bobinyelm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Waxahachie, TX
Late XJs are known for having "stiff" steering due to extra friction engineered into the steering boxes, supposedly to give Cherokees a "solid" feel. To me it makes the XJ feel "dead." My 2001 XJ suffered from WAY too much friction to where when I got it a couple of years ago, it wouldn't self center after a turn.
I prefer the earlier feel like my '96 XJ had due to the ease of which the steering wheel self-centered and the way it made the vehicle feel "alive."
I backed off on the box adjustment on my '01 to the maximum possible w/o inducing any play in the wheel, and while this reduced the friction considerably, it's still hardly as free and frictionless as the earlier boxes. I put up w/ this for a while now, and I now want it "right" because I just drove my old XJ today and it is SO much nicer than even my re-adjusted '01.
Anyone have a fix w/o replacing the box?
Failing that, what year did they start installing these new boxes?
Some suppliers show the same part # for all year XJs, while one box re-builder said they could "rebuild" a box to meet either standard, though he didn't know which years had what.
I would possibly consider installing a used box if I knew what years to avoid.
Bob
I prefer the earlier feel like my '96 XJ had due to the ease of which the steering wheel self-centered and the way it made the vehicle feel "alive."
I backed off on the box adjustment on my '01 to the maximum possible w/o inducing any play in the wheel, and while this reduced the friction considerably, it's still hardly as free and frictionless as the earlier boxes. I put up w/ this for a while now, and I now want it "right" because I just drove my old XJ today and it is SO much nicer than even my re-adjusted '01.
Anyone have a fix w/o replacing the box?
Failing that, what year did they start installing these new boxes?
Some suppliers show the same part # for all year XJs, while one box re-builder said they could "rebuild" a box to meet either standard, though he didn't know which years had what.
I would possibly consider installing a used box if I knew what years to avoid.
Bob
Last edited: