My update to 2020 JLUR after upgrades in attempt to fix loose steering

[oceanblue2019]

Hi Word302,

Adjusting this set screw for a mechanically inclined individual who understands jam nuts, adjusters, creep, lash etc...was very easy. I could tell by feel alone that there was absolutely NO contact with the set screw internally and the gears, I made three extremely small incremental clockwise adjustments then backed off a little. This was all checked at full lock left, full lock right and steering wheel centered. The results are remarkable. The "return to center" is now as good as any new Jeep will be. The looseness felt and constant corrections to keep this Rubicon safely between the lines on the road are at a minimum now, in fact I could definitely snug it up a little more without issue but it is SO MUCH better now that I'm pleasantly surprised and happy.

I do NOT suggest that those who are not mechanically inclined to attempt this.

What I did arrive at is that the loose steering issue is absolutely related to improperly adjusted steering boxes, even in "AE" boxes in brand new 2020 Jeeps....and that is precisely why we called out Mike Manley

These steering boxes are supposed to be all bench adjusted. They have this test bench that connects to the input shaft and the pitman shaft and measures "system lash" while someone adjusts the hex screw to get it into tolerance. They then tighten the outer nut to lock it and mark it. I've seen this process during a factory tour and paid attention to it as related to what I do for my career.

I suspect that either the test bench(s) went out of calibration and caused a bunch of badly adjusted boxes, or some got through without this process, or some improperly trained workers.

At the end of the day we get this sh!t in our vehicles, along with steering stabilizers that are defective, badly torqued tie rod ends, crappy track bars, and bad welds - and who knows what else awaits.

In typical corporate fashion as not enough people have died because of this (Boeing 737-Max as a reference) and therefore no real pressure to solve it quickly or properly they are messing around, starting with the cheapest components and hoping doing something keeps the NTSB and class actions stalled as "it's being solved!"

Perhaps the NTSB should order a stop-sales like the EPA did with the Audi dirty diesels to force FCA to do the right thing.

I've been told a new version of the steering box was coming that had some sort of automatic lash adjustment. But that was supposed to be the AE which is clearly not the case.

Will we ever see a proper fix for 2018 - 202x models? Who knows? I am of the mindset that some major re-design in the steering will happen sometime in a future model and those who bought before are left to live with what we have.

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[shekmark]

It is nuts that this is even a concern on a Wrangler that can cost 60K! I feel for you guys. I bought mine with 30K miles on it and it tracks perfectly straight.

 

[Woodbridge]

It is nuts that this is even a concern on a Wrangler that can cost 60K! I feel for you guys. I bought mine with 30K miles on it and it tracks perfectly straight.

Hi Mark, It's appearing that this is just the luck of the draw....Clearly FCA has extremely poor QC and inconsistent manufacturing practices. For there to still be issues with the latest revised steering boxes "AE" versions says FCA is having VERY difficult problems with employees, vendors, manufacturing and it all points to the C-level execs...

 

[cosmokenney]

Hi Aaron,

At a dead stop parked when I wiggle the steering wheel from the 11 o'clock am to 1 o'clock pm position the tires don't move whatsoever, not a hint of movement.

Sorry mam, I couldn't swerve to avoid running over your toddler because of the dead spot in my steering. The dealer told me it's a Jeep thing. Okay, see ya.

 

[word302]

Hi Word302,

Adjusting this set screw for a mechanically inclined individual who understands jam nuts, adjusters, creep, lash etc...was very easy. I could tell by feel alone that there was absolutely NO contact with the set screw internally and the gears, I made three extremely small incremental clockwise adjustments then backed off a little. This was all checked at full lock left, full lock right and steering wheel centered. The results are remarkable. The "return to center" is now as good as any new Jeep will be. The looseness felt and constant corrections to keep this Rubicon safely between the lines on the road are at a minimum now, in fact I could definitely snug it up a little more without issue but it is SO MUCH better now that I'm pleasantly surprised and happy.

I do NOT suggest that those who are not mechanically inclined to attempt this.

What I did arrive at is that the loose steering issue is absolutely related to improperly adjusted steering boxes, even in "AE" boxes in brand new 2020 Jeeps....and that is precisely why we called out Mike Manley

It's not that difficult to adjust it. The point I was trying to make is how did you measure the lash once adjusted? How do you expect a dealer to measure lash? Jeep isn't going to approve a "fix" that involves doing anything by feel or the guess-and-check method, especially when dealing with a steering box. Again, I don't fault you for making the adjustment. As I said before if my steering were bad I would do the same. But calling out Mike Manly for not approving this "fix" is laughable.

 

[panzerbkb]

I'm sure a fix is coming soon from FCA, sorry you guys are having these problems. I have a 19 JLU made 12/2018 and my steering is fine, drove 2300 miles for vacation this summer from Ohio to Gatlinburg Tn to ocean Isle N. Carolina and back to Ohio over 10 days with 33" AT Tires and averaged 72mph mostly and no problems at all. Of course I'm a bad one to ask, I've owned 11 Jeep CJ's and Wranglers over the past 30+ years so I'm well used to Jeeps and their quirks.

 

[vavaroutsos]

I have a whopping 350 miles on mine, with ~200 done today. It’s got to be your steering box. I suspect that the manufacturer of the steering box (3rd party?) isn’t adjusting the lash correctly on all boxes. I’d bet money that a slight tightening of your lash will cure your issues.

It's definitely not always the lash. I had a 2018 JLR with rev AC box. I tried adjusting the lash and couldn't reduce the dead spot at all. I think it could be end bearing pre-load, ball nut pre-load, bad machining of the sector shaft, etc.

 

[vavaroutsos]

It’s on the set screw, the jam but will looses pretty easily.

Mine was mostly on the jam nut. The adjuster screw broke free from the housing when I loosened the jam nut. I didn't want to strip the hex socket in the adjuster screw, so after applying heat, I backed the jam nut out until the adjuster screw lifted the sector shaft all the way and couldn't turn further. Then I turned the jam nut more to break the loctite.

 

[HoundDude]

Mine was mostly on the jam nut. The adjuster screw broke free from the housing when I loosened the jam nut. I didn't want to strip the hex socket in the adjuster screw, so after applying heat, I backed the jam nut out until the adjuster screw lifted the sector shaft all the way and couldn't turn further. Then I turned the jam nut more to break the loctite.

this is the technique that Jeep Informant illustrated in his YouTube video. before FCA lawyers threatened to bankrupt him. he had to take the video down.

 

[Tony V]

I am waiting on the v41 part to come in. This is my 5th wrangler. 25k miles of unhappiness. The steering sucks. Dead spot from 11-1 while going 70. The damn JL tried to kill me wandering all over the road. Double fisting to stay in my lane. I look over and girl is her Tesla is double fisting her phone texting not even touching her wheel. I am going to do the adjustment on the box. Really hope it helps. At this point I don’t even care about the warranty. Just venting here.

 

[Woodbridge]

It's not that difficult to adjust it. The point I was trying to make is how did you measure the lash once adjusted? How do you expect a dealer to measure lash? Jeep isn't going to approve a "fix" that involves doing anything by feel or the guess-and-check method, especially when dealing with a steering box. Again, I don't fault you for making the adjustment. As I said before if my steering were bad I would do the same. But calling out Mike Manly for not approving this "fix" is laughable.

We called out Mr. Manley for having STILL not properly addressing this very very critical issue. Simply revising the part numbers from AD to AE and still exhibiting dangerous steering characteristics is completely unacceptable to quite possibly borderline illegal. But I'll let attorneys decide that. I'm exiting stage left here......I didn't give FCA $61,000 to be miserable and fight with fellow forum members here.

 

[They call me...PaPa]

I really wish I had the opportunity to drive someone's Jeep that had steering issues. I would really like to experience this phenomenon first hand. In my opinion, I think the issues resides in the electric steering pump and steering box and replacing suspension components or even the tie rod and drag link are doing nothing more than masking the issue. But I can not figure out why these reports of bad steering are so inconsistent between build dates. I have a March 2019 build and mine seems to be just fine.

I’m thinking it lies in poor consistency during the build process or in component performance and that it’s just random as to whether someone’s experience is good vs bad. I took my JL Rubicon in today for warranty work including the V41 repair and was given a JLU Sport as a loaner. Both have 3/19 build dates. My Rubi is bad (but maybe not as bad as some), the loaner with nearly 3X the mileage was perfectly tight. Zero play, no wandering whatsoever. I strongly doubt the new stabilizer will improve anything and mentioned the same to the dealer, interested in hearing back on what they say. I’ll play the game and engage/escalate as appropriate, but I’m not going to pay for add-on parts nor am I self-adjusting anything for this particular problem when it’s something that they should get right - not to mention the risk of waiving warranty coverage for it.

If it doesn’t feel safe to me after a reasonable effort, I’ll sell it and move on to another brand. 4th consecutive Jeep - I’m open to something new and I still have my JKU.

 

[JeepCares]

I am waiting on the v41 part to come in. This is my 5th wrangler. 25k miles of unhappiness. The steering sucks. Dead spot from 11-1 while going 70. The damn JL tried to kill me wandering all over the road. Double fisting to stay in my lane. I look over and girl is her Tesla is double fisting her phone texting not even touching her wheel. I am going to do the adjustment on the box. Really hope it helps. At this point I don’t even care about the warranty. Just venting here.

Hi Tony,
We're sorry to hear about your experience. Please let us know via private message if you need any assistance while working with your dealer.
Alex
JeepCares

 

[05RUMBLE]

My 2020 JLU Rubicon just got back from the dealer today after the 3rd time. Still no fix for my loose steering. Same as others reported from 11 to 1 o'clock complete dead spot. After insisting they at least check the alignment they found the caster on drivers side to be out of spec. They were advised to replace knuckle and ball joint. Parts were installed today and alignment is now back in spec but still no farther ahead with steering play. Dealer does not know what to do. I test drove a 2020 JLU Sahara before I left and it drives the exact same. All over the road. If anyone gets more answers that I am getting then please let me know. This is my 5th Jeep and so far it has been nothing but regret.

 

[df007]

Hi Word302,

Adjusting this set screw for a mechanically inclined individual who understands jam nuts, adjusters, creep, lash etc...was very easy. I could tell by feel alone that there was absolutely NO contact with the set screw internally and the gears, I made three extremely small incremental clockwise adjustments then backed off a little. This was all checked at full lock left, full lock right and steering wheel centered. The results are remarkable. The "return to center" is now as good as any new Jeep will be. The looseness felt and constant corrections to keep this Rubicon safely between the lines on the road are at a minimum now, in fact I could definitely snug it up a little more without issue but it is SO MUCH better now that I'm pleasantly surprised and happy.

I do NOT suggest that those who are not mechanically inclined to attempt this.

What I did arrive at is that the loose steering issue is absolutely related to improperly adjusted steering boxes, even in "AE" boxes in brand new 2020 Jeeps....and that is precisely why we called out Mike Manley

Sounds like you were able to "feel" the lash and contact. Can you share more detail on your process to heat the Loctite and if you were able to use the small allen key to adjust the lash or if you had to back the jam nut out to move it relative to the adjuster screw? Did you find the Loctite to be on just the jam nut or both the nut and the screw? Thanks!

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