Loose steering and constant correction needed - help

PVEtj

PVEtj

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Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2022
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Location
Palos Verdes Estates
Hi All,
New to this Jeep, but was hoping you guys had some ideas. When i am driving, it feels like there is excessive play in the steering, and this causes the Jeep to need constant correction with teh wheel. This may be just a function of the lift and size of tires, but wanted to see if there were any ideas. I am going to have the steering box checked. Jeep was just aligned as well. Mods are below:
Wheels/Tires:
  • 15-inch alloy wheels
  • 33-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires
  • Suspension/Chassis:
  • MetalCloak 4.5-inch Lock-N-Load long arm suspension kit
  • MetalCloak true dual rate coils
  • MetalCloak spec-tuned shocks
  • MetalCloak adjustable bump stops
  • Artec Industries rear coil correction kit
  • Upgraded drop pitman arm kit
  • Currectlync heavy-duty steering system
  • Rare Parts dual load carrying adjustable/rebuildable ball joints
Thanks for any suggestions……
 
We'll likely start with removing that drop pitman arm... That is not needed. Have you done a dry steering test to see if anything is loose?
 
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Could be a number of things, I'd start with checking steering shaft joints for play, steering box, and tie rod ends. I'd remove the drop pitman arm as well, you shouldn't need that with the Currie steering. It's definitely not a function of the lift and tires, 33's on a 4" lift should still be on rails
 
I'd remove the DPA as others has stated, then check your alignment. Usually with worn components, they manifest as wobble/shake and general looseness. Wander is most often associate with a poor alignment, particularly lack of caster, which will cause your tires to follow grooves in the road much more than it should.
 
Swap the dropped pitman arm for a stock pitman arm. The reason for this is you want the drag link and the trackbar to be parallel and to stay parallel as the axle cycles up and down while you drive down the road. If they don’t move in sync with each other your steering will be all over the place. Check your caster as well. Insufficient caster will cause wandering all over the place. Measure caster with an angle finder on the machined face of the bottom of the C.

Edit: looking up that lift kit, I believe it has a dropped frame trackbar bracket, so in that instance the drop pitman arm would be necessary.
 
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A dropped Pitman arm is normally not needed and should not be considered an upgrade. Is your front track bar bolted to the factory track bar mounts? If so the dropped Pitman arm must be removed and replaced by the original factory Pitman arm.

A dropped Pitman arm that is installed with the front track bar bolted to the original mounting brackets WILL cause bump steer. Bump steer is when your steering is 'bumped' left/right as your front axle moves up/down like over bumps or dips on the road or trail surface.

A Jeep that won't track properly and steering constantly has to be corrected has either or both a bad toe-in angle and/or an insufficient Caster angle. You can check and adjust your own toe-in very easily and as accurately as an alignment shop can do by following the easy instructions at https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-to-align-your-jeep-wrangler-tj.85/ Caster angle is trickier and a bit harder to obtain yourself, and is adjusted by adjusting the lengths of the front control arms to roll the axle about its long axis to get the caster angle up to where it needs to be. The factory caster angle is 7 degrees but the bigger the tire the less caster angle that is needed. For 33" tires I'd shoot for 6 degrees which will give good tracking providing the toe-in angle is also correct. :)
 
Some drop pitman arms are known to wear out the splines and develop play as well. With the Currie steering a dropped pitman arm shouldn't be needed unless they also dropped the frame side of the track bar. As also mentioned above, perform a dry steering test, and watch the movement of everything from the steering shaft to the tires, and see which parts are moving without making the tires move. How much play is in the steering wheel sitting still and just moving it side to side slightly?
 
starkey480 said:
Post a pic of your front end. Looks like your kit has a dropped frame side trackbar mount.
Click to expand...

It DOES look like it on their website:

a0645-lock-n-load-15.jpg
 
If they got the geometry right with the drop bracket and drop pitman arm then I would guess that bump steer is not the issue. I would check the splines on the pitman arm and make sure there isn't any play there, and the steering gear box itself if all the other parts in the system are relatively new and the alignment has been verified.
 
Necro said:
If they got the geometry right with the drop bracket and drop pitman arm then I would guess that bump steer is not the issue. I would check the splines on the pitman arm and make sure there isn't any play there, and the steering gear box itself if all the other parts in the system are relatively new and the alignment has been verified.
Click to expand...

I’d still personally remove it just because the geometry was correct stock.
 
06TJ35's said:
I’d still personally remove it just because the geometry was correct stock.
Click to expand...

Usually when I see brands running drop trackbar brackets it's because the trackbar they are using binds and limits down travel.

The version shown in the pic you linked doesn't look like it would bind, but it's bolted in differently than the stock trackbar. The stock trackbar bolts vertically and the cheaper brands can't get enough flex out of their bushings.
 
Necro said:
Usually when I see brands running drop trackbar brackets it's because the trackbar they are using binds and limits down travel.

The version shown in the pic you linked doesn't look like it would bind, but it's bolted in differently than the stock trackbar. The stock trackbar bolts vertically and the cheaper brands can't get enough flex out of their bushings.
Click to expand...

Yea I was wondering if he took off the track bar bracket can he still run the MC track bar.
Could he just move the joint to mount horizontal? Given if it will line up and the axle would be centered.
 
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