Last week I was on a very mild trail moving about 10mph and drove over a section of trail that was washed away and had a few small ruts. I noticed no problems however my passenger front tire dropped down inside a section that was about 10 inches deep.

Jeep took it just fine and I kept going until I made it to the paved roadway. Then I noticed my steering wheel was not centered at all and my traction control was going crazy. Turned off the tcs and limped home. I searched and found it is common for the draglink to move a little however looking under the jeep the marks were all lined up with a paint line showing the draglink had not moved.

Local shop checked it and adjusted the toe and centered my wheel and said nothing at all underneath was bent or even scratched. I very rarely go off road and my rig is always clean so it would be easy to see if it had suffered damage from that very mild trail.

So my question is if the steering wheel was off center by almost half a turn something had to shift or move. The shop checked everything as I was standing there and looking with the mechanic and literally saw no scratches or signs of anything bent or moved. The toe was off however the toe from what I read is controlled by the tie rod and the steering wheel is moved by the draglink.

Is it possible the drag link could move one complete turn and just happen to align back up to the paint marks so it looked like it did not move? I have a 2.5 coil lift with Bilstein shocks and 34 inch tires however trackbar, draglink and tie rod is factory.

I asked the shop the same question and he said he had no idea what had happened however was sure something moved. I was actually a little disappointed as the trail was honestly mild and I was shocked to see my Jeep have to limp home after. I have friends that literally beat the hell out of their rigs and never have a problem so I am hoping this was a freak thing that happened.

 

Depending on how fast you were going, the shock of the bigger tire hitting the rut probably bent the drag link. Even a small bend you can hardly see can throw the wheel off a lot. I bent mine very easily. The Synergy one I got to replace it was at least twice the weight.

 

Make sure the track bar bolts and adjustment sleeves are tight,

 

Every time I go offroad I have to adjust my drag link. I've had it nearly a half turn off. Shortly after that, I needed a new drag link. I never could quite understand how the wheel can move so much. The steering box doesn't slip gears and the shaft is splined. So it's not that. There is no rotating part that can slip.

I think part of it can be where you check it and if for any reason your suspension is more or less compressed at that point.

Anyway, you need to learn to adjust it yourself. I literally had to do it 20+ times last year. I bring tools with me and climb under before I leave to adjust it. It takes 2 minutes.

 

^^^ I drove home with a crooked steering wheel after every single wheeling trip. The factory piece bends very easily.

 

I saw stockers bend in a u shape damn near on a small hit on 33s..I wouldn't trust the evo either unless its changed. I have never bent the one i made since, and now should not have problems with hydro assist.

 

Hah, I removed this exact statement from my comment before clicking submit. Didn't want to piss off the fanboi's again

 

Thank you for the information and it does make me feel a little better about the whole thing. I read many old threads before asking about this and really did not find much information other than it is very common.

I was first thinking it had something to do with my lift or maybe the installation however I know many who have the same lift and wheel much harder than myself with no problems. Mostly it lowered my confidence in my Jeep as the trail was seriously very mild....I never engaged the 4 wheel drive and made it through just fine.

I think I may buy some adjustable track bars as they are fairly cheap and may also add an aftermarket draglink just for giggles. I also just read that maybe when the tire dropped down in the small trench I could have been turning the wheel forcing something out of whack due to the power steering trying to move the tire while it was binding inside the small trench.

None the less 50 dollars later for an alignment and draglink adjustment and all is well. From reading many members older threads I see it could have been much worse. I have been reading stories of all kinds of broken parts and looks like I came out great compared to those who really use their Jeeps for what they were made for....I really do baby mine.