Hi everyone,

I've have found a few things on search in regards to sloppy steering but everyone seems to recommend something different between all the "scenarios" so here is my issue...

I have a 2.5" budget boost, otherwise the suspension, steering and wheels are completely stock. Whenever I am driving the steering wheel feels like its not completely in tune with how the Jeep is handling. It feels very light and I constantly have to be correcting where it is going, whenever the wheels touch a bump or ruts its like the Jeep feels like its now going left while I'm still turning to the right, its in general a very sloppy feel.

The biggest issue feels like it just has a life of its own, it feels very unfriendly and dangerous on the highway. Driving my girlfriends corolla feels more solid then driving my JK I point the wheel in the direction I want to go and I actually go that way, kind of like every other car, truck and Jeep I have driven. I had a TJ for 4 years and I get quite a few things can be "a Jeep thing" but now with snow and ice on the road the last thing I want is to be making adverse maneuvers on the highway and end up in a ditch since I'm constantly correcting where it wants to go.

Any suggestions on what to look at? Like I mentioned before the wheels are stock wheels, not oversized and I've wheeled it pretty light a couple times, slow crawling, nothing crazy.

 

First and foremost, make sure the front track bar is tight and has no loose play in it. Secondly, turn your steering wheel from side to side and see how much freeplay you have before the tires respond, you prolly need to run down the adjustment screw on the steering gearbox a few turns. Very easy stuff, shouldn't take long.

 

wait, the wheel shouldnt have any foreplay? do you have a link or something for how to tighten that up? I have almost a .5-1" play either direction in my wheel. Also, I looked at my steering stabilizer last night, don't know if this looks okay or not

 

Pull the steering stabilizer off and see if the handling changes, it may be masking some symptoms. Or if damaged, could be causing some. (when everything is dialed in correctly, you won't notice a difference with or without it).

Have you found the DIY Alignment write-up yet? (there is an index at the top of the write-ups area). There is also some info in the FAQ's at the top of this modified area.

Flighty Handling - the stock caster is a bit over 4 degrees. As you lift higher, that number goes lower, which causes the steering to be 'flightier'. An alignment shop can not fix this. You would need some form of caster correction - (cam bolts, new longer/shorter 'fixed' arms, control arm brackets, adjustable control arms). At your lift height, this may be wanted, but is not 'needed'.

Bump Steer - As you lift higher, the angles on your steering components will get tweaked. Generally, you want the trackbar and draglink to be parallel, and as level as possible. (drop pitman w/ tracbar relo bracket, or a flip kit). At your lift height, this really should not be an issue. Unless you have a bracket but no pitman, or a pitman with no bracket?

Tire PSI and/or Balance - this could cause some driveability issues as well. Shops have a tendency to over-inflate, but doesn't sound like your issue? So, have they been balanced and rotated recently?

 

I am at work currently so can't try it with a wrench but I have yanked on it as hard as I can and its solid as a rock. I can't seem to find any information on the adjustment screw though. I found a thread on another forum for YJ's but that's it. There seems to be different amounts of freeplay. Every time I move it to a different position it seems to react differently, sometimes it responds within an inch, other times its like 4 inchs of movement on the steering wheel in order to get the tires to sloooowly move a tiny fraction. This is with the engine running on smooth concrete.



I have found the DIY Alignment awhile ago as I had to straighten my steering wheel after my lift as it pointed ever so slightly to one side. A lot of the stuff I read on what the Jeeps need to bring numbers back to where they were, were for larger lifts and your not apparently the 2" lift was not suppose to experience many of these side affects on the BB. Tires were not balanced or rotated recently.

I'll try to get the steering stabilizer off in the next day or two and let you know how that changes things. There is not visible damage to any components underneath and I don't remember wacking any of them against anything either.

I've attached pictures to show the angle you were talking about.