Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

[grandsrus]

My 2019 JLR wanders like a SOB. I'm constantly having to correct the steering. The only way I can describe it is, it feels just like my 2 door JK after I put a 2.5" lift in it without addressing the caster. My JK also had the same size tires, only in the 16" flavor.

I'm going to try lower the tire pressure to see if that helps.

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[grandsrus]

Just installed the Mopar longer LCAs and the WANDERING IS GONE! $60 well spent and 1 hour of my time with simple tools. The darting over washboards and such is gone. Its actually fun to drive the jeep again, why did i wait til 5,000 miles....
I will also try the fuse and reboot as well as report back this weekend.

 

[Prioritypest]

I tried this night and test drove it but honestly cant tell you if it worked. My wife said the steering feels tighter but that's after i told her to try it so it may be the placebo effect. The small dead space is still there though. Initially i wasn't to concerned about it but my wife has taken a likening to my new toy and drives it everyday. Her car literally sent her a text message saying to start her car as the battery was getting low.

 

[Rdmitch]

i’ll try it tomorrow too. it didnt help when i did it on the 2018 sahara.

 

[vavaroutsos]

My understanding is the clock spring is just a rotary electrical connection between the steering wheel electronics and ECUs. It's spiral wound so that the steering wheel can be turned without breaking electrical connections.

 

[SilverRubi]

I tried the fuse thing with mine and one of my buddy's Jeeps. He said he can tell I difference and I'm not really sure if I can. It still wonders around on me and tends to pull to the right.

The thing I did notice between the 2 is when the fuse was out and we started the Jeeps and turned the wheel a little. My Jeep doesn't really have any steering wheel play. Just a tiny bit on warmer days. His has a couple inches of play. This was way more noticeable with the fuse out. He could move his wheel back and forth a couple inches and mine really wouldn't budge.

My thought is if you want to see if you have play in your actual steering box this may be a good test? If you can move the wheel with the fuse out you have slop in your gears and if you can't then it might be good. Just an idea not sure if it is valid or not. And by turning the wheel I mean not putting any more effort into it than you'd normally do. If I cranked mine hard enough I'd get some flex/movement. His turned a couple inches like it normally does driving.

 

[Alejandro_2294]

That’s two successful tests, plus the ones in the other threads.. Hopefully more will try it. I wonder how many lemon law buy backs could of been avoided by this simple fix that would of taken the dealerships 3 minutes to try.

I just tried it and did not notice any improvement, in my case it did not work

 

[Dkretden]

I hope that I am wrong.......

but any improvement may just be a placebo effect. the idea of a ‘reboot“ seems so basic that I would have hoped that FCA would have figured that out by now.

 

[californiajeeping]

I just tried it and did not notice any improvement, in my case it did not work

Per SilverRubi’s post, was there still slop in the steering wheel when the fuse was out?

 

[californiajeeping]

I tried the fuse thing with mine and one of my buddy's Jeeps. He said he can tell I difference and I'm not really sure if I can. It still wonders around on me and tends to pull to the right.

The thing I did notice between the 2 is when the fuse was out and we started the Jeeps and turned the wheel a little. My Jeep doesn't really have any steering wheel play. Just a tiny bit on warmer days. His has a couple inches of play. This was way more noticeable with the fuse out. He could move his wheel back and forth a couple inches and mine really wouldn't budge.

My thought is if you want to see if you have play in your actual steering box this may be a good test? If you can move the wheel with the fuse out you have slop in your gears and if you can't then it might be good. Just an idea not sure if it is valid or not. And by turning the wheel I mean not putting any more effort into it than you'd normally do. If I cranked mine hard enough I'd get some flex/movement. His turned a couple inches like it normally does driving.

Makes sense because I think the fuse technique is specific to just the slop in steering, which by the way won’t work if the steering box is bad. As far as the pulling, have you test driven it without the steering stabilizer? Also check out this new post about steering pull and cross-cambered. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-seem-normal-steering-pull.46920/post-1127177

 

[californiajeeping]

Here is a very interesting article on drifting and pulling. Time to check the alignment report and compare. Can’t adjust camber on the JL but at least this would explain why in some cases drifting and pulling is occurring. And there is a post in another forum that replacing the axel tube fixed cross camber.

https://www.brakeandfrontend.com/drift-correction-cross-camber/

Drift Correction With Cross Camber

ByBrake and Front End Staffon

One of the common handling-related complaints brought to an alignment shop is ‘drift’ — usually meaning the vehicle fails to continue straight when allowed to choose its own path. Many times, an alignment tech is able to easily resolve drift issues, but not always. Making adjustments and then failing to impact a drift issue or satisfy the customer’s complaint can be frustrating.

After the parts and tires have been ruled out, most alignment techs will take a closer look at cross caster as a directional control angle, which is taught in many wheel alignment classes today. However, cross camber also affects directional stability, but it is usually ignored because camber also impacts tire wear. Some vehicles in production today have steering axis inclination (SAI) values of 9°, or even higher, to improve vehicle stability. On these vehicles with higher SAI values, the cross camber can be more effective in resolving drift than cross caster.

Let’s clarify drift by the popular definition: with no driver input, the vehicle will change one full lane in about 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile on a straight, level road. By contrast, a ‘pull’ is when the vehicle changes lanes faster — in less than 1/8 of a mile. The deliberate use of cross camber we’re discussing here is only viable for drifts because a pull would require camber values that are unacceptable for tire wear, and something more serious is probably wrong.

The high value of SAI has a larger influence on vehicle directional stability compared to the relatively smaller caster values. This is why changes in cross caster don’t have much effect on drift on certain vehicles. Instead, try small changes in cross camber by biasing it in the appropriate direction while staying within the OEM specified range, which is typically under 0.5°. Also, the actual caster numbers should be close to the OEM specified target value.
For instance, a vehicle with left camber of -0.5º, right camber of -0.5º and a drift to the left could be corrected by moving the left to -0.75° and the right to -0.5°, or the left to -0.75° and the right to -0.25°. Both settings would stay below the typical cross camber maximum of 0.5° and should create enough drift-right to counter the original complaint of drift-left.

While working a drift issue with cross camber, keep the less effective, but still relevant cross caster from clouding the results. Keep cross caster within the OEM specified range, which is typically under 0.5°. Also, the actual caster numbers should be close to the OEM specified target value.

Keep in mind the influence that SAI has on vehicle tracking, and be aware that high SAI will cause cross caster to be less effective than cross camber for correcting drift issues. This will save your shop time — and costs — by focusing on the more effective parameter according to the particular vehicle being serviced. The bottom line can be both better profitability for the shop and higher customer satisfaction.

 

[mysto]

I think increasing camber would improve stability, however I found i cannot change it.

 

[limeade]

I think increasing camber would improve stability, however I found i cannot change it.

Not until/unless someone comes out with adjustable ball joints.

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