Jeep is darting all over the road
- Thread starter AlphaDawg2004LJ
- Start date
We’re you able to check your sway bar links. I was having a bad darting issue. My sway bar link bushings were toast. Replacing these helped immensely regarding the darting (I just replaced all 4 of them). What I thought was darting was actually - mostly - body roll because my sway bar link bushings were really bad.
The remainder of my darting issue was attributed to the front track bar. The frame-mount hole was too big for the bolt that my Moog replacement track bar used, so it was moving around in the hole. I replaced it with an adjustable track bar that required a larger hole, and it solved my darting issue.
Have you done a dry steering test? Have somebody in the Jeep crank back and forth in the steering wheel while you look for play in all the front end components.
This is what it took to find the death wobble in mine. I shook the track bar and couldn't feel any play, had someone else turn the steering wheel and initially couldn't find any play, but when I looked really really closely, there was a tiny bit of movement. Replacing it fixed my death wobble entirely.
Sometimes it's pretty hard to see the movement laying under there. But if you can set a camera on a tripod under there, pretty close to a joint, and get it focused, and then watch the video on a large monitor, you might see movement you missed with the naked eye. Worked for me.
Trod286
TJ Enthusiast
My Jeep is doing the same I've changed my Trackbar and checked tire air looked at all my bushings in the front, Annnndddd Found bad Ball Joints on the driver side. So I'm changing both sides tomorrow in hopes that they are the corrupt.
OP
Not sure if I should bump this or start a new thread:
My LJ (profile pic) started darting around on me about almost 2 years after I bought it. To me it feels like you are pulling an over weight or poorly loaded trailer with no brakes. My brother is a firemen and he drove it and said its feels like driving a large ladder truck with rear steer and the driver in the rear is steering opposite of the driver in the front.
I do not "off road". I do not abuse my vehicles. I trout fish and hunt and bought this as cool toy I could drive in the mtns and on the dirt roads of South GA when fishing and hunting. It has only been in 4wd a few times since I bought it. It drove so nice (for a jeep) when I bought it turned into a daily driver for me. I have driven it twice from Atlanta to Florida. I no longer drive it all. Its turned into a lawn ornament. When I do drive it i stay in the right hand lane of the interstate because I only have the left side traffic to worry about and i have bail out if needed.
Since my 1st post on this subject I have done the following in the order below
I installed:
New Upper and Lower Ball Joints
New Rear Sway Bar
New Rear Upper and Lower Control Arms
I then had an alignment done and the jeep was not noticeably better.
I took it to a Jeep "Specialist" and they told me it was the front end so they installed a Currect Lync HD Tie Rod System with no improvement (Long story but I didn't take it back to this place.)
Had another Jeep "Specialist" recommended to me and they did the following with no noticeable improvement and honestly it may have been even worse after they worked on it.
Rough Country Sway Link Kit
Rough Country Control Arm
Front and Rear Rough Country Shocks
Axel Bushing
I asked both of the last two shops to check the frame to see if it was broken. neither could see any issues with the frame and I have gone over it pretty closely looking for a potential break.
The last thing I did was install a remanufactured steering gear box which I completed today and as with all the other times its not any better. I have now spent more the $4000 on parts and labor.
Is there anything else it could possibly be? Is there anything I might be missing? I am taking it to a friends house tomorrow to put it on the lift so we can do a closer inspection of the frame. Are certain areas more prone to break than others?
Bottom line is if I cannot get this fixed it will be sold.
I really do not want to sell it.
My LJ (profile pic) started darting around on me about almost 2 years after I bought it. To me it feels like you are pulling an over weight or poorly loaded trailer with no brakes. My brother is a firemen and he drove it and said its feels like driving a large ladder truck with rear steer and the driver in the rear is steering opposite of the driver in the front.
I do not "off road". I do not abuse my vehicles. I trout fish and hunt and bought this as cool toy I could drive in the mtns and on the dirt roads of South GA when fishing and hunting. It has only been in 4wd a few times since I bought it. It drove so nice (for a jeep) when I bought it turned into a daily driver for me. I have driven it twice from Atlanta to Florida. I no longer drive it all. Its turned into a lawn ornament. When I do drive it i stay in the right hand lane of the interstate because I only have the left side traffic to worry about and i have bail out if needed.
Since my 1st post on this subject I have done the following in the order below
I installed:
New Upper and Lower Ball Joints
New Rear Sway Bar
New Rear Upper and Lower Control Arms
I then had an alignment done and the jeep was not noticeably better.
I took it to a Jeep "Specialist" and they told me it was the front end so they installed a Currect Lync HD Tie Rod System with no improvement (Long story but I didn't take it back to this place.)
Had another Jeep "Specialist" recommended to me and they did the following with no noticeable improvement and honestly it may have been even worse after they worked on it.
Rough Country Sway Link Kit
Rough Country Control Arm
Front and Rear Rough Country Shocks
Axel Bushing
I asked both of the last two shops to check the frame to see if it was broken. neither could see any issues with the frame and I have gone over it pretty closely looking for a potential break.
The last thing I did was install a remanufactured steering gear box which I completed today and as with all the other times its not any better. I have now spent more the $4000 on parts and labor.
Is there anything else it could possibly be? Is there anything I might be missing? I am taking it to a friends house tomorrow to put it on the lift so we can do a closer inspection of the frame. Are certain areas more prone to break than others?
Bottom line is if I cannot get this fixed it will be sold.
I really do not want to sell it.
OP
Air pressure was the very first thing I checked, and honestly air pressure isnt gonna make do what its doing. Its 3" Rough Country lift with 275/70R18 Kenda Klever r/t tires
Track bars? Excessive tire pressure can cause many issues. Shocks seems ok?
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
So 33" tires.
What's your air pressure?
How old are the tires?
Have you rotated the tires?
Maybe you have a bad tire (broken belt).
Problem got worse after new Rough Country lift?
OP
Lift was on it when I bought it.
Tires are about 1/3rd through their useful life. There is no broken belt in the tires, they have been balanced and rotated regularly with no noticeable change in the darting etc.
