Front Drivers Side Wheel Appears Out Of Alignment

[Breto31]

Something is BAD wrong with that track bar attachment. The castle nut is WAY below the cotter pin, and grease is coming up around the bolt, and the rubber boot is squashed almost flat. I suspect that's a stock type track bar with a tapered bolt, but a PO may have drilled out the tapered hole for a different track bar. You need to pull that upper track bar joint and inspect the hole in the frame mount. Is it tapered or straight through?

The mechanic told me he thought the hole was too big for the current track bar. I'll just wait for my new bar to get here before pulling it all apart. I'm assuming that the mount hole was already drilled out for the track bar that came with the lift (from the PO). When I put the current Moog bar on, I didn't realize that some track bars required widening the mount, so it never crossed my mind that the hole would be too wide, and to be totally honest, I didn't know anything looked off with the current setup. I just knew something didn't feel quite right.

I ordered the Steinjager adjustable track bar today. They went ahead and sent me the install instructions, and it requires a 5/8 bit to drill out the frame-side hole, and a 1/2 bit to drill out the axle mount. It will also (most likely) require a dremel tool to enlarge the axle mount access point because the flag but that the stock bar uses probably won't fit the Steinjager bolt, and you have to be able to get a wrench in there to hold the nut that comes with it. I can't think of any other way to get a wrench in there (some guy online modified a 19mm wrench to make it work by flattening it out), and Steinjager couldn't tell me if the current flag nut would fit or not - but about 1/3rd of the reviews online mentioned having to widen the axle mount access point, and 2/3rds of them didn't mention it. I'm assuming I'll have to widen the access point.

 

[jjvw]

The mechanic told me he thought the hole was too big for the current track bar. I'll just wait for my new bar to get here before pulling it all apart. I'm assuming that the mount hole was already drilled out for the track bar that came with the lift (from the PO). When I put the current Moog bar on, I didn't realize that some track bars required widening the mount, so it never crossed my mind that the hole would be too wide, and to be totally honest, I didn't know anything looked off with the current setup. I just knew something didn't feel quite right.

I ordered the Steinjager adjustable track bar today. They went ahead and sent me the install instructions, and it requires a 5/8 bit to drill out the frame-side hole, and a 1/2 bit to drill out the axle mount. It will also (most likely) require a dremel tool to enlarge the axle mount access point because the flag but that the stock bar uses probably won't fit the Steinjager bolt, and you have to be able to get a wrench in there to hold the nut that comes with it. I can't think of any other way to get a wrench in there (some guy online modified a 19mm wrench to make it work by flattening it out), and Steinjager couldn't tell me if the current flag nut would fit or not - but about 1/3rd of the reviews online mentioned having to widen the axle mount access point, and 2/3rds of them didn't mention it. I'm assuming I'll have to widen the access point.

Your mechanic doesn't understand bolted connections.

It would be beneficial to determine if the track bar is really the problem before you start throwing parts at it.

Have you done the steer test yet?

 

[Woodrow]

Something is BAD wrong with that track bar attachment. The castle nut is WAY below the cotter pin, and grease is coming up around the bolt, and the rubber boot is squashed almost flat. I suspect that's a stock type track bar with a tapered bolt, but a PO may have drilled out the tapered hole for a different track bar. You need to pull that upper track bar joint and inspect the hole in the frame mount. Is it tapered or straight through?

This^

 

[TurboTJ]

The aftermarket track bars like the JKS and the Steinjager are made from tubing while the OEM bar is a solid forging. Are the aftermarket bars really stronger? The Steinjager seems particularly weak with 0.120 inch tubing whereas the JKS is 0.250 inch.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

The aftermarket track bars like the JKS and the Steinjager are made from tubing while the OEM bar is a solid forging. Are the aftermarket bars really stronger? The Steinjager seems particularly weak with 0.120 inch tubing whereas the JKS is 0.250 inch.

Steinjager wouldn't be my first choice. I didn't even know about the thickness but jks and rockjock are known to have good diff cover clearance and good joints. The Rockjock is admittedly pricey, but the JKS isn't bad IMO. I've used both.

 

[AndyG]

Has anyone told this guy how to dry test his steering and then with the engine running and watch the connections-if I missed it forgive me. @jjvw referred to it some I know.

 

[jjvw]

Has anyone told this guy how to dry test his steering and then with the engine running and watch the connections-if I missed it forgive me. @jjvw referred to it some I know.

Skip the dry test. That only shows what is loose under hand strength. With the engine running, the power steering is able to shove everything around.

 

[Breto31]

Steinjager wouldn't be my first choice. I didn't even know about the thickness but jks and rockjock are known to have good diff cover clearance and good joints. The Rockjock is admittedly pricey, but the JKS isn't bad IMO. I've used both.

It has good reviews online, so I opted for that vs spending $300. The JKS was like $289 and the Steinjager was $160.

EDIT: I see that Extreme Terrain has the JKS for $248, and Morris has it for $179. Not sure why the large discrepancy, but I’m sure the Steinjager one will be fine. It has good reviews, so we will see.

EDIT 2: The JKS TJ bar on Morris is $267. The one I saw was for a ZJ I believe.

 

[Breto31]

Has anyone told this guy how to dry test his steering and then with the engine running and watch the connections-if I missed it forgive me. @jjvw referred to it some I know.

I’ve done like 20 dry tests, and they have told me nothing. I’ve gained more from the one pic I posted in this thread than all of my dry tests!

 

[AndyG]

I’ve done like 20 dry tests, and they have told me nothing. I’ve gained more from the one pic I posted in this thread than all of my dry tests!

Good deal

Just trying to help

If you do not have a stable track bar the axle will move and the steering will try to counteract that.

You will fight it constantly

 

[Rickwhoo]

That grease coming thru and the nut placement is a major issue. Get the correct track-bar, re-align it and see how it feels.

 

[Breto31]

Do a steer test with the engine running. Grab a hold of the track bar end and the mount together with one hand and feel for movement while someone does a bunch of quick 10-2 steering wheel movements.

I just did this. There MAJOR movement of the track bar stud from side-to-side when the steering wheel goes 10-2.

I’m guessing this is why my wheels feel like they’re constantly being shoved in either direction when the road dips/turns. Hopefully the new track bar will fix this issue.

 

[OldBuzzard]

Yeah, that would do it. It's not just a tire-pointing problem like a loose ball joint, it's a whole axle moving side to side, which moves the whole steering linkage too.

I think that track bar with the right bolt in that hole will fix you up. Good luck.

 

[Breto31]

Just an update on this…. got the new track bar in and installed it yesterday. My steering woes appear to be fixed. My wheels definitely feel stable and I don’t feel like my jeep jerks with the road.

Still have the slight play in my steering wheel from 11-1, but it’s also been improved. Not near as much play as before.

Thanks for all of the help and info!