The question... Could my TRE and Drag Link be the cause of my slight wheel wobble.
I've been chasing a slight wheel wobble for a few years now, and I'm slowly narrowing it down (I think). Callouts below on the things I have fixed and/or checked. I have not done the steering test looking at these parts yet, but I plan to do that in the next couple of days - as soon as I can get someone to steer it while I look at it.
In a nutshell —— The PO had put on a 4" lift (from Zone I believe - not positive), and it was old so I was randomly upgrading individual parts. I wanted to do the ZJ tie rod upgrade and I ordered the Moog DS1430 Tie Rod End, Moog DS1235 Track Bar, and Moog DS1312 Tie Rod End - per the thread on this Forum. Everything fit fine (so I thought), but I started getting "darting" steering shortly after. Eventually, thanks to the forum, I realized that the frame-side track bar mount was too large for the Moog track bar, so it was moving around within the mount, causing most of my darting. I assume the track bar that was on it from the lift required some drilling, making the hole too large for the Moog one. I replaced it with a Steinjager adjustable track bar, and it definitely firmed up my steering.
I am still experiencing an intermittent wheel wobble. There's nothing in particular that triggers it, and no particular speed that I experience it (it could be 25 mph for a few seconds, it my be 70 mph - for a few seconds). It looks like the wheel is moving side to side slightly as if something is loose. I know the track bar is not loose, but I'm not sure about the tie rods, or even the drag link (it was not replaced). It's enough to feel it in the front end, and see it if I stick my head out the door. It comes and goes, but never feels unsafe or anything. I've upgraded the following items (some unrelated to this issue):
My concern is that the existing axle parts (like the axle housing/knuckle) had been drilled out to fit the parts for the lift, and the holes were too big for the Moog parts I put on, causing some movement and wobble in the wheel..... One thing to point out, when I installed my ZJ items - the drag link that was reused seemed to fit very deep within the hole on the tie-rod - making me think that the hole on the Moog tie-rod is too big for the drag link that I have. The boot on the drag link doesn't even really take grease because the drag link is almost completely flush with the tie-rod. The boot basically just covers the top of the drag link. I posted some pics on the forum in a previous thread, and everyone said that it looked fine.
EDIT: I did replace the drag link along with the track bar. So currently I have the DS1430 (Drag Link), and the DS1312 (Tie Rod)…. I mentioned the drag link bolt inserting deep into the Tie Rod, but it’s the other way around. The tie rod is flush up against drag link - like the hole in the drag link is too big for the bolt on the tie rod.
I've been chasing a slight wheel wobble for a few years now, and I'm slowly narrowing it down (I think). Callouts below on the things I have fixed and/or checked. I have not done the steering test looking at these parts yet, but I plan to do that in the next couple of days - as soon as I can get someone to steer it while I look at it.
In a nutshell —— The PO had put on a 4" lift (from Zone I believe - not positive), and it was old so I was randomly upgrading individual parts. I wanted to do the ZJ tie rod upgrade and I ordered the Moog DS1430 Tie Rod End, Moog DS1235 Track Bar, and Moog DS1312 Tie Rod End - per the thread on this Forum. Everything fit fine (so I thought), but I started getting "darting" steering shortly after. Eventually, thanks to the forum, I realized that the frame-side track bar mount was too large for the Moog track bar, so it was moving around within the mount, causing most of my darting. I assume the track bar that was on it from the lift required some drilling, making the hole too large for the Moog one. I replaced it with a Steinjager adjustable track bar, and it definitely firmed up my steering.
I am still experiencing an intermittent wheel wobble. There's nothing in particular that triggers it, and no particular speed that I experience it (it could be 25 mph for a few seconds, it my be 70 mph - for a few seconds). It looks like the wheel is moving side to side slightly as if something is loose. I know the track bar is not loose, but I'm not sure about the tie rods, or even the drag link (it was not replaced). It's enough to feel it in the front end, and see it if I stick my head out the door. It comes and goes, but never feels unsafe or anything. I've upgraded the following items (some unrelated to this issue):
- Steinjager adjustable track bar.
- New ball joints - upper/lower front.
- New Core 4x4 T1 front CA's - upper/lower.
- New driver's side axle shaft and U-Joint.
- New driver's side hub assembly (Timken).
- 4 new sway bar links (Zone).
- Tires have been balanced twice.
My concern is that the existing axle parts (like the axle housing/knuckle) had been drilled out to fit the parts for the lift, and the holes were too big for the Moog parts I put on, causing some movement and wobble in the wheel..... One thing to point out, when I installed my ZJ items - the drag link that was reused seemed to fit very deep within the hole on the tie-rod - making me think that the hole on the Moog tie-rod is too big for the drag link that I have. The boot on the drag link doesn't even really take grease because the drag link is almost completely flush with the tie-rod. The boot basically just covers the top of the drag link. I posted some pics on the forum in a previous thread, and everyone said that it looked fine.
EDIT: I did replace the drag link along with the track bar. So currently I have the DS1430 (Drag Link), and the DS1312 (Tie Rod)…. I mentioned the drag link bolt inserting deep into the Tie Rod, but it’s the other way around. The tie rod is flush up against drag link - like the hole in the drag link is too big for the bolt on the tie rod.
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