Another Wandering TJ

[Lowenergy Mike]

Hello
I have a 97 TJ 4.0 that likes to wander so far I have replaced all the steering components including ball joints and adjustable front track bar and rebuilt steering gear box Napa Pitman is stock
I have ordered adjustable front control arms Rough country and since have heard they have junk bushings. Wondering if I should send them back I have a new rear track bar from JKS coming most of the bushings in what i have seem to be ok just looking and using a pry bar to check Castor is 7 degrees according to my home depot angle finder Toe is 1/8" tires are Bridgstone Dueler all season at 26 lbs this Forum seems to be a great service and I will appreciate any advice

 

[97JadeTJ]

It will probably take 2 people… while someone is moving the steering wheel back and forth slightly, look at the lower steering shaft where it connects to the input shaft of the steering gearbox… if it has never been replaced the shaft develops play in the ujoint which can cause the problem you described…

 

[Lowenergy Mike]

Thank you I will check it out
is it the shaft itself or the u joint or both?

 

[97JadeTJ]

Thank you I will check it out
is it the shaft itself or the u joint or both?

if there is play this is the part I used to replace…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BYNL006/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[Lowenergy Mike]

ok I am pulling my hair out here with this wandering
I have replaced all of the steering components including track bar and control bars in front new wheel bearing units red head steering box new ball joints Camber is around 7 degrees new rear track bar toe in is 1/8 " there is NO play in any of the steering the rear axel a dana 35 has what seems to be the normal amount of axel end play rear control arm bushings seem to be ok
the wandering is almost like its darting from side to side tried lowering my 32" tire presser to 24 lbs what am I missing here

 

[tonymontana]

ok I am pulling my hair out here with this wandering
I have replaced all of the steering components including track bar and control bars in front new wheel bearing units red head steering box new ball joints Camber is around 7 degrees new rear track bar toe in is 1/8 " there is NO play in any of the steering the rear axel a dana 35 has what seems to be the normal amount of axel end play rear control arm bushings seem to be ok
the wandering is almost like its darting from side to side tried lowering my 32" tire presser to 24 lbs what am I missing here

Did you mean Caster not Camber? I thought that camber is fixed on these Jeeps unless you get "adjustable" Ball Joints. I have the same issue. I actually just got my 1998 TJ about a month ago. It was already lifted, about 3.5-4". Whoever did it skipped on a lot of other upgrades. The previous owner that I got the TJ from gave me new parts that he bought to try and fix it. This owner did not do the original lift. He was basically throwing parts at it to see if it would fix the "wandering" and loose steering issue. So I started to replace the parts that he supplied (rough country HD Steering components). Once I started to disassemble the front end I found a bunch of other issues. So I replaced both knuckles and added HD ball Joints. While I was at it, I also replaced all the brake components. After all the changes I took it out on the road and unfortunately all that change did not correct the "wandering" situation. It did tighten up the steering though. So after doing a bunch of googling and youtubing, I figured my next thing to try is the adjustable control arms. My Caster measures around 7 deg which I believe to be a bit high. From doing a bunch of research, I know stock TJ's with DANA 30 axles should be at 6. When lifting and not changing the length of the arms, your caster angle will change. Again from a lot of reading and watching videos on caster angles your jeep will wander if the caster is off. the adjustable arms are coming in today. I will report back once I have them on and let you guys know how it goes.

BTW , I'm new to this forum , just joined . I'm also new to the Jeep world.