Darty and twitchy steering

AbsoluteUnit

AbsoluteUnit

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Joined
Feb 6, 2020
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Location
Columbus, IN
I've got a 2000 sport on a rough country 3.5" lift. The steering is kinda darty. It almost acts as if I'm getting blown all over the road by big wind gusts but there's no wind. Hard to drive in a straight line. What could this be? And what are some next steps?
 
AbsoluteUnit said:
I've got a 2000 sport on a rough country 3.5" lift. The steering is kinda darty. It almost acts as if I'm getting blown all over the road by big wind gusts but there's no wind. Hard to drive in a straight line. What could this be? And what are some next steps?
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Have any pictures of the setup? A quick look can answer any big issues.
 
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Tire size and pressure? Does it have the factory pitman arm, or a drop pitman arm? Sway bar links are connected?
 
Welcome to the forum!
Obviously when you lift any vehicle, the steering geometry is going to be thrown off from stock. All the steering components aren't really meant for a 3.5 inch lift, so some modification to these parts may be necessary to stop the wondering.
 
BuildBreakRepeat said:
Have any pictures of the setup? A quick look can answer any big issues.
Click to expand...

Sorry they're a bit dark.

IMG_20200206_203227.jpg


IMG_20200206_203222.jpg


IMG_20200206_203154.jpg


IMG_20200206_203216.jpg
 
AbsoluteUnit said:
It seems fine to me, I haven't measured much but I toe angle seems dead on, tiiiinny bit of negative camber, and the castor is at about 5.5-6 degrees
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Is it darty in any particular direction?

Does it get worse at a higher speed?
 
Nick B said:
Welcome to the forum!
Obviously when you lift any vehicle, the steering geometry is going to be thrown off from stock. All the steering components aren't really meant for a 3.5 inch lift, so some modification to these parts may be necessary to stop the wondering.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That's understandable but I'm also seeing problems that are miraculously solved with tire pressure changes, so I'm hoping I might be able to fix it simply, but if I have to buy some parts or take it to a shop I will.the issue is that I don't reaaally know what I have and therefore don't really know what I need. I just bought the Jeep a few days ago and I'm starting to find some quirks and issues.
 
Apparition said:
Is it darty in any particular direction?

Does it get worse at a higher speed?
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Not much worse at speed, maybe a bit. No particular direction, ditch or oncoming traffic, it doesn't seem to have a preference. Also, steering seems to come back to center pretty quickly if that helps.
 
AbsoluteUnit said:
Not much worse at speed, maybe a bit. No particular direction, ditch or oncoming traffic, it doesn't seem to have a preference. Also, steering seems to come back to center pretty quickly if that helps.
Click to expand...
I’d still lean towards the alignment being off. I’d double check it.
 
Triple check your toe adjustment. Adding a spring lift will definitely throw the toe off. And a bad toe setting will definitely make it darty. 1/8" to 1/16" toe in. Be sure to measure that at full tire width. There are many threads here showing how to use some square stock or angle iron to measure out from the hub to get an accurate setting.
 
Correct. But the spring height will cause the draglink to effectively shorten. And the way the tierod is attached to the draglink instead of going from one outer to the other outer, the angled draglink will make the toe in change. That is why you have to set the toe at ride height. If you measure the toe setting at full droop or full stuff it will be different.
 
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So, I've been crawling under it for days looking for issues and triple checking the alignment and all. Pressures are at 26 psi, bushings all seem fine, but I think I found the problem lol. The trackbar is stock and has had a new hole drilled in the bracket so that it could be relocated after the lift. When rocking the body you can clearly see that either the hole is wallered out or the bushing is gakked because there's a solid 1/4"-3/8" of slop where the track bar is moving on the axle side. This now begs the question, can I use an adjustable trackbar on the stock but modified bracketing? or do I need to have a new bracket welded onto the axle tube?
 
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Yes. You can put an adjustable track bar in. I went with the Rough Country #7572. It fits both stock axle side and frame side (with a tie rod end) this makes it very easy to adjust because the threads are right next to the frame. Plus you don't have to drill out or change the frame side mount like many other styles do. Use the original axle side hole. Replace the bolt using a grade 8 bolt if necessary. Don't forget to use a lot of antiseize on the rod end threads.

You get bonus points for both "wallered" and "gakked".
I would get some Fluid Film sprayed heavy down under there before the rust becomes terminal.
 
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