in the Video @ 14.5 . They seemed loose to me but I have no expertise in the matter. In the end all BJs are wear items and I've seen no reports on which manufacture has the longest lasting. Does DanaHD with a spring add anything? Time will.

 

[bshaw4377]

I have many Synergy products on my JL. That being said, I chose to try DanaHD ball joints after watching the Synergy video. I didn't like how the synegy studs moved in the Video @ 14.5 . They seemed loose to me but I have no expertise in the matter. In the end all BJs are wear items and I've seen no reports on which manufacture has the longest lasting. Does DanaHD with a spring add anything? Time will.

I'm definitely interested in your long-term experience with the Dana ball joints, I went with the synergy replacements personally and am installing them tomorrow. As far as wearables, there's so many factors that go into how long the part last, I'm just hoping to get more than 6k out of the synergy ball joints...my factory ones have thrown in the towel. However, I think mine failed prematurely due to improper reinstallation when I had the front axle trussed (the guy wanted the axle bare out if the jeep)

 

[sourdough]

Ben, I wonder if the guy that trussed your axle removed the stock plastic lined Dana ball joints. The heat would be a factor in only getting 6K out of them. Good choice on the Synergy Ball Joints. I'm hoping the DanaHDs I chose last more than the stock units. I doubt I'll own my rig long enough to find out.

 

[Kevin32199]

Ben, I wonder if the guy that trussed your axle removed the stock plastic lined Dana ball joints. The heat would be a factor in only getting 6K out of them. Good choice on the Synergy Ball Joints. I'm hoping the DanaHDs I chose last more than the stock units. I doubt I'll own my rig long enough to find out.

Probably the reinstall stressed the plastic......I mean how many times could you press these in I wonder....?

Edit: I'm mean press them out and back in..

 

[sourdough]

Good question. The pressure is on the housing shoulder and not on the stud, so I'm guessing it's not a one and done thing but I'm guessing. Best of luck with whatever brand you decide on.

 

[word302]

I appreciate the info and will be taking a closer look at the ball joints. I was eyeing the giant pry bar in the corner of my garage the last time I had it up on jackstands, considering perhaps I ought to lever it under a tire to see if I could detect some play, but I thought "Naaah it's only got 50k miles on it....". If the upper joint is tight enough in the "C" perhaps play in the lower is not detectable anyway without taking it apart like you did. Looking at Synergy's website they compare with cutaway views (they band-sawed them open) their BJ with OEM and aftermarket Dana/Spicer. What an eye-opener. I cannot help but be PO'd that FCA would put plastic in a Wrangler ball joint. It's ridiculous. Between that and the swing-set grade drag link/ tie rod and aluminum steering box bolted to a bending track bar bracket, I'm a little (a lot) disgusted. I mean, this incredulous lack of quality on an off-road vehicle shown in FCA commercial videos performing all sorts of over-landing and climbing antics is enough for a class-action lawsuit. That being said, as long as I see a path to fix it, I'll grin and bear it--love the Jeep too much. I'll be biting the bullet and replacing all the steering parts at once except the box just like you have. I appreciate the time you saved me. Please post back after a while how its going!

The reality is the factory components mostly hold up fine with stock tires. When you start adding bigger tires you push the limits of what the factory components can handle. Skyjacker and RC aren't much better than the factory offerings.

 

[Kevin32199]

The reality is the factory components mostly hold up fine with stock tires. When you start adding bigger tires you push the limits of what the factory components can handle. Skyjacker and RC aren't much better than the factory offerings.

I agree. In this case, with less than a half tank and maybe a week or two into 37s around town I tend to think the wear was already there...just not detectable before. It's sure falling apart now LOL . I'm usually middle of the road picky when it comes to quality, as I don't intend to do anything extreme like climbing boulders and can't justify buying the best of everything. I usually do a lot of research and look at a lot of reviews. Quadratic did put their name on the lift and it's been certified in some regard for handling, if that means anything. It's been on for a while and I have no complaints. The handling is very very good. Regarding RC, I also agree. I chose the V2 dual stabilizer setup even though it's new for 2 reasons. The aluminum shock bodies (I live on the east coast of FL) and the center mount, which at least looks something like the OEM stabilizer axle mount and doesn't look like it was made entirely out of an exhaust hanger. I'm not sure if RC will come through, but if not maybe I'll use their hardware with FOX or Bilstein stabilizers, it all depends and I'm willing to experiment to some degree. Two better than one? Idk but I'll see. When it came to the steering, I'm sticking with Synergy all the way. However, I didn't use their box bracket because for $250 I couldn't see it for mostly around town use. I didn't see any frame issues. The Rancho box bracket is heavy steel and was just for some insurance against the frame welds coming apart. I thought it was better than nothing.

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