Steering wheel rotates 360° before making a turn

J

Jack_Stefan

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 21, 2021
Messages
251
Location
Los Angeles
This happened today and luckily right as I pulled into my parking lot.

I have the following for context:
zj steering upgrade.
Jks track bar
33x12.5 M/T
Monroe Damper
Black Magic BBK
Chromoly axles for a Dana 30
Jks front lower control arms


So right now if I want to make a regular left or right turn I need to turn my steering wheel past 360° almost 450° I would say before i can complete the turn. I drove around my parking lot like this for 2 mins before I stopped.

Any ideas on what is going on? I checked my drag link and track bar bolts by hand and nothing seemed loose.
 
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Almost sounds like your steering shaft is spinning on the steering gear box input splines or something. Was the pinch bolt ever removed for any reason?

How was the steering action before all the upgrades? Was it loose at all?
 
Last edited:
sycboi said:
Almost sounds like your steering shaft is spinning on the steering gear box input splines or something. Was the pinch bolt ever removed for any reason?

How was the steering action before all the upgrades? Was it loose at all?
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Maybe the spines are stripped? How can I tell?

Steering felt good. But I have nothing to compare it to. I’d say the steering was good for what it was
 
Reason I asked is because I had a steering shaft mostly strip out at the gear box splines and I’d need to turn almost a full revolution to counter the play it developed. It was turning that entire amount before it’d catch again in the other direction. Granted that was on an F-150…

Unlock your steering wheel and then reach down and turn the shaft by hand, right above the steering box connection. If it’s anywhere in that area you should feel something very odd happening…
 
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sycboi said:
Reason I asked is because I had a steering shaft mostly strip out at the gear box splines and I’d need to turn almost a full revolution to counter the play it developed. It was turning that entire amount before it’d catch again in the other direction. Granted that was on an F-150…

Unlock your steering wheel and then reach down and turn the shaft by hand, right above the steering box connection. If it’s anywhere in that area you should feel something very odd happening…
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Sorry if this sounds dumb but how do I unlock my steering wheel? 😅

When is my steering wheel locked? When the Jeep is off?
 
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I believe he means turn the key to unlock the steering wheel, then turn the shaft by hand.
 
Jack_Stefan said:
Ty!! About to try this. Not sure what odd thing I’m looking for but I’ll report back
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Based on what you described and what sycboi said, I think we're expecting the shaft to move freely before the gearbox actually engages. I would try it in several spots on the steering shaft. There's joints and stuff in multiple places there. You'll know it when you feel it.
 
Jack_Stefan said:
I’ll take a driving video when I get home today from work
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One thing to be wary of when the steering wheel is spinning more than the steering is it can break the clockspring assembly mounted just behind the steering wheel. The clockspring is not really a spring, it's the wiring from the horn and any other steering wheel control wiring coiled up so the steering wheel can be turned without breaking that wiring.
 
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From watching the video, there is nothing wrong with the steering shaft to steering gear relationship. They are turning in sync as they should…

Everything seems to be going lock to lock without issue. I would think whatever it’s taking for your steering wheel to get it there is just normal for all the parts you have…

That being said, The steering shafts themselves could develop slop (has universal joints in two places) but it normally happens gradually and not from one moment to the next as you described. One from column to upper shaft, inside under dash. One in the lower steering shaft itself, before the steering gear coupling…
 
Man
sycboi said:
From watching the video, there is nothing wrong with the steering shaft to steering gear relationship. They are turning in sync as they should…

Everything seems to be going lock to lock without issue. I would think whatever it’s taking for your steering wheel to get it there is just normal for all the parts you have…

That being said, The steering shafts themselves could develop slop (has universal joints in two places) but it normally happens gradually and not from one moment to the next as you described. One from column to upper shaft, inside under dash. One in the lower steering shaft itself, before the steering gear coupling…
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I feel like maybe I’m tripping?

One other thing I noticed is the wheel does not return to center after making a turn.

I feel like it used to do this? Fuck my memory right now. Either way it doesn’t feel right
 
It’s hard to diagnose other people’s issues from far away…
What you described as happening “luckily” after you turned into a parking lot made me think something let loose at that moment…
What your video shows from underneath makes me think it’s all working properly…

What I don’t know is what’s happening at the steering shafts universal joints or the steering wheel to column connection. Maybe there is an issue. Maybe not…

The not returning to center doesn’t concern me. Mine never returned to center by itself after I went to 33x12.50s. I’m not saying that’s the way it’s supposed to be, just that it’s the way it is…
 
It’s either between the column and the firewall or in the engine bay. It’s not in the front steering components.
 
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