Ok. i have had all the possilble gremlins in my jeep i can stand.
its been a while but since i have posted. but i had the unpleasant experiance of having my jeep go into a bad death wobble and shear off the track bar/steering stablizer mount. since then i have had steering and handling anomalies galore. i started with a FT 3" economy, added an adjustible track bar and replaced the damaged factory steering stablizer with a skyjacker unit.

the wobble has returned and i have some weird steering problems. i will try to discribe maybe someone more mechanical then me can spot the problem right away and tell me what's going on.

i have centered the steering wheel a few times now. first off...

here is the problem:

driving the car the steering wheel is not centered its a turned slightly left while driving straight.

i make a left turn, the wheel off centers more to the left now when driving straight.

make a right turn and the wheel is back to center or very slightly right offcenter when driving straight.

the point is the steering doesn't recenter after a turn in either direction, the wheel will stay turned slightly to which ever way i make a turn.

my accessment is maybe a problem with the steering box? but i am not too sure the mechanics of the steering system.

but as you can image this plays havac with my esp in turns as it senses the steering wheel overturning etc.

not sure if this is connected with the wobble. may be a part or effect of it at this point.

i also know that with all the wobbles and while my alignment was incorrectly dialed in i warped my tires so i realize that may also be causing my wobble.

hoping this is the solution, just would hate to get tires and have it be bad something in the suspension and eat my new 35" tires


any help suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hey xravn, long time no see. Regarding your problem, this is what I would check especially since you have had problems with your track bar mount in the past.

1. Make sure the track bar mounting bracket fix welds have not fatigued or cracked in any way.
2. Make sure the mounting hole, mis-alignment spacers or bushings are not worn out our wollowed out and that everything is still tight.
3. Make sure that your track bar is tighted to 125 ft. lbs. of torque with the entire weight of your Jeep on the ground.

The condition you have stated sounds like either your track bar (most likely the case) and/or drag link is shifting in its mounts. This would result in a change in your steering wheel "center" position and also cause the DW you are experiencing again.

 

thanks wayoflife, yeah glad you remember my deliemas lol. i plan on takin off the track bar and inspecting it this weekend. i will check the bracket as you have sugested. so the track bar can be causing this steering wheel position change then. hmm that darn track bar problem is just so damn reluctant to be resolved. also you mentioned the "drag link" being a possible point of intrest to check. is it possible to post a picture of that part or what i am looking at.

if i can't figure this out, i'm taking it to a local chassis and alignment shop this weekend. i can't afford another catastropic falure incident on the highway again. and would just like to regain the safe feeling of driving my car again without worrying if its going to lose control or go into a DW.

also i have read in numorous places that unbalanced or worn tires can contribute to/cause DW aswell is this something u think can be a cause/contributer in my DWs. (i still have my stock 27" x skinnies on there pretty worn and scaloped. just waiting to resolve this DW and steering problem before i add bigger tires to the mix. or would adding the new tires help the situation?

 

i had a issue a few months ago (will not go into detail) but had a mean wobble on what you described and on my way to work the bar came off...could of been a ugly scene. all i needed to do was tighten a bolt.

anyhoot my jk has been at the shop for replacement parts. should have it back today.....

the rockster