tj steering sensitivity

[konastinky1234]

so i have been tweaking my steering for many months now without achieving the result i want.

i've put in a track bar with ZERO play to eliminate that issue, and that made a big difference.

other than that i have completely stock stuff on there with 35s.

in about 2 months ill be upgrading to full 1 ton steering with great new heims, bottom line that should (i hope) stiffen everything up a little bit over my old, hurting stock steering with worn ball joints although when i look at the steering moving it doesn't appear to have ANY play.

however if the 1 ton doesnt stiffen it up any, i want it to be better. so are there some other things i should be doing like going to a wj gear box? maybe the extra power would help hold it straight better and i'm just feeling alot of feedback from the wheel? i know someone is gonna say go hydro, but that's just not in the budget now. or maybe adjusting the screw on the gearbox? it seems like my box is pretty tight so i don't know if this would help. i just want to know where this last little bit of play is to solidify my steering. sometimes it doesn't feel like play even, maybe i'm just being too prissy and it's just the usual from huge tires. i could also try a higher air pressure, that could be contributing although i run at 25 now which i think is more than enough.

also, a slightly different issue, i pull to the right slightly at all times. tire pressures are the same, alignment is spot on. could a caliper be dragging somehow? just replaced my front calipers a year ago. could the rears cause this maybe?

sorry for so much ranting/info but any help would be greatly appreciated because i'm just so sick of dealing with this sketchy steering!!!!

thanks guys

[Pete]

Rear tire pressure with a locker will cause it to pull. How much lift do you have, have you checked your caster?

[konastinky1234]

ok i will check rear pressure again, i thought it was the same.

also i have not gotten down with an angle finder and checked the caster but i looked into it and checked roughly and it seemed like it was easily in the neighborhood but i will be checking it precisely soon.

lift height is 4 inches, maybe a hair lower in the rear.

[Schickos881]

Check control arm bushings, and ball joints.

[konastinky1234]

Check control arm bushings, and ball joints.

thats the thing, control arm bushings look good to me, and ball joints are stock so i am hoping that those DO have some play since i am upgrading soon and hopefully that will alleviate it.

[CntStpTheStnk06]

i would wait till you swap the front axel and see if that addresses any problems...... if not start there.... cause if u do all this work and then swap the axel you might have to do it again..........

[clean4drxj]

chances are... if you've been wheeling this for a while on 33's and then 35's that it's your balljoints, you could look into spicers or go with http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/...p-p-20296.html although they're a bit more than spicers, they tend to be the balls and moog is just as much as they are..

[konastinky1234]

chances are... if you've been wheeling this for a while on 33's and then 35's that it's your balljoints, you could look into spicers or go with http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/...p-p-20296.html although they're a bit more than spicers, they tend to be the balls and moog is just as much as they are..

thanks for the recommendation..... BUT i already have the new HP30 with 1 ton and brand new heims on it which is rock solid. so, again, once i get the new steering linkages in i am hoping that it stiffens everything up a little bit. i would consider using ball joints or tie rod ends after the heims wear out though so i will definitely keep that in mind. not sure how long the hiems will last in the long run with all the crap that gets in them.

[clean4drxj]

thanks for the recommendation..... BUT i already have the new HP30 with 1 ton and brand new heims on it which is rock solid. so, again, once i get the new steering linkages in i am hoping that it stiffens everything up a little bit. i would consider using ball joints or tie rod ends after the heims wear out though so i will definitely keep that in mind. not sure how long the hiems will last in the long run with all the crap that gets in them.

I've heard the heims will last so long as you lube them frequently

[konastinky1234]

I've heard the heims will last so long as you lube them frequently

yeah, i've heard mixed things some great some bad. my hopes are for them to work great obviously. i'll have to stay on top of them though for sure.

[MikalCarbine]

You still running stock arms john?

I netted 4.25" and I'm still running stock arms, 99% sure it's my caster causing my wandering, hopefully I'll know within the next few weeks

[konastinky1234]

i have stock uppers and 4in fixed lowers. it could be, i am going to check more closely soon. it looked ok to me, but i haven't measured it exactly so i will have to do that and check for sure.