I am experiencing a looseness in the front end when I hit bumps in the road. I can feel it in the steering. I have a 2012 with about 19000 miles. I can use any help I can get to eliminate it. The dealer has replaced the steering stabilizer on the first strip, (which I knew would not fix it). On the second trip they replaced the intermediate steering shaft. On the third trip they (after talking with Chrysler engrs) they replaced the tire rod, drag link ends and the front track bar.

I have done the tests that are on the forum with disconnecting the stabilizer and turning the wheel back and and forth. That's how I found the drag link that had vertical movement. Thats been replaced. I don't see any issues with the ball joints. The other parts have been replaced. I have replaced the bolts in the control arms and trackbar. The only thing left is to rotate the tires but on smooth rods I don't feel anything so I'm not sure this is the problem but I can't think of anything else. I could use some suggestions as to what to look at/for next. Thanks for the help.

 

Do you have a lift on it and if so how much? I have a 2011 with 25,000 miles and it has always had loose steering so I finally bit the bullet and installed Synergy sector shaft brace, chromoly tie rod and drag link last week and it made a huge difference. No more loose steering. The factory tie rods and drag links are junk.

 

I have 2 one inch Teraflex spacers in the front but no lift. The looseness started about two months ago. It is to the point where I can feel bumps in the road by a clunk in the steering wheel.

 

Have you gone out and flexed it real good? I did and the upper front axle control arm bushings got torn up real good. That's when I ended up going through everything like your doing now. Oh, I added the 35's right before all this happened as well.

Good way to get to know your Jeep

 

Oh, you have the dreaded steering clunk. It is most likely the shaft from the steering wheel to the steering box.
Here is a link to a thread on the subject. There is actually a couple of fixes out for this including installing a couple of collars, one on either side of the knuckle joint with a spring holding tension between them.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-w...-people-11927/

 

The steering shaft was replaced on the second trip to the dealer. It only has about 40 miles on it. I'm not sure that's the problem unless it is bad from the start. Would the steering shaft cause the looseness? I'll check out the link.

 

You likely need to remove components one at a time to inspect bushings for separation from the bolt sleeves, elongated bracket bolt holes, etc.

If when the lift was installed, all the control arm and trackbar bolts were not loosened, and then only retorqued after the full weight of the vehicle was back on the ground at the new ride height, the bushings were pre-loaded/binding/twisted to the wrong ride height. This leads to a jittery ride and premature bushing failure from the bolt sleeves twisting away from the rubber.

I'd double check your alignment. It would not cause the clunk, but it only takes about 10-15 minutes to do.

Of course, there are other steps for inspection in my write-up thread.

 

The bolts were replaced after I added the front spacers. When I replaced them I inspected the bushings so they were good at the time. They were torqued on the ground and I have since since the torque several times. After the dealer replaced the track bar this last time they did an alignment. So I think the alignment is ok. I'll check your thread to see what else I can check. So far I have a couple of things to look at with removing all the components and inspecting the bushings.

 

Do you think the tires could be causing the looseness over bumps? I was going to rotate them again but not sure what to look at first.

 

That clunk you hear is probably not your steering... There is play in the brake pedal and transfers up into the steering. Place your foot under the brake pedal and apply a bit of pressure up under it and hit some bumps.. Might be that!