(Yet another) Steering issue thread

[jcbfshr]

You tried to go the other direction and ran out of room as well ?

Yeah, went the other way and the adjuster almost came out of the socket.

I’m considering drilling out or trying to gracefully remove the pin circled in this photo. It seems like it may be blocking me from adjusting the extra little bit I need to.

Sponsored

 

[Headbarcode]

37's introduce a lot of extra stress on the steering and suspension components. That gets amplified even further with such an extreme srcub radius that comes with only 3" of backspace.

The factory steering linkages, control arms, and track bars are barely adequate for 33's and stock height. They all have lower quality rubber bushings and are constructed from thin walled tubing designed to be lightweight and help with fuel efficiency. It's of no surprise to hear that it initially worked great, but now not so much.

I fully agree with the previous post about the mopar lift lca's working great for a stock height Rubicon, but that your spacer lift more than likely negated that caster gain, if not pulled it lower than it originally was. A quality pair of adjustables will not only afford the ability to fine tune caster, but will also have better bushings and stronger construction to stand up to the bigger tire and lift stresses. That would most likely fix your wander issue.

In my experiences, bad steering shimmies and wobbles, at the speed range that you specified, are typically from one or more loose bushings in the front control arms or rod ends in the steering linkages.

Larger tires require strong parts for the best ride and handling quality, and the longevity to go along with it. I highly recommend starting with the drag link and front lower control arms. As funds allow, expand into the tie rod and front upper control arms, and eventually a full sweep through the rear arms and track bar.

 

[jcbfshr]

37's introduce a lot of extra stress on the steering and suspension components. That gets amplified even further with such an extreme srcub radius that comes with only 3" of backspace.

The factory steering linkages, control arms, and track bars are barely adequate for 33's and stock height. They all have lower quality rubber bushings and are constructed from thin walled tubing designed to be lightweight and help with fuel efficiency. It's of no surprise to hear that it initially worked great, but now not so much.

I fully agree with the previous post about the mopar lift lca's working great for a stock height Rubicon, but that your spacer lift more than likely negated that caster gain, if not pulled it lower than it originally was. A quality pair of adjustables will not only afford the ability to fine tune caster, but will also have better bushings and stronger construction to stand up to the bigger tire and lift stresses. That would most likely fix your wander issue.

In my experiences, bad steering shimmies and wobbles, at the speed range that you specified, are typically from one or more loose bushings in the front control arms or rod ends in the steering linkages.

Larger tires require strong parts for the best ride and handling quality, and the longevity to go along with it. I highly recommend starting with the drag link and front lower control arms. As funds allow, expand into the tie rod and front upper control arms, and eventually a full sweep through the rear arms and track bar.

Thanks for your reply. I think this is all reasonable and I agree with the things you said.

My goal for now is to get to a place where I feel like things are square and the Jeep behaves reasonably normal again. I’m assuming more backspacing and lighter tires, plus getting the front axle re-centered should find me a nice middle ground where I can start to swap out the components you mentioned without trying to do things wholesale.

With about 10k miles on it since I installed the lift, feels like I’ve got to find a foundation to start from, or I’ll just have stronger components that are misaligned still.

 

[Headbarcode]

Thanks for your reply. I think this is all reasonable and I agree with the things you said.

My goal for now is to get to a place where I feel like things are square and the Jeep behaves reasonably normal again. I’m assuming more backspacing and lighter tires, plus getting the front axle re-centered should find me a nice middle ground where I can start to swap out the components you mentioned without trying to do things wholesale.

With about 10k miles on it since I installed the lift, feels like I’ve got to find a foundation to start from, or I’ll just have stronger components that are misaligned still.

Yeah, you can definitely spread the beating out. A black eye here, a bloody lip there. No need for an ambulance ride if it van avoided. I'd definitely start with the drag link, to straighten the steering wheel and its strength will get you a little closer to a more solid steering feel. It's not until the steering linkages get beefed up that it becomes clear on how mushy the factory pieces felt. Their weaker construction allows a bit of unwanted flex when trying to wrangle larger tires and scrub radius. And front lca's, which will increase caster and help with the wandering.

 

[JINO]

I just got 37s (no lift) and noticed a slight vibration at higher speeds (60 mph+).
I reduced psi to 30, and it seemed to have helped.
I'm getting 3.5"game changer suspension Ina. Few weeks, wondering if I should get steering stabilizer as well..

 

[jcbfshr]

Yeah, you can definitely spread the beating out. A black eye here, a bloody lip there. No need for an ambulance ride if it van avoided. I'd definitely start with the drag link, to straighten the steering wheel and its strength will get you a little closer to a more solid steering feel. It's not until the steering linkages get beefed up that it becomes clear on how mushy the factory pieces felt. Their weaker construction allows a bit of unwanted flex when trying to wrangle larger tires and scrub radius. And front lca's, which will increase caster and help with the wandering.

Front caster at the diff measures at 0° right now (at the machine holes next to the diff cover). Based on my reading here, that translates to 6° at the knuckle. Also based on my reading here, most people were pretty happy at 6-7°. Am I reading these values correctly, or is there another way I can measure?

 

[firedude]

Front caster at the diff measures at 0° right now (at the machine holes next to the diff cover). Based on my reading here, that translates to 6° at the knuckle. Also based on my reading here, most people were pretty happy at 6-7°. Am I reading these values correctly, or is there another way I can measure?

Correct.

Can you put stock wheels and tires on to eliminate that as the issue?

 

[Headbarcode]

Front caster at the diff measures at 0° right now (at the machine holes next to the diff cover). Based on my reading here, that translates to 6° at the knuckle. Also based on my reading here, most people were pretty happy at 6-7°. Am I reading these values correctly, or is there another way I can measure?

Typically, a stock Rubicon would have too low of a caster angle. Lifting the Jeep will make it worse, but depending on how much lift was added, the mopar lift arms will at most only bring caster back up to where it started at.

Is the Jeep sitting on perfectly level ground? This has to first be checked. It's optimal to put the angle finder on a level (longer the better) and see if the Jeep is sitting on a pitch. That number needs to be factored in.

 

[rickinAZ]

IWith a 2.5" lift you need more caster than the Mopar non-adjustable LCAs can provide. The extra .25" length of the Mopar LCAs are fine for a stock Rubicon (even with the Ecodiesel's slighty taller stance), but I wanted to get to roughly 7° of caster.

Sponsored