How to tighten steering.

[Mkz567]

I just picked up my Rubicon. It's funny when i test drove it, steering feel was fine. But after they washed it and check tire pressure it was pretty bad on the way home. It wanders alot. I mean alot. On board pressure said 43 at highway so i lowered to 40 warm temp. But still there. Hope they have update soon.

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[Jeepsterfreak]

I just picked up my Rubicon. It's funny when i test drove it, steering feel was fine. But after they washed it and check tire pressure it was pretty bad on the way home. It wanders alot. I mean alot. On board pressure said 43 at highway so i lowered to 40 warm temp. But still there. Hope they have update soon.

What’s the door jamb sticker state for your tires? 37 psi?

 

[OnlyOne]

40

I just picked up my Rubicon. It's funny when i test drove it, steering feel was fine. But after they washed it and check tire pressure it was pretty bad on the way home. It wanders alot. I mean alot. On board pressure said 43 at highway so i lowered to 40 warm temp. But still there. Hope they have update soon.

40 psi is way too high. Put it down to the door jamb pressure cold and retry. At least take that part out of the equation.

 

[Torero]

There's another thread about this subject but it turned into a debate on the effectiveness of buying new steering stabilizers, so I wanted to try again.

What's your opinion on the best way to remove dead zone play in the neutral position of the steering wheel, thereby making highway strait line driving easier. Has anybody messed with the steering box yet?

Are you sure you have excessive play? I wiggle the steering wheel and the response is direct. I don’t think that’s the issue, at least in my case.

 

[Majestic]

In these days of electric steering pumps, other cars offer a “mode” button that changes the steering and throttle response feel. Not sure why the Wrangler didn’t go this route.

 

[Bswen]

Want tighter steering? Buy a beemer...they're really tight. This vehicle, on the other hand, needs a tad bit of slack to do what it does best. I agree, it can wander, sometimes more than you would think. After browsing this forum I found my tire pressure from the dealer was extremely high. I went from 43 psi to 36 and everything improved dramatically. Having said that you will never have a beemer like steering feel.

Also, if you focus on your steering your mind will continously make small adjustments. An old trick to driving is to look as far down the road as possible and let your mind steer for you. You'll find that you never think about the tiny bit of play in the steering wheel again. This may sound ridiculous but I've taught many people this trick and not a single person has disagreed with me after hearing me out.

 

[digitalbliss]

Want tighter steering? Buy a beemer...they're really tight. This vehicle, on the other hand, needs a tad bit of slack to do what it does best. I agree, it can wander, sometimes more than you would think. After browsing this forum I found my tire pressure from the dealer was extremely high. I went from 43 psi to 36 and everything improved dramatically. Having said that you will never have a beemer like steering feel.

Also, if you focus on your steering your mind will continously make small adjustments. An old trick to driving is to look as far down the road as possible and let your mind steer for you. You'll find that you never think about the tiny bit of play in the steering wheel again. This may sound ridiculous but I've taught many people this trick and not a single person has disagreed with me after hearing me out.

This trick is EXACTLY how I get straight lines in my yard when cutting on my riding mower

 

[smithrd65]

I have ZERO issues with my JL Rubicon I'm ready this and I can't see any of the issues in mine, im guessing it's a people thing.

 

[LABLUE]

Because some on this forum said "drive a JK, you will see the same thing with the steering, it is a Jeep thing". WRONG. I test drove a JK 2018 and it doesn't have the "driving on glass" "constant need to correct" as my JL does. I also test drove a JL that had been on the lot for a while later that day (I forgot to the first time and decided to just in case). It did not wander all over the road like my JL. The sales guy also drove one right after the other and said he noticed the same thing - my JL all over the road, constant correction, etc. There is a ton of evidence both with test driving and what others are saying that there IS an issue with some JLs having steering issues. For those who aren't having this steering problem, congrats, but the rest of us are trying to troubleshoot and avoid the repair techs saying "it is a Jeep thing" and trying to get it fixed. I have a feeling there is a batch of bad factory stabilizers causing the issue. This would explain why some are having the problem and others are not. I'm sure some people just aren't use to the standard Jeep swaying and they aren't having a technical issue, but some are legitimately experience something wrong.

It's a jeep thing, take it to a dealer for warranty work. If your salesmen states it's all over then the dealer should fix it, right?

How can a steering stabilizer cause this?

 

[jeremyjeep]

I have ZERO issues with my JL Rubicon I'm ready this and I can't see any of the issues in mine, im guessing it's a people thing.

It isn't always a "people thing". The dealer told me they fixed it on other JLs by replacing the stabilizer with the replacement OEM Mopar part. They have ordered one for me and will call me when it arrives to replace it under warranty.

 

[Shambler101]

Just got my new JLUR and have notices the steering is tight, problem is that it doesn't want to return to center on its own after turn. After driving older pickups and jeeps I don't feel its loose in fact it feels relatively tight. Not alot of dead area in wheel.I'm going to wait and see if it the return to center loosens up after about 1000 miles in case it's just tight front components that just need to break in. After that I'll have alignment check, specifically the caster which helps wheels track true. I had the same issue on my older ford pickup. Wandered everywhere until I changed caster which stopped the wander.

 

[Sftdyna0326$]

Want tighter steering? Buy a beemer...they're really tight. This vehicle, on the other hand, needs a tad bit of slack to do what it does best. I agree, it can wander, sometimes more than you would think. After browsing this forum I found my tire pressure from the dealer was extremely high. I went from 43 psi to 36 and everything improved dramatically. Having said that you will never have a beemer like steering feel.

Also, if you focus on your steering your mind will continously make small adjustments. An old trick to driving is to look as far down the road as possible and let your mind steer for you. You'll find that you never think about the tiny bit of play in the steering wheel again. This may sound ridiculous but I've taught many people this trick and not a single person has disagreed with me after hearing me out.

^ +10000

 

[TopPinArcher]

I am running 37 KO2’s and beadlocks, when first installed tire pressure hot was 42 front 44 rear.... all over the road at 60 and above... this is my 4th Jeep. I am now at 32 front and 34 rear... I just did the Columbia River Gorge at 70mph and newly paved which is the route I took home after purchase and it wasn’t newly paved.. anyway, way better handling. Road manners aren’t as important to me as off-road but I still want it to track straight. My current pressures are chalk tested for wear and look good...

 

[ekimgnuj]

Don't buy a JL Wrangler.

CJs, YJs, and JKs in my experience do not wonder like a tug boat on a roaring ocean the way the JL does.

To the OP, I would suggest having your alignment checked. Caster plays a very important role in handling.

I noticed the same thing, this was never an issue on any of my 3 JKs, but my JL is literally all over the place on the highway.

 

[SJJEEP]

So, here’s how I see it... my jlur has 37 ko2’s as well. I’ve been running 28 psi. They are wearing the way they should. The guys that run 37-40 psi will simply have bald tires in the middle and nice lugs on the outside... let’s face it, we’ve all seen those tires around....
The debate is the drifty steering. Mine is way less drifty at 28psi then it was at 37 when I picked up the Jeep. I will say I do notice a “sloppy” spot in the steering. I also notice with the slightly wider axles that the Jeep tracks in The ruts on the highways where the big rigs run... some of the drifting does depend on the road, and of course the wind...
I put the spring cup fix in for the Bow in the Mopar coils, and surprisingly saw improvement on the drift...
The dealership never aligned it when they put the lift on, they lied about that one...
The alignment helped as well...

Bottom line is, if you want to go with the door sticker and run 37-40 psi like your driving around a super duty, then don’t complain about drifting.... air your tires down and try it before being skeptical! You might like how it drives!
There are a few things that can be done that will help a great deal...

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