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Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

jdhunt0

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I am going to check the torque on all the bolts this weekend since my dealer refused to. Is the caster adjustable on the stock parts?
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mdallas

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I am going to check the torque on all the bolts this weekend since my dealer refused to. Is the caster adjustable on the stock parts?
No, you need adjustable lower control arms to adjust caster. Only toe can be set stock.
 

californiajeeping

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Agree that pressure does help. Was better after dropping the PSI to. 34.
The style of the tire I am not sold on it being a contributing factor since somemtimes it handles
good and other times terrible and itā€™s the same tires.

But Iā€™m gonna log by morning and afternoon drives and see if there is any common denominator.
What are your toe specs? Per one of the steering related Star cases, toe should be adjusted to the max high end of the spec to help minimize wandering.
 

californiajeeping

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I am going to check the torque on all the bolts this weekend since my dealer refused to. Is the caster adjustable on the stock parts?
You can increase caster by using the 1/4" longer Lower Control Arms from the Mopar lift kit. Just order them separately. Since 1/4" will increase it by 1.0, make sure your current spec, plus 1.0 won't exceed the max of the spec for caster. The caster numbers are posted in this forum and are different for Rubicon vs Sahara, Sport. Some have reported an slight increase in caster by loosening both ends of the lower control arms and re-torquing. This may be true if the factory tightened the LCAs in the air vs on the ground.
 

JimmyDoom

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You can increase caster by using the 1/4" longer Lower Control Arms from the Mopar lift kit. Just order them separately. Since 1/4" will increase it by 1.0, make sure your current spec, plus 1.0 won't exceed the max of the spec for caster. The caster numbers are posted in this forum and are different for Rubicon vs Sahara, Sport. Some have reported an slight increase in caster by loosening both ends of the lower control arms and re-torquing. This may be true if the factory tightened the LCAs in the air vs on the ground.
So my caster is at 4.0 currently. I ordered the LCA's from the Mopar lift kit, so you're saying that will only give me 5.0? is that enough of should I order adjustable ones? I have the option to cancel cause they are on back order and won't ship till mid June
 

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RagTopDeluxe

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My LCAs from the Mopar lift kit arrived yesterday and Iā€™m having them installed next week at Cloakworks. Iā€™m also going to ask them to check the other parts of the steering system to make sure theyā€™re correctly torqued. Iā€™ll get another alignment afterwards.

If those LCAs donā€™t help the steering, Iā€™ll get adjustable LCAs and upgrade the track bar. I figured these LCAs were an inexpensive (and stock) first attempt.
 

T.T.T

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My tie rod was not torqued to spec so I took the front wheels off and tightened to 47 foot pounds along with the drag link end. Feels solid now. Zero complaints.
 

californiajeeping

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So my caster is at 4.0 currently. I ordered the LCA's from the Mopar lift kit, so you're saying that will only give me 5.0? is that enough of should I order adjustable ones? I have the option to cancel cause they are on back order and won't ship till mid June
Rubicon factory caster specs are 4.80 +/- 1.0. The only way to know if the longer LCAs will work or not is to try it. 5.0 might work, depending on other geometry factors. You have to factor in pinion angle and you don't want to push out caster too far. If it were me, I'd try the Mopar lift kit LCAs first, then make a decision later. If you use aftermarket adjustable LCAs, and you have another related issue, your dealership could easily say you voided warranty. There are many examples of dealerships denying warranty in this and other threads.

Alignment specs: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...heel-alignment-specs-toe-caster-camber.17832/
 

jeepfan30

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My tie rod was not torqued to spec so I took the front wheels off and tightened to 47 foot pounds along with the drag link end. Feels solid now. Zero complaints.
My steering wheel play went from 1ā€ to .5ā€ just by tightening ball joints, tie rod ends, drag link and track bar. Almost all were less than spec.
 

T.T.T

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My steering wheel play went from 1ā€ to .5ā€ just by tightening ball joints, tie rod ends, drag link and track bar. Almost all were less than spec.
Nice!! Iā€™ll have to check the rest.
 

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Dkretden

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My steering wheel play went from 1ā€ to .5ā€ just by tightening ball joints, tie rod ends, drag link and track bar. Almost all were less than spec.
Where can I find all these torque specs for a JL?
 

jdhunt0

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When my Jeep came in I gave it a good test drive over lots of potholes and never felt any wobble. It was a windy rainy day so I did not notice any wandering. A few days later I did. After reading on here I dropped the tire pressure to 32 and just thought maybe it was the new tires and me just not being used to the way a Jeep drives. After several 4+ hour trips and daily driving, I am now at 7000 miles. The steering is not perfect, but I have still never had any wobble, the wandering however is still there but I thought maybe it normal. My wife wanted to drive the Jeep yesterday (the first time since we have had it). She drove about 4 miles and said she did not like it, felt like it was all over the road. I took it to the dealer and they said everything was normal. I jacked it up today and checked the torque on the steering components. I also found out I have the AD tie rod and steering stabilizer. (I looked at the wrong part and still need to check the trackbar) All the bolts I checked seemed pretty much spot on. I did however read the wrong units for the tie rod so I had to back them off and retighten. I was only able to check one ball joint before the rain came and I had to stop.

After all that, I went for a drive. I don't know if anything is better or not. This is very frustrating.
 

richk225

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My JLUR Rubicon with 2200 miles still has steering woes of wandering continues. Reflashed PCM, dealer changed track bar, ball joint castle nuts were hand tight and ball joints were not seated, steering stabilizer has a bad date code, dealer replaced steering box.

It still wanders came right out of the Service managers mouth and everything is within spec according to him, HEAR that Jeep Cares case manager? Maybe they should read the star bulletin that Jeep put out. Ball joint castle nuts still loose on one side, how do I know? They are still loose, even when pointed out I was told to talk to my case manager

Service department never any other torque values on any steering hardware, Was told that is just how it is by the service manager.

AND Service manager told me that Rubicons were not designed to have 35" tires put on them, even using factory Mopar wheels

A picture is worth a thousands words.....

IMG_5829.JPG
 

cmcclintock

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So my caster is at 4.0 currently. I ordered the LCA's from the Mopar lift kit, so you're saying that will only give me 5.0? is that enough of should I order adjustable ones? I have the option to cancel cause they are on back order and won't ship till mid June
Cancel and order adjustables.. get it to 6 degrees.. should help substantially with the wandering. It did for me. 2018 JLU Rubicon.
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