SanDiegoXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Diego, CA
I'm having this funky issue with my steering I cannot seem to isolate.
I'll to my best to explain, but it's a bit hard to describe.
At certain points while turning the steering wheel, it seems to kind of jump a bit. By that, it's almost as if a u-joint is working at a very steep angle and at some point it begins to bind up, but once turned beyond that friction point, it again moves easily.
Now, I've had someone turn the wheel forcing it to "jump" back and forth, and while I can feel the steering jump while holding onto the tie rod, I cannot find out where the loose or faulty part is. I have checked the tie rod ends as well as the u-joints in the steering shaft and can find nothing loose. I've watched the steering knuckle near the ball joints and can see no movement. There does not appear to be any play in the steering that I can see either. I've also watched the steering box to see if it was moving on a broken aluminum spacer and can see no movement at all, and there are no cracks on the external side of the unibody where I have traditionally seen loose steering boxes do damage.
I also cannot recall when the issue started.
As for history of the vehicles steering problems, I did put on a JCR steering system a while back that was used and had to retighten all the tie rods in an effort to eliminate a death wobble issue. The steering box was also adjusted per the FSM. And a passenger axle broke separating the top ball joint on the passenger side which still has yet to be replaced. The vehicle also has no steering stabilizer. And while tightening tie rods and inserting new poly spacers did help in reducing the death wobble...given the correct conditions, it still continues to happen. I should also mention that the steering seems exceptionally easy to turn and at times can be a little concerning when taking on/off ramps at speed.
However, it seems, with the exception of perhaps the steering box being incorrectly adjusted, that I should be able to detect some movement from a faulty tie rod/ball joint/u-joint.
I was about to go and invest money in a new steering box, but I figured maybe someone here had encountered a similar issue and might be able to shed some light if I'm looking in entirely the wrong direction.
Thanx in advance for any insight you might be able to provide.
I'll to my best to explain, but it's a bit hard to describe.
At certain points while turning the steering wheel, it seems to kind of jump a bit. By that, it's almost as if a u-joint is working at a very steep angle and at some point it begins to bind up, but once turned beyond that friction point, it again moves easily.
Now, I've had someone turn the wheel forcing it to "jump" back and forth, and while I can feel the steering jump while holding onto the tie rod, I cannot find out where the loose or faulty part is. I have checked the tie rod ends as well as the u-joints in the steering shaft and can find nothing loose. I've watched the steering knuckle near the ball joints and can see no movement. There does not appear to be any play in the steering that I can see either. I've also watched the steering box to see if it was moving on a broken aluminum spacer and can see no movement at all, and there are no cracks on the external side of the unibody where I have traditionally seen loose steering boxes do damage.
I also cannot recall when the issue started.
As for history of the vehicles steering problems, I did put on a JCR steering system a while back that was used and had to retighten all the tie rods in an effort to eliminate a death wobble issue. The steering box was also adjusted per the FSM. And a passenger axle broke separating the top ball joint on the passenger side which still has yet to be replaced. The vehicle also has no steering stabilizer. And while tightening tie rods and inserting new poly spacers did help in reducing the death wobble...given the correct conditions, it still continues to happen. I should also mention that the steering seems exceptionally easy to turn and at times can be a little concerning when taking on/off ramps at speed.
However, it seems, with the exception of perhaps the steering box being incorrectly adjusted, that I should be able to detect some movement from a faulty tie rod/ball joint/u-joint.
I was about to go and invest money in a new steering box, but I figured maybe someone here had encountered a similar issue and might be able to shed some light if I'm looking in entirely the wrong direction.
Thanx in advance for any insight you might be able to provide.
