New 2.5" Teraflex ST2 installed, steering jumps left to right?

[nerp]

Hi all...

It's my first rodeo, so go easy on me. I just got my first ever lift! I opted for the Teraflex 2.5" ST2 with Rubi Wheels (on a Sahara) + BFG KO2 35" Tires.

Now OCCASIONALLY when I turn slightly left or right, or come out of a turn, my steering wheel jumps left to right. The wheel literally is jerked out of my hands and turned 1/2" left, then right, then left, etc... After a few seconds, it stops jumping about.

I took it into the installer about 200-250 miles later (because they wanted me to bring it in after the suspension settles), and mentioned the jumping steering wheel.

He said it was the anti-skid control engaging because I have larger wheels now. I call BS on that. After test driving further, it happens with the anti-skid turned off. He told me that turning the anti-skid off doesn't actually turn it off (Really? Is this true?) ... for safety reasons.

Anyone have any diagnosis thoughts on what I could be looking at to try to help my installer out?

THANKS
Terry

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[Moto_21]

Hi all...

It's my first rodeo, so go easy on me. I just got my first ever lift! I opted for the Teraflex 2.5" ST2 with Rubi Wheels (on a Sahara) + BFG KO2 35" Tires.

Now OCCASIONALLY when I turn slightly left or right, or come out of a turn, my steering wheel jumps left to right. The wheel literally is jerked out of my hands and turned 1/2" left, then right, then left, etc... After a few seconds, it stops jumping about.

I took it into the installer about 200-250 miles later (because they wanted me to bring it in after the suspension settles), and mentioned the jumping steering wheel.

He said it was the anti-skid control engaging because I have larger wheels now. I call BS on that. After test driving further, it happens with the anti-skid turned off. He told me that turning the anti-skid off doesn't actually turn it off (Really? Is this true?) ... for safety reasons.

Anyone have any diagnosis thoughts on what I could be looking at to try to help my installer out?

THANKS
Terry

Interesting, sounds like bumpsteer or even beginning stages of death wobble. But that happens mostly hitting a bump. Im unaware of what could cause that without seeing it happen. Hopefully someone will have some insight. Did that lift come with track bars?

 

[nerp]

Interesting, sounds like bumpsteer or even beginning stages of death wobble. But that happens mostly hitting a bump. Im unaware of what could cause that without seeing it happen. Hopefully someone will have some insight. Did that lift come with track bars?

How big does the bump have to be to initiate the death wobble behavior?? I live in Southern California and most of our roads are like being offroad most of the time.

Here's what comes in the ST2 package:

• Front Coil Spring Pair
• Rear Coil Spring Pair
• Front Lower Control Arms
• Front Falcon Bump Stops
• Rear Falcon Bump Stops
• Front Bump Stop Strike Pad Kit
• Front Bump Stop Strike Pad Shim Kit
• Rear Bump Stop Strike Pad Kit
• Rear Bump Stop Strike Pad Shim Kit
• Front Sway Bar End Links
• Rear Sway Bar End Links
• Falcon Shocks

Terry

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

Hi all...

It's my first rodeo, so go easy on me. I just got my first ever lift! I opted for the Teraflex 2.5" ST2 with Rubi Wheels (on a Sahara) + BFG KO2 35" Tires.

Now OCCASIONALLY when I turn slightly left or right, or come out of a turn, my steering wheel jumps left to right. The wheel literally is jerked out of my hands and turned 1/2" left, then right, then left, etc... After a few seconds, it stops jumping about.

I took it into the installer about 200-250 miles later (because they wanted me to bring it in after the suspension settles), and mentioned the jumping steering wheel.

He said it was the anti-skid control engaging because I have larger wheels now. I call BS on that. After test driving further, it happens with the anti-skid turned off. He told me that turning the anti-skid off doesn't actually turn it off (Really? Is this true?) ... for safety reasons.

Anyone have any diagnosis thoughts on what I could be looking at to try to help my installer out?

THANKS
Terry

Hi Terry, I have the Teraflex 2.5 ST2 installed with 35's on my 2018 Rubi, and have never noticed any sort of bump steer, or jerking sensation. You didn't list your tire size, but I suspect your KO2's may be the 315/70/17 so that tire squeezed on the narrow 7.5" Rubi Rim is actually going to be higher than 35". That said, one thought on my end is that perhaps the weak OEM steering stabilizer may be struggling to control those tires well.

I'm running 35's (KO3's, in a 35/12.5/17 size on 17x9.5 rims) and only noticed some "busyness" in the steering wheel on rough highway roads. I swapped out to a Teraflex Nexus 2.2 steering stabilizer which greatly increased the highway ride. Just a thought.

 

[nerp]

Hi Terry, I have the Teraflex 2.5 ST2 installed with 35's on my 2018 Rubi, and have never noticed any sort of bump steer, or jerking sensation. You didn't list your tire size, but I suspect your KO2's may be the 315/70/17 so that tire squeezed on the narrow 7.5" Rubi Rim is actually going to be higher than 35". That said, one thought on my end is that perhaps the weak OEM steering stabilizer may be struggling to control those tires well.

I'm running 35's (KO3's, in a 35/12.5/17 size on 17x9.5 rims) and only noticed some "busyness" in the steering wheel on rough highway roads. I swapped out to a Teraflex Nexus 2.2 steering stabilizer which greatly increased the highway ride. Just a thought.

The mechanic added 1 1/2" spacers to the wheels after installation - the tires are 35 x 12.50R17LT / Load Range E

 

[River City Offroad]

Terry,

Would you mind posting a couple of pictures of the front end of your Jeep? See if you can take some pictures of the steering linkages for us and post them. You can upload them directly to the forum from your phone very easily. Do you have a torque wrench, or access to one locally? I would check the front track bar bolts, and your steering linkages.

Is your steering wheel straight when you're going straight?

This is not really relevant to the problem, but I think you pulled up the list of components that comes with the JK ST2 kit. I am not aware of an adjustable track bar from Teraflex for the JL just yet, and they definitely don't have exhaust spacers for them.

Hopefully we can give you some pointers and get you back to enjoying your rig!

Marcus

 

[nerp]

Terry,

Would you mind posting a couple of pictures of the front end of your Jeep? See if you can take some pictures of the steering linkages for us and post them. You can upload them directly to the forum from your phone very easily. Do you have a torque wrench, or access to one locally? I would check the front track bar bolts, and your steering linkages.

Is your steering wheel straight when you're going straight?

This is not really relevant to the problem, but I think you pulled up the list of components that comes with the JK ST2 kit. I am not aware of an adjustable track bar from Teraflex for the JL just yet, and they definitely don't have exhaust spacers for them.

Hopefully we can give you some pointers and get you back to enjoying your rig!

Marcus

I'll get some pictures when it's daylight. I fixed the earlier post - you were dead on ... I copied from the wrong kit. I don't have access to a torque wrench, but there is a mechanic nearby I could jump in and check the track bar bolts. This diagnostic list / procedure looks pretty good too ... https://www.extremeterrain.com/wrangler-jeep-death-wobble.html

Steering is straight / dead on when I'm driving straight.

Terry

 

[River City Offroad]

I'll get some pictures when it's daylight. I fixed the earlier post - you were dead on ... I copied from the wrong kit. I don't have access to a torque wrench, but there is a mechanic nearby I could jump in and check the track bar bolts. This diagnostic list / procedure looks pretty good too ... https://www.extremeterrain.com/wrangler-jeep-death-wobble.html

Steering is straight / dead on when I'm driving straight.

Terry

I would assume its something loose on the front end, but it could be something else. Bump steer will generally jerk the steering wheel one direction while death wobble will violently shake back and forth. Bump steer is caused by the steering linkage (drag link) and track bar not being parallel to one another. It would be hard for this to happen unless the install shop added parts to the kit you bought. Its probably something simple, but what you're feeling isn't the traction control / ESP.

Any idea what PSI they set your tires to? Its probably not that, I just thought I'd ask.

Marcus

 

[nerp]

.... Any idea what PSI they set your tires to? Its probably not that, I just thought I'd ask.

When I first got it back, they were set at 37, but after the second time I took it into the shop, they were set to 35.

 

[nerp]

Would you mind posting a couple of pictures of the front end of your Jeep? [...]

Here you go Marcus and THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Would you mind posting a couple of pictures of the front end of your Jeep? [...]

Here you are ... and THANK YOU for helping me with this!

 

[River City Offroad]

Well, I dont' really see anything out of the ordinary. I was wondering if they might have put a track bar bracket on the front or something, but I don't see one. Did they do an alignment on the Jeep by chance? There isn't much to change, but maybe the toe is way out of whack or something?

 

[nerp]

So, I thought perhaps I owed the forum an update on my bouncing steering wheel ...

• After discussing with my mechanic, we went on a test drive where (of course) we were unable to duplicate the problem... however, we heard a click that was at the speed of the drive shaft and not the wheels.
• When we got back to the garage, the mechanic told me that the front drive shaft was spinning while the jeep was in 2WD and this shouldn't have been happening. So, he replaced the front drive shaft.
• Still the problem with the steering exists.
• On the advice of a friend, I went to my local mechanic whom i really trust and thought I'd get an alignment. When I took it in, my local guy said he really didn't want to do an alignment without knowing what the camber, caster, and toe settings were supposed to be given the lift. Honestly, I have no idea ... I suspect, however, that since Teraflex says that "no alignment is necessary" during the installation, the new hardware conforms to factory spec.
• On a whim, my local mechanic checked the balance on my wheels and found that ALL FOUR were off in one way or another and two of them were pretty far out of whack. He rebalanced all of the tires and (fingers crossed) the shudder has yet to return!! It hasn't happened once in 2 days!

I still would like to have the alignment done just to make sure there's not a future issue, but I'm gleefully happy. I did decide to add a steering stabilizer now that I believe I'm not masking an issue. The labor and cost of the stabilizer is such that I'm happy to upgrade stock just because others have recommended it, it can decrease suspension wear in general, and the steering is likely to be tighter.

Fingers crossed that we have it fixed!

Terry

 

[nerp]

So, just as a followup ... the tire balance appears to have been the problem. You know, Iearned that when you have an issue after major surgery on your beastie, sometimes it's a good idea to get a second opinion. After ratcheting everything to the correct torque, and checking directly on the balance and alignment, it turned out - as was said here - to be something simple! Thank you all for your help.

I did end up getting a steering stabilizer and all of the tires are now balanced. Yay!

Terry

 

[Moto_21]

Your front driveshaft will spin if you are in all wheel drive all the time. Replacing a driveshaft wont cause it to not spin. The front axle disconnect will be disengaged while in 2wd and front driveshaft will not spin, but if you have the fulltime all wheel drive option it will spin. Glad tire balance fixed it

 

[nerp]

Your front driveshaft will spin if you are in all wheel drive all the time. Replacing a driveshaft wont cause it to not spin. The front axle disconnect will be disengaged while in 2wd and front driveshaft will not spin, but if you have the fulltime all wheel drive option it will spin. Glad tire balance fixed it

Thanks - The mechanic said that the front drive shaft was spinning while my Sahara was in 2WD. He supposedly replaced the drive shaft as a result. Honestly, I don't know if any of this was true because I didn't see the drive shaft spinning while in 2WD, nor did I see them replace the drive shaft and couldn't tell the difference afterward. So, this could have just been more hokum from the mechanic. I really feel like he was playing me a bit.

I'm happy my regular mechanic was able to step in and fix it up. They also recommended a local offroad overland equipper that they are more happy with than the company I used for my lift. So ... lesson learned.

Also, the lift mechanic hasn't bothered to call me to even ask if the wobble is still present after the drive shaft was "replaced." I'm glad I didn't settle for his opinion.

Terry

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