Should your steering wheels move?

D

Daniel Partida

New member
Hello, my name is Daniel and first time posting on a thread. Have a 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 3 inch lift with new front king 2.0 coilovers. Issue I'm having is abit of what feels like wandering on the freeway, kinda feels like the its slightly moving side to side here and there, would say more in small bumps on the freeway. Full steersmarts links up front, and real question I have is when I rock the jeep side to side I've noticed I see my steering wheel move maybe close to a inch of movement. I've asked a friend of mine if it does that on his jeep and his steering wheel didnt move....any ideas? Something normal? Kinda stumped...help!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Here's a basic post on adjusting that thing yourself but really be careful before driving too far until you're 100% sure it's safe to drive:

Steering box problems

I am new to the forum and also JKs as I have had TJs. I have 09 Rubicon Unlimited with 146,000 miles. Everything has been replaced in the front end. My steering feels loose and appears to be in the box. I read others places you can/ can't adjust it and looking for answers. I actually found...
www.wayalife.com www.wayalife.com
 
Upvote 0
doubletapdaddy

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
So, I'm definitely not saying this is the case. It's just that your thread reminds me of the experience both my wife and my daughter have when driving my JL. Before installing PSC Ram Assist, my wife and daughter would both drive the jeep like it was an old-time movie. Moving the steering wheel slightly left/right/left/right - especially at highway speeds. I, on the other hand, am able to keep the wheel stationary. They both state that it feels like the JL wanders and that they need to correct. IMO they continuously correct their over corrections. I'm able to reach over and hold the steering wheel stationary while seated passenger. When they take the wheel back, they start with the small left / small right / small left / small right corrections.

I was hoping that once the PSC Ram Assist was installed, they would be able to hold the wheel still, but no… old black-and-white movie steering continues. I just don't get it. It drives me fucking nuts.

IMG_3854.jpeg
 
Upvote 0
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
doubletapdaddy said:
So, I'm definitely not saying this is the case. It's just that your thread reminds me of the experience both my wife and my daughter have when driving my JL. Before installing PSC Ram Assist, my wife and daughter would both drive the jeep like it was an old-time movie. Moving the steering wheel slightly left/right/left/right - especially at highway speeds. I, on the other hand, am able to keep the wheel stationary. They both state that it feels like the JL wanders and that they need to correct. IMO they continuously correct their over corrections. I'm able to reach over and hold the steering wheel stationary while seated passenger. When they take the wheel back, they start with the small left / small right / small left / small right corrections.

I was hoping that once the PSC Ram Assist was installed, they would be able to hold the wheel still, but no… old black-and-white movie steering continues. I just don't get it. It drives me fucking nuts.

View attachment 393667
Click to expand...
Now that's hilarious - great pic :ROFLMAO:
 
Upvote 0
D

Daniel Partida

New member
I dont think it's me working the steering back and forth as I remember tracking perty darn straight before adding truss...had a shop check the axle and also ran a alignment and all seems ok no warped axle. So replaced the steering box as I did find alittle play in the sector shaft and wanted to rule that out and still have the same light wandering feeling...thought it might now be issue with the geometry of maybe track bar and drag link. But took some measurements and all seems perfectly parallel if I'm taking the correct measurements
 

Attachments

  • 20230809_212351.jpg
    20230809_212351.jpg
    172 KB · Views: 8
  • 20230809_212409.jpg
    20230809_212409.jpg
    164.4 KB · Views: 3
  • 20230809_212506.jpg
    20230809_212506.jpg
    170.1 KB · Views: 3
  • 20230809_212537.jpg
    20230809_212537.jpg
    208.1 KB · Views: 8
  • 20230809_212246.jpg
    20230809_212246.jpg
    243.9 KB · Views: 8
Upvote 0
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Daniel Partida said:
I dont think it's me working the steering back and forth as I remember tracking perty darn straight before adding truss...had a shop check the axle and also ran a alignment and all seems ok no warped axle. So replaced the steering box as I did find alittle play in the sector shaft and wanted to rule that out and still have the same light wandering feeling...thought it might now be issue with the geometry of maybe track bar and drag link. But took some measurements and all seems perfectly parallel if I'm taking the correct measurements
Click to expand...
Your track bar and drag link look fine. Regardless even if they weren't parallel, they would not cause the symptom you are experiencing.
 
Upvote 0
Ddays

Ddays

Hooked
doubletapdaddy said:
So, I'm definitely not saying this is the case. It's just that your thread reminds me of the experience both my wife and my daughter have when driving my JL. Before installing PSC Ram Assist, my wife and daughter would both drive the jeep like it was an old-time movie. Moving the steering wheel slightly left/right/left/right - especially at highway speeds. I, on the other hand, am able to keep the wheel stationary. They both state that it feels like the JL wanders and that they need to correct. IMO they continuously correct their over corrections. I'm able to reach over and hold the steering wheel stationary while seated passenger. When they take the wheel back, they start with the small left / small right / small left / small right corrections.

I was hoping that once the PSC Ram Assist was installed, they would be able to hold the wheel still, but no… old black-and-white movie steering continues. I just don't get it. It drives me fucking nuts.
Click to expand...

I think this is the result of the electrical assist on the JL's and we're stuck with it
 
Upvote 0
doubletapdaddy

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Ddays said:
I think this is the result of the electrical assist on the JL's and we're stuck with it
Click to expand...
That's what I figured as well. However after replacing the electric pump with the PSC belt driven pump, replacing factory steering box with PSC big bore and adding the ram they both continue to seesaw the wheel. I haven't had any problems keeping the wheel still before or after the conversion.
 
Upvote 0
D

Daniel Partida

New member
Yeah bought it back in 2017 new off the lot and slowly been adding parts since then. So kinda know how it should ride even when it had the 3inch evomfg plush springs with, at one time, Bilstein shocks and now kings. Dont get me wrong the wandering or slight bumpsteer dosent send me off the lanes when on the highway but do have to pay attention so you dont cross over the next lane. Im also going to drive my buddies Jeep, has a 3 inch lift and he says his rides perfectly fine and his steering wheel dosent move when you rock the jeep side to side so we shall see if i can get an idea of what might be off on mine compared to his...
 
Upvote 0
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Did you have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you looked at the track bar ends? The bushings can wear out but sometimes even the bolt hole on the lower mount can wollow out. Also double check that your raised track bar bracket hardware is all tight.
 
Upvote 0
D

Daniel Partida

New member
Yes actually that's when I found the sector shaft have a little play and installed another one. I have the new RockJock track bar installed about a month ago and that fixed the almost death wobble I was getting. Axle side of the track bar bracket is welded to the axle tube and the frame side did have alittle play to the bolt so bought a steersmarts bracket and 9/16 grade 8 bolts for both ends and that seemed to take are of the play/issue. Drag link and tie rod ends seem ok no play.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom