I'll give it a shot, but I was going to put in some new ball joints before getting an alignment done and would need one after putting those in. I was going to kill 2 birds.... I still can't figure out what happened other that it was canted after coming off Flat Rock Mesa. Its not bad as I drove home fine. I think the axle got pushed back on one side after that hole I dropped in. It sounds a lot like the OP issue, so I thought I'd chime in.

 

Uh...Yah...Was the cool-aid blue or red
Don't need a lot of things that come from the factory so why aren't the things we want included? Like footwell lights/under hood lights/underhood matt/flashing side markers.............I guess they just throw that stabilizer on the JK/TJ/YJ/XJ...because they grow on yah trees yah outside the factory and yah they install them on vehicles on the line so they don't have to pay disposal fees Yah...They are there for the geometry of the suspension. The closer you get to wheelbase and track being equal the more you need it.....time for a nap this is just getting too repetative of a subject.
Drive without them guys but just not on the roads me and my family are on.

 

They are splined, with a wider spline in one spot so it acts like a key so will only go on in one direction. However, if you don't tighten to 180 ft/lbs it will have play in it and that will cause all kinds of flightyness in the steering. I thought 165 fl/lbs would be close enough...Not!

 

Gotcha. I thought you were saying that a loose pitman would rotate, which I rightly thought would be nearly impossible.

 

Balanced tires won't cause shimmy, a tuned in suspension won't allow for bump steer, maintained parts won't cause wobble, and a proper alignment won't cause flightiness. So in essence, yes, a dialed in suspension doesn't need a stabilizer. There are guys on this forum that run 37s and bigger with no stabilizers as DDs.

Jeep adds them to stock jeeps because stock suspensions are not as good as after market. Nothing is adjustable, stock BJs and tie rods have plastic inserts, stock drag links and tie rods are huge weak points, and the stock track bar not only flexs, but was installed with the wrong bolts. Jeep adds a $10 stock stabilizer so it doesn't have to add a $4000 suspension. Don't bash a guy for posting a correct answer.

I'd be more afraid of a guy who doesn't understand their suspension, and just slaps a giant stabilizer on their rig to mask potentially catastrophic suspension warning signs. Keep those guys off the road, because a SS won't hold your rig together when your tie rod disconnects itself from the knuckle. Me and my family are on the roads too.

 

Awesome response ^

 

I was just about to say the same thing, lol. Prolly wouldn't have been so well worded however, lol. Fantastic response!

As a side note, I would definitely recommend the JKS reinforcement kit for the steering box however. It is incredibly weak, and I managed to break mine on my '12 JK in just over a year of wheeling. The sector shaft in the non-delphi boxes is especially weak.(mid 09+)

 

Nor to thread jack, but how hard was it to get 180ft lbs on that thing!?!!?

 

Yes. There was a member where the arm had play in it because it wasn't installed correctly. It wasn't tight and the up and down play of the arm was giving him steering issues.

 

So I'm looking at products for reinforcement myself. After being locked in the rocks and having to crank the wheel, I think I need something over stock. I spoke to a guy that tore one off his frame last year... Here is my list so far. I have a RK adjustable TB.

STRIKE 1. JKS Selector shaft and reinforcement kit ($375 - ouch- most expensive but braces from other frame rail too)
I just found this...so off the list "Not compatible with TeraFlex, Rubicon Express and Rock Krawler track bars"
2. Rock Solid Performance kit ($200 and new version said to work with most any track bar)
3. Poly Performance/Synergy bracket kit ($200 - two brackets to reenforce the frame side and steering selector shaft)
4. Any others ???