loose steering

Recently installed a 3" skyjacker lift kit and suddenly I have a lot more free play in my steering wheel although I am still running the stock 225 tires. Put new ball joints in 6 months ago and evevything is torqed to spec on the lift kit yet the steering feels loose and unstable. Is this normal???

Did you have it realigned?

Like the man said alignment and have a close look at the trac bar. Maybe a little of this and a little of that, all adds up.

New LCA's came with the lift kit,caster measured the same after the lift. new ball joints, camber almost 0 degrees. Toe in went from 1/4" to around 1/2", which is to much but will set back when I get my 31's. Used a track bar drop bracket to bring trackbar parallel with drag link, no bump steer, rides nice and smooth at all speeds. Have also adjusted free play in steering yet steering still feels loose. What have I missed here????

If your track bar drop bracket isn´t wobbly, (doesn't move when you turn the steering), check the Modified forum.

1/2" toe in is just too much. I'm surprised you say it rides nice and smooth. Anyway, I suggest you don't wait to adjust it since it's a simple job that can be done in just a few minutes.

As for the loose steering, I don't know. It could be that you need an adjustable track bar. 3-4" seems to be the threshold. When I had a 3" lift, not having an adjustable track bar didn't cause loose steering on my rig. But as is with anything, YMMV.

What does YMMV mean? I'll check into an adjustable track bar.

Did you replace your steering stabilizer? New one might help out, but this is just my two pennies........

Sreering stablizer is a new NAPA factory replacement.

I drive mostly stock or near stock. But most times I´ve had wander, it was alignment or a combination of aligment and a tired ball in the trac bar. Most times I´ve had loose steering (play in the steering wheel), most of it was a tired ball in the trac bar. But a little play throughout the system, a little play in the pitman ball, drag link or the tie rod ends, adds up.
Had one XJ, the end of the drag link would rotate on the ball (or whatever it´s called), when turning the steering wheel a little, always figured, something was a little bent, acted a little like loose steering (along with some other loose pieces).
When the ball in the trac bar moves, very little (or the frame mount moves), the front end shifts, acts like loose steering.
I´ve got my XJ set up with 3 deg. positive camber, sucker runs any speed stable as a rock (doesn´t really make much difference how loose my front end parts are). Probably a little more than 3 deg now, it´s about time for a new set of ball joints. Tire wear with the positive camber, isn´t really noticeable, tendancy for the outside edge of the tire, to wear more than the center or inside with "0" camber, is kind of offset by the positive camber, regular rotation takes care of the rest.
Bad side of the camber change was, that at near full turn, I have a tendancy to drag a tire a little more than normal, geometry/alignment/caster changes a bit. Caster action or self centering of the steering wheel actually seems to be better.
Getting windy, but one buddy was complaining of loose steering, steering box was mostly seperated from the frame. Had some serious frame cracks.

rws said:

What does YMMV mean? I'll check into an adjustable track bar.

Click to expand...

Your Mileage May Vary. Used here, it's another way of saying that some people's rigs do just fine with a 3" lift and stock track bar, while others may experience problems. No two XJs are the same.