Possibly Loose Steering on 06 LJ Question

[Ryan Matthes]

I have had a lot of jeeps over many years - a Cherokee, a TJ, a Grand Cherokee, another TJ, a JKU, and now an LJ - my current LJ seems to have loose steering, at least compared to my JKU (last one before this) but I am not certain what might be causing it. I have replaced the steering stabilizer, installed a drop pitman, had it aligned, but still seems to be a little slop. Could the steering box be worn out at 50K miles? Other possible culprits?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks
R

 

[irish1371]

1st please remove the drop pitman arm. You really shouldnt need it and it may make bump steer worse.

If the prievious owner had huge tires on the lj then yea the steering box could be sloppy.

I would bet tho you have either worn out swaybar links or bad after market ones. I found my steering to get very loose in my lj when I had my sway bar adjusted wrong. Hope this helps gl

 

[Ryan Matthes]

I had bad bump steer before the drop pitman and none now. The steering seemed loose before I started any projects - this was bone stock with all factory components when I got it (little 29" tires) and I put on an RE adjustable trackbar to re-center the axle after my lift. I am guessing that it is either steering box, steering rod linkage, track-bar ends, or ball joints. Been working those by hand (except for the steering box) and nothing seems loose. Thoughts?

 

[iluv83vettes]

I'm guessing your castor is off.

 

[locrwln]

Have someone sit in the driver's seat with the engine off and have them slowly move the steering wheel back and forth. You lay under the front and start methodically looking at every joint in the steering and trackbar mounts (especially look at the track bar mount at the axle).


My buddy with an '05 LJ, thought his whole system was trashed and we did the above with him moving the steering wheel and I noticed that the pitman arm (an aftermarket dropped version for the RE LA that the PO installed) was loose. I had him watch while I moved the steering wheel and he was amazed at the amount of movement. He tightened everything up and now has the steering that it should have.


The ZF boxes are prone to breaking the sector shaft under heavy use (abuse), but other than that, they are pretty robust and I doubt yours is bad with only 50k.


Jack

 

[Ryan Matthes]

Have someone sit in the driver's seat with the engine off and have them slowly move the steering wheel back and forth. You lay under the front and start methodically looking at every joint in the steering and trackbar mounts (especially look at the track bar mount at the axle).


My buddy with an '05 LJ, thought his whole system was trashed and we did the above with him moving the steering wheel and I noticed that the pitman arm (an aftermarket dropped version for the RE LA that the PO installed) was loose. I had him watch while I moved the steering wheel and he was amazed at the amount of movement. He tightened everything up and now has the steering that it should have.


The ZF boxes are prone to breaking the sector shaft under heavy use (abuse), but other than that, they are pretty robust and I doubt yours is bad with only 50k.


Jack

Will do that again - have been under there to see / listen to the pitman and the track bar - seem good and no sound. Will focus more on the steering box and the tie rod ends. It definitely feels loose in the play of the wheel to me - if in a turn it seems fine.

 

[Idahoan]

Did it handle normally before the lift?

 

[Kmrtnsn]

Have you checked your tie rod ends?

 

[surfwagoneer]

Is it your steering column? I have a 89 Grand Wagoneer and the steering has been loose since I bought it. Went on a offroad trip recently and it had gotten a lot worse. The steering wheel had a ton of slop. Pulled the column apart. The bolts were so loose that one of them pulled right out. I took the 4 bolts out, added some locktite and retightened everything. My steering wheel is solid as ever now and almost no play in my steering

 

[imgonnasnap]

The LJ's are very suseptable to steering box issues. on 03-06 wranglers they used a mercedes type box, which is weaker than the old style boxes. If you have an 02 and older you can swap in a dodge durango box for a beefer box. There are a few options for 03-06 guys. You can get a rebuilt box from auto zone/kragen/napa, but you may run into the same issue again. If the box is physically worn, rebuilding it won't do any good, even with new bearings. You can buy a beefed up steering box from PSC, at a cost of about $900. The other option is use the 99 dodge durango box, only you will have to redrill your frame with 1 new hole for the bolt. Once you drill and sleeve the frame to accept it, you can use the box or same box as a 02 and older. I talked to the guys at PSC and this is what they told me, I have the new box but haven't had time to do the work, so I don't have first hand knowledge if this is 100% accurate or not.

 

[1stDeuce]

That's pretty good info, and I can confirm it as correct. If you have an '03 up TJ, the bottom steering box sleeve will need to be re-located to swap in an early saginaw TJ or Durango box. We've hole-saw-ed out the sleeve from both sides, then bolted the Saginaw box on and ground the frame until the sleeve can be re-installed with bolt. Once it's where it goes, weld it in place on the outside, remove the box, and weld the inside.

To the OP, pulling on the steering components by hand is not a good test at all. You need to get someone inside, as LowCrawlin suggests, and have them saw the steering wheel back and forth 1/4 turn or more. (I do it somewhat quickly so I can more easily see what's moving.) Drop pitman arms greatly accelerate the wear on your steering box, but if you've gone to an aftermarket track bar, which probably has a dropped attachment point at the frame, then you have no choice but to use the drop pitman arm to get the geometry correct. Do the steering wheel wiggle test and see what's sloppy.
C