sneck

so that sounds bad. but the jeep has barely hit 3500, so I imagine it was a factory defect? I mean what would cause the box to fail like that?

wayoflife

hard to say for sure. i've gone through several steering boxes over the years and they were most likely all my fault. hitting a big rock hard with just one tire at high rate of speed will do it and, pushing big tires with low psi on grippy rocks can do it too. basically, forcing it to turn in extreme conditions. don't know which box you have but the older delphi boxes seemed to be better made.

sneck

Well that sounds fun. Did you have them replaced under warranty or what? Is the steering box just a weak spot in general? Granted I'm still waiting to hear back on what the issue is, but if it is the box, is there a good replacement/upgrade to try to prevent any future issues? or just go with the OEM and replace it when(if) it breaks?

D_engel

I am unaware of any aftermarket steering boxes you can install, but I'm pretty sure I recall reading something about sending your steering box to a company that will upgrade the internals. Unfortunately, thats all i can really say about that

Or you can always do a full hydro steering set up.

Vladimer

Would you say a lot of the slop has been removed with the installation of the brace? How long did it take you to install?

sneck

so the dealership called me back, apparently my steering pump died, so theyre replacing it, under warranty. hopefully it will make things feel better. or at the very least smell better. I just hope thats the end of it needing to go to the shop!

sneck

so, because everyone likes a good story. decided I was going to ride my bike from work to the dealership, its only like 7 miles away, so no big deal. but of course today, it has to monsoon , again. so there i am, cycling through the monsoon, literally crossing foot deep flooded out roads (whats boston without some good flash flooding) just to get to my jeep. I get to the dealership, and just strut through the sales floor, soaking wet, in my spandex (this story is for you ladies, enjoy that mental image). I just walk over to the service desk and I'm like "I'm here to pick up my jeep". The lady behind the desk is just completely dumbfounded, doesn't know what to say. Without missing a beat, the service manager walks over "Well it's a good thing we fixed that leak, otherwise you might have gotten wet today huh? Do you want them to leave the jeep outside or can I have them pull it into the garage for you to check it out?"

Pretty funny. Anyways, they replaced the steering pump, did the soft top recall work, and replaced the seal on the door that kept getting water in. (and since it was sitting in the rain and nice and dry, even with the floor plugs pulled, it seems like they fixed it). So I'm happy, and the jeep seems to be steering all nice like again. I might look into that steering brace jae put on, never hurts to beef up the front end

Jknockers

Never force or apply hard pressure against the steering wheel if you can avoid it. Even wheelin I find myself goin forward and back again to do a line sometimes cause I don't wanna force it and blow a pump or steering box. It has worked for me and run 40's.

sneck

did you adjust your steering stops for peace of mind? I mean, the wheel doesn't even make 2 turns in either direction anyways, so sometimes it's pretty hard to avoid full lock, especially during recovery or even on the streets

Jknockers

I left my steering stops in the stock location and my tires hit the frame rail, I just back off a tad when they hit and never force the wheel to the full stop. Put it this way, I really watch how I wheel the thing and how hard I turn the wheel against stuff. Course I been wheelin stuff for over 35 years and this isn't the first oversized tire powersteering taxin thing I've ever driven. I got some stories about steering hoses on old blazers and chevy trucks I could tell ya.