Just bought a 95 YJ with VERY sloppy steering. Have replaced upper & lower ball joints, tie rods, steering gear and added a stabilizer. Still wanders. Have ordered upper and lower shackle bushings (but I'm not counting on that to fix it) just ran out of things to replace. I'm approaching the point of removing the lift kit to see if that helps. HELP: any ideas?
What you haven't said you checked yet was the toe-in.
Seeing as how this is your first post and you haven't filled out any Jeep info to help us help you, lets see if you come back before we fall all over ourselves troubleshooting your issue.
More about your lift and shackles would be helpful. I had 5" springs and just about everything new as do you. But springs that high just flat out will not give you stock steering.
Jack the front wheels off the ground and grab your tire or hub and look for slop in the unit bearings. The unit bearings are the assembly that supports the stub axle at the steering knuckle. Just one more check.
Yep, had the front end aligned. Tech said it didn't take much adjustment. And it still wanders down the road. I'll check the unit bearings, good tip......thanks
Feetwet: system won't let me add my jeep info, so........95 Wrangler YJ (I've had it a week - my first Jeep) 2.5 / 4 cyl, 5 speed manual, 33 in Off Road tires and a 4 in Lift Kit ( I think).
Steering shaft can have play in it. Drag link also. You could also have play in the rear. Loose U- bolts..... on and on.
The tech that aligned your vehicle could have just aligned it til it was green on the screen and called it good. A vehicle can be "green" or within specs but still not handle well. It may not have enough toe in to compensate for bigger tires. Not all people who do alignments understand them.
Wide tires can wander badly in pavement that has grooves from the weight of vehicles. They can depending on the tire brand also wander like crazy on road seams.
Your frame may have cracks or weak spots. Rusted through spots. Flex at the steering gear box area. etc.
So many possibilities. You need to slow down. Put it on a hoist or jacks and have a real trained eye look it over with you or do tons of research and pay close attention to instructions given to you.
Do you have a printout of your alignment? You may have real low caster numbers from your shackles. A lack of caster can definitely cause wander and instability. Stock shackles measure 4" when measured from the bolt hole centerlines.
You've replaced just about everything, and you've had an alignment, and it still wanders to the point of concern...something don't add up.
Who did your alignment? Normally, the tech will try find anything and everything that is slightly worn out of spec and require replacement of those items before they'll do the alignment, and wisely so.
You can also just go ahead and add me in the "8.5 inch shackle has got to go" crowd. Replace those beaver teeth and see how she handles.
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