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Steering wheel play..how much is "normal"

WutRoad

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Relax and go with it... Rofl! Not if you have the steering issue. Then it's relax and change lanes, or relax and drop a wheel off the road.

If you can relax and go with it, congratulations (and I really mean that), you don't have the steering defect.
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Warmblood Rider

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The JL’s steering issues are real, and go beyond excessive play. The steering was changed to electro-hydraulic power steering in the JL. Our power steering continued to fail and was ultimately dangerous to drive. After less than 2000 miles, the dealer worked with us to trade it for a JK. They were baffled as far as how to fix it.

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Outlaw

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It's kind of like riding a horse or in my case, flying an airplane. You just have to relax and 'go with it', not fighting the vehicle, always trying to correct it. The Jeep will be ok. Guys that understand what I'm talking about get it.
This is sort of true, but my JLUR lacks the dihedral to stay on course without SOME input from the PIC.
 

PatrickKiser

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Relax and go with it... Rofl! Not if you have the steering issue. Then it's relax and change lanes, or relax and drop a wheel off the road.

If you can relax and go with it, congratulations (and I really mean that), you don't have the steering defect.
I just drove back from Oshkosh to West Chicago in my 2013 Rubicon 10A driving at 75 mph the whole way on the highway and had no issues whatsoever. I have an order in for a 2018 Rubicon but seeing so many mentions of steering issues with the new Jeeps, I might just keep mine and kill the whole idea of the 2018. We'll see.
 

WutRoad

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No idea how many are like mine, but , knowing what I know now I wouldn't commit to buying one until I could test it at highway speeds.
 

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Nash

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I have ben driving jeep now for over 12 years...had a YJ .... TJ .... JK....CJ....and now a JL....well soon I will lol.... but one thing I know the play you have on the steering wheel will save all the moving steering components and give you more control over harsh roads .... if it wasn't for that play your quick response steering wheels would put extra stress on the components causing premature wear to your ball joints and everything with a screw or weld. When your boucing around on dirt roads the last thing you want is quick response steering that will drive you of the road. :)
 

Bearded_Dragon

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I have ben driving jeep now for over 12 years...had a YJ .... TJ .... JK....CJ....and now a JL....well soon I will lol.... but one thing I know the play you have on the steering wheel will save all the moving steering components and give you more control over harsh roads .... if it wasn't for that play your quick response steering wheels would put extra stress on the components causing premature wear to your ball joints and everything with a screw or weld. When your boucing around on dirt roads the last thing you want is quick response steering that will drive you of the road. :)
Unfortunately the steering is still shit off-road. The dead space in the steering wheel really fucks over the JL, I love everything else about it.
 

TaiMc

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Agreed! We passed 6k on the way down to NC yesterday and it was close to being fine. Interestingly, if you hold the wheel lightly at 12 o'clock it feels perfect. I think 4-8 or 10-2 positions with arms rested on door or console are forcing inputs back into the steering when all it wants to do is react to a road imperfection. I still think a software improvement is possible since we're all electro-hydraulic now. Until then holding the wheel with a light touch is working well.
This is an exact description of how my steering is. When I remove my hands, it drives straight...when I rest my elbow on my left thigh and use one hand to keep it straight (positioned at the bottom of the wheel), I had to adjust it slightly but frequently. When i move my arm up and rest my elbow on the door and slightly touch the steering wheel...no adjustments need to be made. I think my issue is more so as you mentioned: "forcing inputs back into the steering".

I've seen others' issues on the forum and their's are totally different! Even scary sometimes from what is described and video recorded.
 

cabnfvr

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This is an exact description of how my steering is. When I remove my hands, it drives straight...when I rest my elbow on my left thigh and use one hand to keep it straight (positioned at the bottom of the wheel), I had to adjust it slightly but frequently. When i move my arm up and rest my elbow on the door and slightly touch the steering wheel...no adjustments need to be made. I think my issue is more so as you mentioned: "forcing inputs back into the steering".

I've seen others' issues on the forum and their's are totally different! Even scary sometimes from what is described and video recorded.
Whatever the issue I wish others weren't so quick to pass it off a a driver or "Jeep" thing. Ours is tolerable but certainly could be better. We've had 8 Jeeps since 1984 and the JL is the only one to have this constant correction issue. So yeah, on second thought it is a Jeep thing, one that needs correcting.

Thanks for doing the survey. Hopefully it gets some traction. :jk:
 

Tharris

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My 2 door JL has about 1 inch of play before the vehicle will turn. My dealer had the car for 3 days and said it is normal. Apparently they adjusted nothing. It wanders noticeably on the interstate.
Not sure if this will help but it did help me.
I was advised by a evo manufacturing rep that the control arms on the jl are tightened down with absurd amounts of pressure, and that loosening them and putting them back on to spec would alleviate alot of the sway and chop issues. I did as advised and the jeep seems to wander much less and feels significantly less jarring over regular road imperfections. Getting those bolts loose required a large breaker bar and a pretty absurd amount of force. Hope this helps.
 

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jeremyjeep

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Not sure if this will help but it did help me.
I was advised by a evo manufacturing rep that the control arms on the jl are tightened down with absurd amounts of pressure, and that loosening them and putting them back on to spec would alleviate alot of the sway and chop issues. I did as advised and the jeep seems to wander much less and feels significantly less jarring over regular road imperfections. Getting those bolts loose required a large breaker bar and a pretty absurd amount of force. Hope this helps.
Did you make the adjustment or did you have a dealer do it? Are there any references to a page number in the dealer's documentation that someone can refer to so they don't give the typical blank stare when asking anything above and beyond an oil change? And do you have the spec to what it should be tightened to?
 

Tharris

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Did you make the adjustment or did you have a dealer do it? Are there any references to a page number in the dealer's documentation that someone can refer to so they don't give the typical blank stare when asking anything above and beyond an oil change? And do you have the spec to what it should be tightened to?
I try to do everything on my own. The dealership will destroy your car. Completely incapable extortionists. I could list horror stories but I wont, that's just my experience. If you told them to respec the control arm nuts they should know what you mean, however they are usually about as useful as wet paper. I'm not gonna lie it was not easy loosening them manually even with a breaker bar, but if you have a good impact gun it should come off with relative ease. I got them off by pushing with my feet while gripping onto the undercarriage of the jeep, some intense karate kicks later they submitted to my will. I am now a black belt and soon to be christened by my jeep for my valor in releasing it from its oprossession. In the meantime it drives straight for me. If you want me to do it for you I'd be more then happy to. I retired my black belt and bought a Milwaukee m18 recently so it would be easier next time.
 

Tharris

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Oh yea and I hand tightened it to 100 torque with a little bit of blue lock tight.
 

Nash

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I don't actually own mine yet I should be receiving it in 30 days or so I will let you guys know if it Canadian version is better LOL
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