malamuteman

I'll try to start from the beginning and not bore anyone. I have a 2014 JKU with 4" Teraflex lift, RK upper and lower control arms, RK front and rear track bar, Synergy tie rod and drag link (flipped with bracket), sleeved/gusseted D30, Synergy ball joints, Nitro axles, Trutrac LSD, Adams front driveshaft, rolling on 37 MTR.
The problem started in May after having the ball joints replaced with Synergy, sleeves, and gussets. The problem is constant correction of the steering wheel. At times it feels like there is no resistance. Some call it flighty steering. Shortly after getting all the axle work done I installed the lift kit and Currie Antirock. At that time I took it to a local shop to get it aligned. It came back worse and now with a front axle vibration. I took it back they realigned it and told me the axle had the wrong flange. That was BS. The axle just had a yoke. After working with Adams for a month they replaced the shaft it solved that problem however steering not fixed. I had another shop look at it they drove it down the road and told me it was the alignment. After already having 2 alignments I told them to keep looking. They came back with a possible tie rod bad. I replaced the stock with a Synergy with no good results. I then went to a highly recommended local guy. He hung out the window, put a go pro under it, but came up with nothing. He ended up taking a little caster out. He also took the Currie off and put on the stock. It felt a little better. After that I added on sway bar disconnects which I then found out the sway bar tabs were not the same. I adjusted the sway links based off the ground (leveling it) to get a little better results. I then put on a FOX ATS stabilizer. I know this is only masking the problem but after 4 months and nearly 2k dollars I don't care. At this point I thought I could live with it but I can't so I took it to another shop. They kept it for a day went through it to find nothing. They did put the Synergy drag flip and track bar bracket on which helped with bump steer.
After nearly 6 months over 3k dollars in parts and labor it's still not right. All moving or wearable parts have been replaced. Alignment has been done multiple times. I've searched the web for days and a lot of what others describe with ball joints is what I'm feeling. So now I'm thinking ball joint replacement. I've contacted Synergy not a whole lot of help. A couple people have mentioned lowering it to 3" lift which will work since I have flat fenders but I don't feel that is the problem.
What I'm looking at for options is: Option 1 ball joint and new spring replacement. Option 2 Whole new front axle assembly. Possibly a Ultimate Dana 44. Option 3 Trade it in. Looking at a JKU Rubicon with 2.5 lift and 35's.
Any help and or suggestions would be great. I'm running out of money and patients.

jedg

So do you have any of the alignment spec sheets from your jeep you could post? It sounds like your caster may be off. That'll cause flighty steering. Might be as simple as setting those control arms to the correct length to get your caster where it needs to be.

malamuteman

I'll have to see. Dealership set it to about 4.8. Local guy it to about 6. Currently at about 5.4. Toe is in 1/8th inch. Every control arm has been measured more than a dozen times. All bolts were tightened to spec by all parties including myself.

larry0071

Constant correction?
Are you saying that if you drive down a road that is straight, the vehicle tracks off to the left or right, always the same side, and that you need to correct back to center? Is it constantly pulling to left side or to the right side?

At times it feels like there is no resistance.
Are you saying no resistance as in: It feels good/normal? Or no resistance as in: It feels disconnected or broken?

Some call it flighty steering.
Flighty is a twitchy, over reacting steering. Typical of toe being off (not enough or far to much toe) or the caster is close to zero where there is little to no naturally occurring "return to zero" in the steering, so it is just as happy to over steer as it is to stabilize back to zero/straight ahead.

Do you have any local buddies with a stock or near stock sized JK that you can swap wheels and tires with for a test drive? Rule out a tire issue by doing this. If you swap to a set of stock 32" JK tires and it steers better, that would be very telling.

Did it steer comfortably and satisfactorily with the 37" Good Year tires prior to upgrading the front axle and steering parts? Or did the tires go on at the same time as the objectionable steering and the front axle mods?

Could it be that you put the 37" tires on and expect it to steer like it did stock, and your searching for that to return to you? It will not. You cant hide the leverage and weight of a 37" tire to the point that it reacts and steers like it did stock. You can do the best you can to make it drivable, but it's never going to be like a factory car.

Smudgeontheglass

Running a heavy 37" MTR (75lbs each) on a stock steering set-up will lead to your Jeep wandering a bit. Those tires are generally designed to go under trucks with much more mass than a Jeep. What tire pressure do you run at and have you done a chalk test? Have you installed a sector shaft brace or considered hydro assist? New ball joints do have a break in period, how many miles have you driven on them?

malamuteman

It goes left and right. If I turn in either direction the wheel will come close to going back to center but never fully without driver assistance.
I've noticed the steering feels tight and for no reason it feels like it gets loose. The road surface doesn't seem to have any effect on it.
It's sitting at 5.4 right now with a 1/8" toe in. I know stock spec is 4-5.
Wheels and tires are an option. I have rotated tires with no effect on the issue.
I only had the 37 a couple weeks before mods but from what I remember it was no problem.
This was my thought too. That I'm being too picky however 2 very knowledgeable mechanics drove it and told me there is something wrong. It did have 35's so it wasn't a jump from stock to 37.

larry0071

I think I would feel more comfortable having another Wrangler owner drive it that has a lift with 37 inch tires and is used to how they feel and ride. Then swap Vehicles get the feel for each other's steering and you can then start to make some reasonable assumptions as to whether or not you have a problem or if it's what a Wrangler, a very short wheelbase vehicle, feels like with 37 inch tires.

malamuteman

They are both Jeep owners with lifts and large tires. One of the guys Jeep has 42's. The other 37 and 35.

malamuteman

Hydro assist has been mentioned. I'm running 26psi now but have been as low as 20.

nthinuf

Go up to the Writeups area. Stuck to the top is a Deathwobble/Shimmy diagnosis thread. (I know, you didn't say deathwobble...) Just a suggestion to read through it and see if there are any steps that have not been done, or that you think might be a good idea to try.

How much actual lift did those coils give you? Have you verified the pitman arm is tight? As mentioned, quite a few people have reported funky handling with new hd balljoints until they wear in a bit, but sounds like they were done after the problem started? Could there be a steering box issue in the mix? If you are considering hydro, West Texas Offroad does a redneck ram system using stock JK steering boxes. Might be an option.