Pretty sure it's the box...

[Ahoragi]

...but wanted more opinions before I go ahead and ordered an AGR or other new box.

When I'm driving on the highway and hit a horizontal strip in the road the jeep's steering would rattle left and right real quick. No major wobble or anything, just an annoying left/right rattle in the steering wheel. When I'm parked and the jeep is off, I can turn the wheel left and right real quick and feel a clank in each direction. It kinda feels like slack in the gears of the steering box.

My steering is new (crown HD), trackbar has less than 4k miles on it, and jeep drives straight and true. It has 103k miles on it.

I think it's the box going out. Whatdoyathink?

 

[Stinger]

You may very well be correct.
However, I would do a lot of searching before ordering a new box. Get someone to move that steering wheel back and forth while you put your hand on everything that can come loose. I mean everything. Trac bar, tie rod end, drag long, pitman, and lack the wheels off the ground and check ball joints. Done forget to check the steering box mounts. They have been know to come loose(torn off) the frame. Many times I have had issues similar to what you are describing. The only way I found the problem was by feel. Could not see the movement, occasionally I could hear it but could not pin point it but I could feel it.
Be interested to learn what you find!

 

[Ahoragi]

You may very well be correct.
However, I would do a lot of searching before ordering a new box. Get someone to move that steering wheel back and forth while you put your hand on everything that can come loose. I mean everything. Trac bar, tie rod end, drag long, pitman, and lack the wheels off the ground and check ball joints. Done forget to check the steering box mounts. They have been know to come loose(torn off) the frame. Many times I have had issues similar to what you are describing. The only way I found the problem was by feel. Could not see the movement, occasionally I could hear it but could not pin point it but I could feel it.
Be interested to learn what you find!

I did all that quite a few times actually in attempt to figure out what was loose and nothing is. Trackbar is nearly new, tie rods are brand new, ball joints are spicers and only a year old. Bearings are Timkens and new. All control arms have no play except the usual rubber give. What makes me think it is the box was that the bearings/ball joints, tie rods, and trackbar all were replaced and the symptom remained. I also checked the u-joint in the steering shaft and it's tight.