Jeep pulls to the left and right on highway

Gollywomper

Gollywomper

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Corning CA
It seems to never end. I have had a slight pull to the left on the highway for a while. I was in need of an alignment. I completed the DIY alignment after installing new ball joints, hub kit and Currie steering. Still had same slight pull to the left at highway speeds. However now it has a pull to the right when letting off gas/ pushing in the clutch. I didn’t notice the developer pull in the first test drive, but after 20 miles or so it has started. Everything is tight/torqued. Air pressure may be a tad low, I will adjust when it cools back down. I did make some track bar adjustments and I am not sure if I resquared axles after or not, so I will check that. The tire shop put my newer spare on the right rear a while back, so being a tad bigger on one side could be causing some issues with the rubicon lsd in the rear. So I will reinstall my spare on the RR.
Anything else I should check?
 
I'd drive behind it and see if it's tracking , also make sure you have no control arm bushings issues.

I'm not up to speed on your rig ,but bleed any gas if the stabilizer is gas charged , and Jack it up and make sure no calipers are dragging .

That kind of deal bugs me too. Stay after it man.
 
AndyG said:
I'd drive behind it and see if it's tracking , also make sure you have no control arm bushings issues.

I'm not up to speed on your rig ,but bleed any gas if the stabilizer is gas charged , and Jack it up and make sure no calipers are dragging .

That kind of deal bugs me too. Stay after it man.
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Ya. It’s very slight. But it is there so it bugs me. I’m not able to check it right now, drove it to a bday party. I’m guessing my recent track bar adjustments are to blame, need to make all the normal checks. It’s just bugging me, especially since I can’t measure anything at the moment. Lol
 
Gollywomper said:
Ya. It’s very slight. But it is there so it bugs me. I’m not able to check it right now, drove it to a bday party. I’m guessing my recent track bar adjustments are to blame, need to make all the normal checks. It’s just bugging me, especially since I can’t measure anything at the moment. Lol
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It doesn’t take much to drive me nuts on steering. Realistically, a TJ is so short and light , everything has to be spot on.

Mine pulls in crowned roads, and I’ve seriously considered repaving all the roads in North Alabama because of it.

Mine had to have an adjustable rear track bar to calm down . Anything that is caused by acceleration is typically track bar/control arm territory.
 
Yes. All the roads around my house are rough with inconsistent crowns so it magnifies everything.
 
Gollywomper said:
Yes. All the roads around my house are rough with inconsistent crowns so it magnifies everything.
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Don’t give up. I promise you they can drive great , I sincerely mean that.

Mine drove like junk too, it’s really fine now . Smooth , just glides.
 
Ya I had mine driving really good. Then changed some stuff. New rear track bar, Currie springs all new front end parts. Just need to dial it back in. I will check it here in a bit when I get home.
 
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Re squared the axles. Rear driver was about 1/8” back. Front passenger was 3/8” forward on passenger side. Squared those up. Track bars are good and arms and track bars are torqued. Tire pressures were down to 23-24psi in slightly warm tires. Bumped those up to 27 psi, on 35” tires. Still has a slight left pull depending on the road. Will see how it does tomorrow.
 
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Are you on a smooth level surface when taking your measurements? Tire pressure is very important, I run 28psi in my 33's. You're lucky the road only had one crown in it, here the oilfield trucks double crown it, and then the county grader blades the rock off into the ditch.
 
Yes. Axles were squared on level surface. 27 psi was a very rough ride. Dropped down to 25, where I usually run them. I checked rotors after a 20 mile run and coasting to a stop. Both front rotors read 90*. So I don’t believe a have a brake issue causing the left pull. It is now very flighty feeling, similar to when I had a toe out issue. I will recheck toe setting.
 
The weird flighty feel came after new ball joints and steering.

Toe was neutral. Set to 1/8". Big difference.
Still need to track down the pull. Will swap front tires tomorrow, see if it is a tire. Also have to weld up and grind the grooves in the brake pad sliders on the knuckles.
 
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Still having a issue. In uneven roads the rig will move left and right. Kind of a sudden movement, small but enough to catch your attention. It Has steadily been getting worse. I had a fairly firm steering until I recently replaced ball joints and installed Currie steering linkage. That freed up my steering wheel effort to a normal level, but I think it uncovered another issue or worsened it. I had a bit of this wondering issue before but not quite as bad.
Toe has been set and verified on an alignment rack at 1/8”. Caster is at 7*. Those two things helped but did not solve my issue.
I have checked all control arms for play. Track bars are tight with no play. Retorqued everything.
I did the dry steering test. I can hear a clunk and can feel it if I put my hand on the pitman arm/sector shaft. I also notice the pitman arm is angle slightly toward the frame and not perfectly centered. I installed this reman box awhile back while troubleshooting the stiff steering issue. It’s still under warranty so I had Napa order another, hope it is better than this one. Any one think of anything I might be missing?
 
Pic of pitman arm with wheels centered. ADAF292D-34AA-46FD-B203-418E03C86323.jpeg
 
Here’s a video of some play in the sector shaft and some vertical play in the Currie joint. The nut is tight and there is zero play in the “taper” on the pitman arm.

 
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Gollywomper said:
Still having a issue. In uneven roads the rig will move left and right. Kind of a sudden movement, small but enough to catch your attention. It Has steadily been getting worse. I had a fairly firm steering until I recently replaced ball joints and installed Currie steering linkage. That freed up my steering wheel effort to a normal level, but I think it uncovered another issue or worsened it. I had a bit of this wondering issue before but not quite as bad.
Toe has been set and verified on an alignment rack at 1/8”. Caster is at 7*. Those two things helped but did not solve my issue.
I have checked all control arms for play. Track bars are tight with no play. Retorqued everything.
I did the dry steering test. I can hear a clunk and can feel it if I put my hand on the pitman arm/sector shaft. I also notice the pitman arm is angle slightly toward the frame and not perfectly centered. I installed this reman box awhile back while troubleshooting the stiff steering issue. It’s still under warranty so I had Napa order another, hope it is better than this one. Any one think of anything I might be missing?
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Clear your mind of what it is doing and contemplate it from another direction. If you are just going down the highway which requires minimal steering input, does it do everything but stay on center? As in you are constantly trying to keep the steering wheel in the middle of the on center zone but it fights that and will pop over to either side of center just ever so slightly but gives the impression of continual wandering and stop, please stop making wonder about your wander.
 
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It is somewhat erratic in sorts. Trying my best to explain it. It is a not how my Jeep drove just over month ago. It has slowly gotten worse. It is not the normal let the Jeep do its thing It is a small but quick and sharp direction change. That require immediate correction. It’s not a run off the road type of deal but it moves the rig 4’ or so and is quick not a rolling type of movement. I don’t see or feel any lateral movement in the joint at the pitman arm. There is a small amount of play between the input and output of the gear box.
Here is how much play before the pitman arm moves.
 
mrblaine said:
Clear you mind of what it is doing and contemplate it from another direction. If you are just going down the highway which requires minimal steering input, does it do everything but stay on center? As in you are constantly trying to keep the steering wheel in the middle of the on center zone but it fights that and will pop over to either side of center just ever so slightly but gives the impression of continual wandering and stop, please stop making wonder about your wander.
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I just re read this it made more sense to me today. Yes I have to apply some right input to the steering wheel to keep it going straight. Then, which I think may be a different issue is the wander on the uneven sections.
 
Gollywomper said:
I just re read this it made more sense to me today. Yes I have to apply some right input to the steering wheel to keep it going straight. Then, which I think may be a different issue is the wander on the uneven sections.
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That isn't the same as I described. Steering gears go bad and won't stay on center. We call that "popping over center" because you can't hold them in a perfectly straight line because the box won't let that happen. You don't sound like you have that problem.
 
mrblaine said:
That isn't the same as I described. Steering gears go bad and won't stay on center. We call that "popping over center" because you can't hold them in a perfectly straight line because the box won't let that happen. You don't sound like you have that problem.
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No I don’t believe I do either. I can’t find anything wrong, really, with the box. Out of frustration I was grasping for anything possible. I have one more thing to look into, will update after. Thanks for the help.
 
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