The Reverse of a Common Question....

OK, so the subject is DE-modding my XJ for better ONroad manners!!
Heres a quick parts/& or stats list of my XJ so u guys can get a BETTER picture of the question....

-- 95 XJ 4dr sport 4.0L H.O. auto,, 231 worked w/A SYE.
-- 6.5 lift, BRAND NEW 35" radial baja claws replacing the bias claws.
-- 4.88's, ford 8.8 loaded, HPd30 loaded.
-- Armored up, tomwoods D-shafts F & R,, yadda yadda, etc etc!!
-- She's a weekend warrior on roids basically!!

Question is,, Would ADDing a Steering Stablizer OR 2 onto my 1-ton JCR steering, ((under the knuc style)),, help her wander WAY less and be more responsive ON THE PAVEMENT??

Obviously im having steering issues, ESPECIALLY over 45mph!! NOTHING ELSE in the front end is loose or worn down & most parts are brand new & nothin is stock anyways!! BUT YES I CHECKED IT ALL!!

SO,, would adding a Steering St (OR 2) onto my 1-ton steer,, would it help mask the issues & make her safer at highway speeds???? :dunno:

that 6.5" lift - long arms or adjustable arms or stock at crazy angle? Is the camber etc ok on the front axle? My suspicion is that if it isn't, correcting it will help a lot.

Never gone that high on the lift though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

What is your caster?

With that much lift and an UTK steering setup I'm willing to bet your angles of the drag link and panhard are horrid without evening seeing them. Secondly, how is your caster?
No, a steering stabilizer or two is NOT the correct approach.

Edit: Looks like Kastein and joe_peters beat me to the caster issue.

Its an UTK style cause thats what was on there when i bought my set of axles. No reason to swap it out,, it does its job everytime,, except for this issue.
AT 6.5" lift, i still have adj short arms up & lo,, i cant swing the loot to justify spending money on an upgrade when theres other issues to be done!! Ofcourse i have a drop pitman arm,, BUT i do agree that the drag link should be much LESS of an angle on my XJ. I have a rock krawler bomb proof trac & mount, so im good to go on that but i do check for any loosy goosy before & after a run.....I can show pics if u guys want em??

Im getting an alignment done at a 4x4 shop SOON so u can scratch that off of the list.
AND last reply,, i got a yes and i got a no on whether or not adding in a S.S. would tighten the steering up & make for "less wandering" for ONroad travel.
AND I KNOW THE BANDAID LINE,, IM DE-MODDING REMEMBER!! SO IN OTHER WORDS,, ID BE TAKING THEM OFF WHEN I HIT THE TRAILS AGAIN!!

all the stabilizer can do is dampen oscillations, it's not really going to fix wandering IMO. The only thing that will fix that is correcting your camber - as far as I know.

Senior_XJ said:

Its an UTK style cause thats what was on there when i bought my set of axles. No reason to swap it out,, it does its job everytime,, except for this issue.

Click to expand...

well it would seem maybe it doesn't do its job everytime then.

as above, that much lift = very bad steering angles, which "can" = your problem.

Definately post pics of your draglink/steering,its probably not right.With that lift you NEED drop brackets or long arms,no way around it!

Unless you find a 4x4 shop that does alignments, or a specialty alignment shop, the best they will do is CHECK your caster and adjust the toe.

Most alignment shops shiver at the thought of lifted vehicles, and will usually refuse to adjust the caster.

Agree, except that caster is the issue here. Camber is not normally an issue unless the axle hsg gets bent. Caster is like a chopper vs a minibike. More rake (caster) gives more stability. Sorry for errors _phone typing is a pita!

Since noone else has mentioned it, your tires. Big tires especially bias ply tires like to follow every dip in the road and tend to want to drive off the road due to the crowning of roads. Also make sure you are properly aligned in the front. You should be toed in 1/8".

joe_peters said:

Unless you find a 4x4 shop that does alignments, or a specialty alignment shop, the best they will do is CHECK your caster and adjust the toe.

Most alignment shops shiver at the thought of lifted vehicles, and will usually refuse to adjust the caster.

Click to expand...

RE-read my second reply PLEASE!! As stated "above",, camber, caster, toe, etc will all be worked on at a well known 4x4 SHOP!!

Listen,, ive had this steering setup for a while and have wheeled the piss out of her!! ITS COMMON SENCE to anyone that wheels there rig & sinks thousands of dollars into it in mods,, he/she should know to check EVERYTHING before & after a run!!!!!!
Ive delt with such issues before like, havin to re-balance tires, do another alignment, fix another death wabble,, yadda yadda,, etc etc...

The question IS actually asking will the bandaid tighten up the steering a bit to better the ONROAD RIDE,, NO WHEELIN,, JUST DRIVING ON PAVEMENT!!!! My guess is to align her as best as can be,, then i'll add in the S.S.
Im not tryin to sound like a d!ck here, i swear im not!! BUT the question remains that if i add in the stablizer, would it tighten her up and make it easier to handle her at highway speeds????
((thats all i care about is a nicer ride))

I will post up pics tomorrow. Oh & "drop brackets" will NEVER HAPPEN, but i do plan to run longarms eventually. U guys just might be impressed by how much she flexes with those short arms tho!! Actually,when i set her up for the 35"s, i wont work in any added flex, what i WILL ADD IN is correct bumpstops as limitors, correct shock travel, & more trimming to stuff them 35"s up in there!

cmelo said:

Since noone else has mentioned it, your tires. Big tires especially bias ply tires like to follow every dip in the road and tend to want to drive off the road due to the crowning of roads. Also make sure you are properly aligned in the front. You should be toed in 1/8".

Click to expand...

Correct,, i ran bias ply claws for quite some time and the more i wheeled on em, the harder it got to balance & maintain them!! These are radial claws that have NOT been wheeled on yet!! AND since i bought the XJ, she always tells me where the suttle differences in the roads are!!
LMFAO!!!

save your money on the stabilizer and fix your caster...
I'm at 5.5" with 35's .....all new front end parts but that doesnt fix my caster and wandering road manners.Will be cutting and rotating my c's soon.....

If im gonna cut & rotate the inner knuc's,, it will be on a HPd44 housing!!!! What are u runnin up front??

And yes, caster will be checked.

As Kastein said, (it will help dampen oscillations a bit)THATS WHAT I WANT 2 DO!!

kastein said:

all the stabilizer can do is dampen oscillations, it's not really going to fix wandering IMO. The only thing that will fix that is correcting your camber - as far as I know.

Click to expand...

Questin for ya,, when u say it will help dampen oscillations,,vibs,,wandering,,wobble wobble,, this is the "bandaide im LOOKING FOR!! Seriously if i throw one on the drag link, & "MAYBE" another one on the tie rod......
shouldnt that make the steering stiffer & would also help with the ON-ROAD Drive????

Im sorry i keep askin the same question, BUT the "alignment" will only help a bit,, & THATS BECAUSE 3 to 4 years of wheelin my XJ has taken its toll! But de-moddin my XJ 4 the street was never part of the plan!!

GOOD maitnence means GOOD results!! PICS NEXT....

RCP Phx said:

Definately post pics of your draglink/steering,its probably not right.With that lift you NEED drop brackets or long arms,no way around it!

Click to expand...

x2 on drop brackets.

Philprof said:

x2 on drop brackets.

Click to expand...

MY XJ WILL NEVER SEE DROP BRACKETS, EVER!! Do u understand me??

Untill i have the loot for longarms, shes a "mall crawler"!!

Rockkrawler has a 3 link & 4 link high clearance longarm kit for the XJ!!

LAST,, can u guys DROP the alignment replies PLEASE?? IT WILL BE DONE!!

Senior XJ, lets see some pics of the steering setup you have. I have been thinking of jumping up to 35's myself and have been worring about my steering as well.

Bill

Yelling at people that are giving advice that you requested is pretty funny.

Let me be the tenth person to tell you that a stabilizer will not help with the wander.

You sound like you know your rig pretty well, what is the caster currently?

6.5" on short arms, ouch. I remember doing that for a while.

Good Luck-