Loose steering feels like it has play and drifts

[2mnycars]

The bolts at the bottom of the sway bar links shown in the photos are what I loosened. They are not LOOSE mind you. They’re not going anywhere (I put some breakable loctite in there) and there is no clanking when I go over bumps. But they are not super tight to allow the bushings to move and flex as intended.

I admit to having a Fox steering stabilizer on as well but that did not fix the problem. It’s been good for adding some weight to the steering but did nothing for the loose feeling, dead spot, and wandering.

Hopefully some other wanderers can give this a shot and see what they think. If it works for you as well as it did for me then you have a free and easy fix! Let the subjectivity test ensue...

Thanks for your post. Interesting.

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[SpeedKills]

The JL has a factory tolerance of +/- 10MM on ANY point of the frame or unibody structure. I have personally measured 20-30 of these and have seen suspension mount points 7-10MM different from one side to the other.

This is terrible. I shouldn't be surprised that frame tolerances are sloppy given the ridiculous amount of weld spatter and weld pitting in and around the frame welds. Bad measurement and bad weld quality go together like PB & J.

 

[californiajeeping]

Question for everyone: On a perfectly straight long road, if you hold the steering wheel perfectly straight, does your JL stay in the lane?

 

[SwissSteph]

Question for everyone: On a perfectly straight long road, if you hold the steering wheel perfectly straight, does your JL stay in the lane?

My jeep with 35" and a 2.5" kit and this despite a steering damper change and other things -> NO.

But it was the same thing with my old YJ and my Toyota Land Cruiser BJ42 ... so, in my opinion, for this type of car, it's mechanically normal.

 

[Geekjeep]

There is rumors of a “new” gearbox that is supposed to be released by the end of the year that is cast iron like the Jk. The wandering and the dead spot are two different things, my JLUR was absolutely terrible with the wandering. I replaced all the control arms and installed them correctly ( the way I linked earlier) and am running 6.5* caster. I have a very small dead spot 1/2 in only when the outside temp is below 60-65. In warmer weather it’s as tight as a rack system. I have fixed several of these the same way and have also swapped the AE box and corrected the dead spot. Every box is manually set from the supplier and can be set differently. I went through 5 boxes once before getting one that had acceptable play. You can bench test the box prior to installing them and have a pretty good idea if they are good or not prior to installing.

Not that I would recommend this but I have actually rented a Jl with good steering and was able to swap the box into a Jl with a decent amount of free play. The poor driving Jeep Drove perfect after the swap. A good majority of the issues with the dead spot absolutely Is the box.

so do you agree with the method of tightening the bolt on the top of the box.

is the issue the lack of quality controls on the box or how the box is set with that tightening bolt on the top.

 

[Jeep&dogs]

so do you agree with the method of tightening the bolt on the top of the box.

is the issue the lack of quality controls on the box or how the box is set with that tightening bolt on the top.

Honestly I believe it has more to do with the tolerance in the bearings in the recirculating ball assembly. You can take some play out with by adjusting the mesh of the gearbox but there is still a considerable amount of play in the rest of the assembly on some. I also think this is why some have said after making an adjustment it works for a while and then gets sloppy again.

 

[DadJokes]

There is rumors of a “new” gearbox that is supposed to be released by the end of the year that is cast iron like the Jk. The wandering and the dead spot are two different things, my JLUR was absolutely terrible with the wandering. I replaced all the control arms and installed them correctly ( the way I linked earlier) and am running 6.5* caster. I have a very small dead spot 1/2 in only when the outside temp is below 60-65. In warmer weather it’s as tight as a rack system. I have fixed several of these the same way and have also swapped the AE box and corrected the dead spot. Every box is manually set from the supplier and can be set differently. I went through 5 boxes once before getting one that had acceptable play. You can bench test the box prior to installing them and have a pretty good idea if they are good or not prior to installing.

Not that I would recommend this but I have actually rented a Jl with good steering and was able to swap the box into a Jl with a decent amount of free play. The poor driving Jeep Drove perfect after the swap. A good majority of the issues with the dead spot absolutely Is the box.

I considered the route of ordering 4 boxes and testing each on a bench. Would the dealer parts dept be able to accept the return of the others not having been installed?

 

[EugeneTheJeep]

After a steering gear box replacement, check your steering fluid. Mine keeps going down I believe because of trapped air. Anyone else?

 

[c2m2h3]

That was basically my next question, has anyone tested this theory out with the bearings?

 

[DadJokes]

After a steering gear box replacement, check your steering fluid. Mine keeps going down I believe because of trapped air. Anyone else?

It’s always worth checking for the easier solutions first. Where is the reservoir? I’ve not looked yet.

 

[Jeep&dogs]

I considered the route of ordering 4 boxes and testing each on a bench. Would the dealer parts dept be able to accept the return of the others not having been installed?

My dealer did but you have to take into consideration we spend somewhere around 250k-300K a month with their parts department. Even if they had to eat the boxes I sent back they absolutely would have because of the volume we spend with them, and that’s just one dealer in the area. We fix roughly 150,000 vehicles through the shops a month.

 

[EugeneTheJeep]

It’s always worth checking for the easier solutions first. Where is the reservoir? I’ve not looked yet.

#13

 

[DadJokes]

#13

Thanks. I should have looked it up now that you give a page out of the manual. lol

 

[Jeepileptic]

Honestly I believe it has more to do with the tolerance in the bearings in the recirculating ball assembly. You can take some play out with by adjusting the mesh of the gearbox but there is still a considerable amount of play in the rest of the assembly on some. I also think this is why some have said after making

Honestly I believe it has more to do with the tolerance in the bearings in the recirculating ball assembly. You can take some play out with by adjusting the mesh of the gearbox but there is still a considerable amount of play in the rest of the assembly on some. I also think this is why some have said after making an adjustment it works for a while and then gets sloppy again.

Surely the play in bearings alone can’t cause the major steering play (differences) being reported. Do you think the people with perfect steering have a combination of the least tolerance value and are adjusted with tight gears? Also, just trying to educate myself, are these bearings internally before the gears on the steering side or after on the pitman side?

 

[Jeep&dogs]

Surely the play in bearings alone can’t cause the major steering play (differences) being reported. Do you think the people with perfect steering have a combination of the least tolerance value and are adjusted with tight gears? Also, just trying to educate myself, are these bearings internally before the gears on the steering side or after on the pitman side?

So when the steering shaft turns the ball bearings take up the slack before the rack moves. Then it moves the gear connected to the sector shaft which turns the pitman arm. The adjustment everyone talks about reduces the play between the rack and the sector shaft. Honestly from what I have seen that adjustment is fairly close.

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