JLU Fox Steering Stabilizer Issue?

[thepriceisright]

Installed the stabilizer and now I pull to the right. The steering feel is much better and it’s just jerky over uneven surfaces. But it pulls to the right now.

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[DanW]

Installed the stabilizer and now I pull to the right. The steering feel is much better and it’s just jerky over uneven surfaces. But it pulls to the right now.

I'd get ahold of Fox and see if they'll replace it.

 

[D60]

Funny this came to the top because I was just considering ordering one.

I've never seen or heard of a steering stabilizer that'd be pressurized enough to move on its own. Common sense dictates this will likely cause a pull

I was a bit hesitant to order Fox anything because they have a reputation for shitty customer service. A good friend who owns a local 4x fab shop refuses to use them anymore at all, and he's not an unreasonable person.

 

[kimmonia]

Just read through the entire thread hoping to find the answer but it looks like no joy. Just in case someone else was hoping to see if the answer was buried in these 6 pages of posts.

 

[AllJumpStyle]

Just to help everyone understand, Fox steering stabilizers are a monotube design with an IFP (Internal Floating Piston) that separates the oil from the nitrogen charge. The nitrogen and oil are separated so the piston moves through the oil predictably with consistent damping. You don't want the nitrogen and oil to mix or the stabilizer stops doing its job. Yes, they are pressurized, just like a shock, but since the forces are so much lower than those that a shock sees, they don't need such a high nitrogen charge to prevent cavitation. Nitrogen pressures should be around 50 psi instead of 150-200 psi like on shocks. Normally, this is not high enough to cause any sort of noticeable "pull" while driving. I've sold and driven on lots of these stabilizers and never had this kind of issue.

I would be willing to bet that with Fox being such a large company now, quality control can be hit or miss. The stabilizers that pull really bad probably were filled to the wrong pressure with Nitrogen. Fox should take care of them.

Fox makes a couple through-shaft stabilizer designs now that are completely neutral, but they are more expensive. While fundamentally "better" in how they work, I think you'd be hard-pressed to notice a difference between a normal ifp stabilizer and a through-shaft stabilizer.

 

[Patsloft]

Just to help everyone understand, Fox steering stabilizers are a monotube design with an IFP (Internal Floating Piston) that separates the oil from the nitrogen charge. The nitrogen and oil are separated so the piston moves through the oil predictably with consistent damping. You don't want the nitrogen and oil to mix or the stabilizer stops doing its job. Yes, they are pressurized, just like a shock, but since the forces are so much lower than those that a shock sees, they don't need such a high nitrogen charge to prevent cavitation. Nitrogen pressures should be around 50 psi instead of 150-200 psi like on shocks. Normally, this is not high enough to cause any sort of noticeable "pull" while driving. I've sold and driven on lots of these stabilizers and never had this kind of issue.

I would be willing to bet that with Fox being such a large company now, quality control can be hit or miss. The stabilizers that pull really bad probably were filled to the wrong pressure with Nitrogen. Fox should take care of them.

Fox makes a couple through-shaft stabilizer designs now that are completely neutral, but they are more expensive. While fundamentally "better" in how they work, I think you'd be hard-pressed to notice a difference between a normal ifp stabilizer and a through-shaft stabilizer.

Thank you for making this issue easy to understand

 

[Farrish1237]

Just to help everyone understand, Fox steering stabilizers are a monotube design with an IFP (Internal Floating Piston) that separates the oil from the nitrogen charge. The nitrogen and oil are separated so the piston moves through the oil predictably with consistent damping. You don't want the nitrogen and oil to mix or the stabilizer stops doing its job. Yes, they are pressurized, just like a shock, but since the forces are so much lower than those that a shock sees, they don't need such a high nitrogen charge to prevent cavitation. Nitrogen pressures should be around 50 psi instead of 150-200 psi like on shocks. Normally, this is not high enough to cause any sort of noticeable "pull" while driving. I've sold and driven on lots of these stabilizers and never had this kind of issue.

I would be willing to bet that with Fox being such a large company now, quality control can be hit or miss. The stabilizers that pull really bad probably were filled to the wrong pressure with Nitrogen. Fox should take care of them.

Fox makes a couple through-shaft stabilizer designs now that are completely neutral, but they are more expensive. While fundamentally "better" in how they work, I think you'd be hard-pressed to notice a difference between a normal ifp stabilizer and a through-shaft stabilizer.

Chris-
So you are saying that it is normal for the Fox Stabilizer's piston to move back to it's normal position if you depress it in, correct? As in the beginning of this post, the fox stabilizer is longer than stock, so you will need to depress the piston in some to install.
From what I gather by your response, this is normal and should not cause any 'pull' as noted here provided Fox stabilizer has the correct nitrogen pressure from the factory.

 

[AllJumpStyle]

Any nitrogen-charged stabilizer will extend to its maximum extended length on its own unless it is a through shaft type stabilizer. The stabilizer should never be allowed to fully collapse or fully extend when installed to prevent damage, so it is normal to have to compress the stabilizer a bit to install.

 

[DWS44]

Just to add another data point to this thread...For the price, I decided to give the Fox 2.0 IFP Stabilizer a try while I had some time off to play. Stock JLR otherwise, except for a new Yeti Trackbar that I just added as well. I was giving those two items a shot, just to see if they would improve the typical wandering a little. Installed the trackbar on its own first, and the Jeep drove pretty much normally. Came back and installed the Fox Stabilizer. I liked how it stiffened up the steering overall, and it was smoother over bumps, but unfortunately, it also make it quite obviously pull to the right as others have experienced in this thread. I had to have constant pressure on the wheel to keep it from drifting right at nearly any speed.

Drove it that way for a couple days (20-30 miles) and it didn't change or improve. Took it off this morning and put back the original "AE" stabilizer and it no longer pulls to the right...so that was clearly coming from the Fox stabilizer. Shame, but looks like it will be going back. Liked the feel, but probably not enough to make it worth bumping up to the pricier versions.

 

[DanW]

Just to add another data point to this thread...For the price, I decided to give the Fox 2.0 IFP Stabilizer a try while I had some time off to play. Stock JLR otherwise, except for a new Yeti Trackbar that I just added as well. I was giving those two items a shot, just to see if they would improve the typical wandering a little. Installed the trackbar on its own first, and the Jeep drove pretty much normally. Came back and installed the Fox Stabilizer. I liked how it stiffened up the steering overall, and it was smoother over bumps, but unfortunately, it also make it quite obviously pull to the right as others have experienced in this thread. I had to have constant pressure on the wheel to keep it from drifting right at nearly any speed.

Drove it that way for a couple days (20-30 miles) and it didn't change or improve. Took it off this morning and put back the original "AE" stabilizer and it no longer pulls to the right...so that was clearly coming from the Fox stabilizer. Shame, but looks like it will be going back. Liked the feel, but probably not enough to make it worth bumping up to the pricier versions.

I'd either work with Fox to get a replacement or move up to their adjustable model. Mine doesn't pull, so we know it can work. I'd give them a call.

 

[kobejo34]

Mine doesn’t pull.

 

[Farrish1237]

I have the exact same set up and I have no pull to the right. I would contact Fox. The SS Track Bar made the most difference for me (overall handling) and the stock steering stabilizer (after replaced with the V41 recall) took care of any minor issues I had with any low speed wobble. I did not notice too much of a difference when I installed the Fox 2.0 steering stabilizer from the stock one. (Maybe a slight tighter steering but nothing major). I have no steering issues or pull.

 

[SoCalJLUR]

Fox is garbage now...their quality control and customer service.

 

[Doug997]

I had the same issue (right pull) with the Fox 2.0 Perf Series IFP Steering Stabilizer (FOX-985-24-173). It was installed with the Mopar lift so we thought it was something else. In fact the alignment was played with a bit (cross caster) to try and correct but it did not fix the right pull. After reading some of these threads I came to the conclusion it was the steering stabilizer. So I popped on the OEM (updated version) and the right pull was substantially reduced. I talked with RiverCityOffroad (RCO) and they said they could not take it back as it was installed, and that Fox would just say it is working as designed. So RCO sent me the Fox Perf Series 2.0 TS Steering Stabilizer (FOX-985-02-127) at cost.

To be honest for all the parts I have installed to help the steering this is I believe the best mod I have made to address the issue. It is a totally different design and I would say my steering is as I would expect now.

 

[DWS44]

To be honest for all the parts I have installed to help the steering this is I believe the best mod I have made to address the issue. It is a totally different design and I would say my steering is as I would expect now.

Aside from the IFP pulling to the right, how would you compare the overall feel of the steering of the OEM vs. IFP vs. TS stabilizers? Is the install of the TS any more complicated than the IFP? I found a pretty good price on a TS so I might try one of those afterall.

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