for the last month or so i've noticed something strange when i'm turning. it typically happens in 2nd gear when accelerating out of a turn and straightening the wheel. i can feel the wheel jerk a bit as if either the pump is acting up or a axleshaft u joint is loading and unloading. i can't tell if it's speed related or rpm related because it only happens when i give it gas. it jerks a few times for each rotation of the tires and it only does it as i'm moving the wheel. the harder i accelerate the heavier the movement in the wheel. it's not very violent but it is noticeable and it never used to do it. we have some warmer days coming up so once the snow melts and the ground dries up a bit, i'm gunna throw the jeep up on some jack stands and do some work. i'm gunna rotate the tires, adjust my parking brake, fab up a new exhaust, and try to figure out this steering issue. oh, and i did do a quick check on the u joints the other day and all of the rings appear to be fully seated. anybody have this problem or any ideas on where to start looking? thanks in advance

 

You sound like you know what you're doing so this is a shot in the dark... You're not in 4wd on pavement are you?

 

no, that was the first thing i checked. it's similar to that movement, but a bit quicker and usually not as heavy. thanks for the suggestion tho

 

Ive been reading up on bad ball joints all night, I think that's my problem. Might be that?

 

that's one thing i will be checking when i throw it on the stands. i'm gunna check bearings too just for s&g. i've got 52,000 on it so i wouldn't be surprised to find that either of those things needs replacing

 

When u-joints get corroded and begin to seize, they can exhibit the same symptoms as being in 4wd when turning the steering wheel.

 

yeah, i thought about that possibility and i plan on checking the u joints whenever i get around to doing all of this work. hopefully that's all it is as u joints are fairly cheap and it's always fun pulling axle shafts when ur not ankle deep in mud or teetering on boulders.

 

Did you ever find the problem?

 

I too am having the same exact issue. Did you ever figure this out?

 

never found the exact cause. i did notice that my steering box was leaking. it wasn't very heavy but enough to be all over the frame rail with a drop or two in the driveway every few days. i cleaned it off to isolate the source of the leak and to assess the severity of the leak and found that it was ever so slowly leaking from the input shaft. i added some power steering fluid with stop leak to bring my reservoir back to where it should be but noticed no immediate improvement. it wasn't very low anyway. now, you can see it still leaks but nowhere near as bad. a new box is in my future, but not right away as i had feared before. u joints, ball joints, bearings, and steering components all checked out ok. at some point it went away but i never really noticed when it actually happened. i swapped my stock springs for those of a 4dr hard top rubi (netting 2" front and 1" rear) so i don't know if that had any impact. i also removed my steering stabilizer which i knew was toast. it was leaking about a year ago and i never got around to replacing it. when i took it off i found that it was binding at different points, never quite coming to a full stop, but coming damn close at several different points of travel. other than that, it was completely free of resistance. i decided to just leave it off and run without one until it's replaced and since then i get a slight wobble at 50mph. most likely a balance issue, but i figured i'd mention it. i also get very slight death wobble after hitting certain road imperfections under certain conditions. gunna crawl around and check things again tomorrow or sometime this weekend since i finally have off.

i don't know what caused it, where it went, or what's going on now, but now at least you all know where i stand on things. good luck figuring out your problems post up if u find a solution other than hoping and waiting for it to go away.