Hey everyone,


I have searchedand searched some more on this wandering issue with our JK’s. I have read itall, from the bad steering box to the loose bolts to changing caster angles totoe in\out. Doesn’t matter if it is stock or lifted. In the many threads I haveread through I see it just end with maybe a fix and maybe no fix, the threadjust dies with no resolve. I also don’t want to be throwing $5000 at my Jeep totry and find a problem that someone else has fixed. That is why I am postingthis. HAVE YOU FIXED THIS??? And what was your fix?

I have the sameissue with my 2015 JKU Willy’s wandering all over in the lane as a lot ofothers. It has done it from day 1. I figured I needed to get used to it, Well,after 5 months and 8000 miles I think I am used to it and something is notright. I never had this problem with my TJ and it was a solid front axle withthe same style of steering components as the JK and JKU and to be honest Inever had this problem with any vehicle that had this style of steering components.I know, it’s a box going down the road. But that box shouldn’t be all over the roadeither.

We know what it could be, because we have read that many times over. What I am looking for isDID YOU FIX IT!!!


Thanks

 

Get caster angle up to +5° and use skinny road optimized tires. Don't lift, keep air dam, and keep nose down rake.

 

What was done to fix wandering depends completely on what the actual problem was. Have you done any diagnosis at all to figure out what YOUR issue is? Or you're just planning to blindly throw parts at it because someone else says that is what fixed their issue? Which could be completely different than your issue...

Have you read through Planmans DW/Shimmy diagnosis and followed the steps? (It is stuck right to the top of the Write-Ups area.)

Fill in your profile.

Looking back through your old posts, you have a Mopar Stage 3 and 35's? Have you had it aligned? If so, what are the caster and toe numbers? If you haven't, throw it on a rack and get those numbers. When the lift was installed, were all bolts torqued while the jeep was on the ground under full vehicle weight, or while in the air? Which tires, what load rate, and what psi are you running in them? Have you rotated and/or balanced the tires? Have you checked the trackbar holes for wallowing? Have you ...

 

My JK doesn't wander, never did. What is does is follow the road contours, especially since the tire swap and lift. For instance, if i'm in a 6 lane highway, like the interstate. If i'm in the left lane, it has a very slight pull left, center, tracks strait as an arrow, right lane, very slight pull to the right. The jeep is aligned just fine, it tracks strait, it's just sensitive to the curvature of the road. Might that be what you are referring to?

 

My Rubicon has done this since the day it was born. And tires/suspension are stock. There is nothing wrong with the alignment or parts. I do not even notice it after 8 years unless I jump into my wifes 2012 Grand Cherokee in which case I notice the absence of it.

Expectations will differ but I never expected my mud tired, straight axle JK to track uneven roads as perfectly as my wifes CAR (posing as an SUV).

Now if it wandered on perfect pavement with no side winds I might be concerned. No worries about finding those conditions in Michigan.

The OP seems to be describing something more pronounced than what we experience. If lifted and not set up right, it can change caster (and other things) to the point of real handling problems.

Edit: OP, please fill out your profile about your Jeep (or at least describe your setup) so people can help.

 

I agree with you on this as well. I have a Rancho 2" lift and at first I thought my guy who did the alignment didn't do a good job as my JK was wondering everywhere. I found a stretch of fairly flat road and did some tests by driving up and down a few times and there was no wandering whatsoever.

The wandering on my JK kinda feels like my wife's car with 19" rims and low profile tires on during the summer time, I'm guessing the width of the tires are very sensitive so any change in flatness on the road and you'll immediately feel it. Maybe this is exactly what you're wandering issue might be.

 

If you have not done so since the lift, you still might want to have your caster and such checked on a rack. I think a little "terrain following" is probably normal as noted, but if pronounced it could be alignment issues.

 

Three things I did to mine that corrected my issue were Lift related. Got the alignment redone by a more reputable shop which they corrected the caster and toe. Dropped the tire pressure from 35lbs to 28lbs by doing a chalk test because I have E range tires. Lastly had to re-tighten the dropped pitman arm and torque striped it to monitor. Drives like it did from the factory now just higher off the ground.

 

I've never had a wandering issue with my JKU, either before or after lifting or after larger tires. My first thought for a stock vehicle with wandering issues is that the tires are over inflated.

 

It may not even be your jeep but the road you are driving on. The extra width of the JK over the TJ may be enough where you are catching the groves left by big trucks. Lots of things can make it wander like tire pressure, type of tire, and suspension set up.