aclokwerk

so i went up a rocky trail with a local 4x4 club and while going over some big rocks i heard a loud metal clang. now it pulls to the right pretty bad if i let go of the wheel. i have to steer left 1 inch to keep the jk going straight.

so i looked under the jk found nothing obvious is outta wack so i took it to the stealer ship and got an alignment. the problem still occurs. so im back to the stealership.

the only thing i can think of is a bent track bar but as far as i can tell its ok.

any thoughts or suggestions would be great.

greenmachine07

your steering may have been thrown off. pull in an area with your tires straight and look at your steering wheel. if its off adjust the turnbuckle by loosening the two bolts with a 15mm wrench i think....its located where your tie rod and track bar are. do you have a lift?

aclokwerk

full stock minor mods like mirror brackets and tow hooks ill try that in the morning...thanks for the fast reply

Mark Doiron

My drag link (which is what that turnbuckle adjusts) was bent after wheeling at Disney a couple weeks ago. We drove home with the steering cocked at 90 degress to drive straight. When accelerating onto the Interstate, the ESP kicked in and braked the right side of the vehicle (thinking we were in a skid). After adjusting the drag link, everything is hunky-dory. But, one key difference: There was no noticeable pull unless the ESP was kicked in (obvious by the flashing light on the dash).

aclokwerk

well i was finally able to get back to the dealer and told them to fix my jeep...2hrs later tech comes out and says its aligned within specs....i still have a good sized pull to the right. so i had him ride down the road, i think he got scared i didnt have the doors on, and he said if he adjusted anything else the esp will constantly kick on. he blames it on the solid axles...lol

so as a last resort he swapped the front tires and its almost back to normal it goes much straighter but still pulls a little...any thoughts on what may still be buggered up. or is it just the tire wear from 600mi of riding like it was.i looked at everything under the front end and i dont see and marks from a rock hit but im at a loss on what to try...

TINMAN080

You may have bent an arm on the RF suspension. Have a friend help you measure the wheelbase.Make sure the steering wheel is pointed straight ahead. Take a long tapemeasure, have your friend hold it at the exact center of the LR wheel. Now you hold your end and measure to the exact center of the LF wheel. Now go over to the opposite side of the jeep and measure that wheelbase. This should measure very close. If it measures short, you have a bent component in your rt suspension. You need to take your Jeep to a frame and suspension shop, your alignment guy hasn't got a CLUE. Usually an alignment guy with no vehicle set-up understanding will never find the problem or will throw parts (and your money) at it hoping the solution will be found. I could teach an office secretary how to use an alignment machine in 3 hours, but that wouldn't give her the knowledge to troubleshoot any problem that was encountered. Sorry Gals.....

husker_shoe

Mine pulls slightly to the right too. My alignment is within specs and I've rotated the tires several times since this started. We just got a brand new alignment machine and rack at work, and it tells you offset, centerline, etc. Everything was perfect except the total toe was off by .03 degrees, so I got that perfect, which is very hard to do on a Jeep due to the slop in the steering gear and it still pulls to the right slightly. Part of the problem, is that you can't mess with caster or camber from the factory. Guess I just might to have to get adj. uppers now eh? I'm also beginning to suspect the steering gear too. If I raise up the Jeep and start it up, the steering wheel goes to the right slightly due to power steering pressure, so this is it's natural direction it wants to go. Give it a try on yours ad let me know what you find

aclokwerk

i will measure it in a few min i asked my friend about what has been going on, he has owned jeeps for years. he thought i was crazy but when i straighten the wheels up and step back by ten feet or so it looks like the right front points the the right a ever so slightly. i will measure the wheel base to see if it may be the problem. thanks again

aclokwerk

well i measured and it looks like the driverside is 97 3/4 pass 97 1/2 aproximatley... so im not sure id its that off i need to re measure but its off so if its a control arm thats bent does it need to be replaced or just bent back. i let my brother drive it and then called me nuts i think he works for chrysler cause he "could not duplicate the problem"