I went on a light wheeling trip about 10 days ago. Before I left I went in for a tire rotation. They told me they could check the alignment for free and when they did, of course it was "way out of spec." I usually don't do things like that but it's almost got 100k on it so I figured that it might be the case. I've never had it aligned before.

When I went to leave I drove it and immediately brought it back and told them it was pulling right. They crossed the front tires and it still was pulling right. Then they did another adjustment and it was slightly better but the shop was closing and of course the next day was my trip. I had no choice but to leave but he promised me if I felt it was wrong after the trip I could bring it back and he would do it all over again.

Took it on my trip and it was pulling right. When I got home from my trip sometimes when I was making a right turn it felt like the wheel was getting stuck turning back to center.

I was making a turn in the driveway and the wheel got stuck all the way to the left. I was stuck. I tried backing it out and forth but the wheel was stuck in the left position. After putting some force on the steering wheel it slowly started to turn back straight. When I put it in the driveway and crawled underneath my steering stabilizer was bent and broken. I hope it didn't bend anything else. Can I take it off and drive it tomorrow on the highway to a performance shop? Did the alignment shop do it or was it my wheeling trip? I've never had a problem with it before. Thanks for the help in advance. I believe it's a rancho. It's been pretty solid for the past 40k. Never an issue until this alignment shop touched my jeep.

 

Take it off. You'll be fine.

Most likely from wheeling, look for any impact marks on it or the tie rod. No need to replace it with something expensive.

 

You can absolutely drive without the stabilizer. I do.

 

Ok thanks guys. I'll take it off and drive it over to a shop tomorrow and get a new one. I'm not super mechanical but it took them 4.5 hours to do my alignment and when I asked why it was taking so long they said it was because my steering stabilizer is hard to adjust.

It seems as if they had a problem adjusting the steering stabilizer and that just happens to be the the very piece that broke. I hate these types of coincidences.

 

Also any recommendations for a new stabilizer? I am running synergy tie rod, drag link, ball joints. I seem to remember that the drag link diameter can affect which stabilizers will fit?

 

I'd see about finding a cheap take-off or buy one of the cheaper ones at whichever auto parts store you frequent.

**Do not waste your money on one of those high dollar fox adjustable through shaft stabilizers. It's $400 you'll never see again. You should be at $50 or less for the stabilizer.

 

They might have incorrectly moved the tie rod mount for your stabilizer. This would cause binding in the steering & would eventually bend/break the stabilizer. An alignment should never take 4 hrs. A tape measure, good eye & patience is all that's needed.

My jeep cruises at 80 with 37s on a 3" lift and all it took was a tape measure, level & angle finder.

A stabilizer is a cheap fix & I wouldn't bother with that shop again.

 

Mine used to be fine before I let these guys have at it. Man big mistake.

 

Brought it back to the shop. They said there was no way putting that on crooked (if it even was crooked) would even cause that to break.

I told him if my car didn't drive straight then I would have to ask for a refund. It's been 4.5 hours of waiting on the first day. Followed by 2 hours after that when I brought it back immediately telling them the wheels were binding when I made a turn. And now I've been here 1.5 hours while they tried to align it again without the steering stabilizer on.

 

Not a lot of faith in that shop.....
I have the FOX ATS and love it, I didn't pay 400 for mine (FOX is literally right down the street from me). The ATS really shines off-road, on the road it's just another SS with some adjustability.
Can't go wrong with an OEM SS.