Steering Stabilizer Contacting Track Bar

greyghost_lj

greyghost_lj

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2021
Messages
44
Location
Myrtle Beach, SC
Hello All,
I have been having some steering problems. It starts with a story.

The story goes me and a friend were on top of a parking garage with a slick painted surface at the top. It was raining, and I thought it would be fun to do donuts. I hit my front right wheel into a curb at about 10 mph. I attached the video. Ha. When it was said and done, my steering wheel was upside down driving straight. Fixed it with an alignment at the shop when I had then mount a new tire for me.

The problem is now my steering stabilizer contacts my track bar. It may have been happening for a while, but I only noticed it after getting the alignment at the shop because when I turn all the way left, there is a noticeable pop as they rub against each other.

I also notice that my pitman arm is not straight with the body when my wheels are straight. Not sure if that is related to the issue or if it is an issue at all.

If anybody has any insight on how to fix this, I’m all ears.

Thank you.

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If hitting the curb caused your steering wheel to be upside down then it probably bent something. It looks to me like the passenger side spring is curving towards the driver side like your axle is shifted, could just be camera angle too. I would ask the alignment shop if the front axle was still centered
 
Sounds to me like you might have bent a control arm.
Are your CA’s stock? Those things are made of sheet metal, and aren’t sturdy enough to handle running into things.

If you’re not familiar enough with the front end parts, and how they’re supposed to be, have a reputable shop take a look at it.

And I’d check it ASAP. You wouldn’t want something coming apart or breaking while you’re driving at high speed.
 
Modoc Guy said:
Sounds to me like you might have bent a control arm.
Are your CA’s stock? Those things are made of sheet metal, and aren’t sturdy enough to handle running into things.

If you’re not familiar enough with the front end parts, and how they’re supposed to be, have a reputable shop take a look at it.

And I’d check it ASAP. You wouldn’t want something coming apart or breaking while you’re driving at high speed
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My UCA's are stock. I'll definitely get them checked out. Stock control arms aren't all that expensive so that's good news if it's that.
 
Jodh said:
If hitting the curb caused your steering wheel to be upside down then it probably bent something. It looks to me like the passenger side spring is curving towards the driver side like your axle is shifted, could just be camera angle too. I would ask the alignment shop if the front axle was still centered
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I see what you're saying with the curve. Would the axle being off-center create the rubbing problem between the stabilizer and track bar?
 
Hi all,

I'm having a similar issue to @greyghost_lj. I did not run into anything but the previous owner may have. Do you think I would be okay adding something under the stabilizer and using a longer bolt to raise it up a little bit to clear or is there something else you would recommend? I'm new to the Jeep world and so far the knowledge I have in this forum has been amazing. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks.

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TurboTJ said:
I don’t know if you’ve resolved this but it looks like your track bar is bent, shortening it about one inch. You can replace it with Moog for about $40.
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I was looking for a replacement track bar. I don't know if the Moog will fit with the 6 inch long arm lift. I found this one that says it should fit with the lift but both it and the Moog look a lot different than the one that is currently on there.
 
LoneWrangler said:
I was looking for a replacement track bar. I don't know if the Moog will fit with the 6 inch long arm lift. I found this one that says it should fit with the lift but both it and the Moog look a lot different than the one that is currently on there.
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My comment was meant to be directed at the OP and his problem. Sorry for the confusion.

But I am puzzled, do you indeed have a long arm kit? It looks like standard short arms to me. I can see you have an aftermarket track bar with a dropped frame bracket and a dropped pitman arm. The bend in the track bar at the axle side looks suspiciously large but I have no idea if that is normal for that track bar.
 
greyghost_lj said:
Hello All,
I have been having some steering problems. It starts with a story.

The story goes me and a friend were on top of a parking garage with a slick painted surface at the top. It was raining, and I thought it would be fun to do donuts. I hit my front right wheel into a curb at about 10 mph. I attached the video. Ha. When it was said and done, my steering wheel was upside down driving straight. Fixed it with an alignment at the shop when I had then mount a new tire for me.

The problem is now my steering stabilizer contacts my track bar. It may have been happening for a while, but I only noticed it after getting the alignment at the shop because when I turn all the way left, there is a noticeable pop as they rub against each other.

I also notice that my pitman arm is not straight with the body when my wheels are straight. Not sure if that is related to the issue or if it is an issue at all.

If anybody has any insight on how to fix this, I’m all ears.

Thank you.

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Click to expand...
I would say your track bar is bent.
 
greyghost_lj said:
Hello All,
My trackbar was indeed bent to hell. I replaced it with a new JKS OGS128 Heavy Duty Track Bar and all is well now. Thank you.
Click to expand...
One thing I would inspect is the sector shaft on the steering box. Look at the splines right above the pitman arm to see if they are twisted or distorted. Just to be on the safe side.
 
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