Steering Box Good or Bad

To start off with I'll aplogize for the long post. But here is the story.

I have a 98 XJ with a 6.5" lift, Adjustable Control Arms, Drop Pitman Arm, 33" Tires, Tera Flex Hight Steer Kit, Stock HP30, Steering Box Brace, Steering Stabalizer.

Just went thru and replace all my bushings and re-torque everything on the front end. Replace all 4 ball joints. Measured out the lower control arm lengths and they measured the same. Measured the Toe-In to be at 1/4". So I have basically replace or fixed everything that is attached to the frontaxle that could give me anytype of problems.

The problem that I use to have was a horrible case of the death wobbles. That issue was fixed when I replaced all the bushings. But know the issue is that it likes to steer on its own. It wonders around like if I was coming home from the bar and had a few to many.

I have been reading up on this exact same type of problem and read on this forum somewere that on top of the steering box there is an-adjuster, if out of wack the steering would have these same type of issues.

Does anyone now if this would be another plausable fix and if so can someone please send out a more detailed write up on how to go about with it?

At this point I am completly out of ideas, besides getting a hole new steering box and hoses, but I dont feel like dumping money on the heep right now.

Thanks

Adjusting the steering box is not for beginners and definately not to be done on the rig.

In all my years of working on XJ's, I have never seen a steering box adjustment be the problem.

Have you checked out the track bar bracket mounting? The steering box mounting? Checked that none of the mounting holes are wallowed out and oversized?

As has been covered a hundred or more times on here, there is one way to really troubleshoot this. You need to get someone to rock the steering wheel back and forth while you crawl under the rig and feel each joint while this is being done. I have yet to run into a case where this would not allow me to find the culprit.

old_man said:

Adjusting the steering box is not for beginners and definately not to be done on the rig.

In all my years of working on XJ's, I have never seen a steering box adjustment be the problem.

Have you checked out the track bar bracket mounting? The steering box mounting? Checked that none of the mounting holes are wallowed out and oversized?

As has been covered a hundred or more times on here, there is one way to really troubleshoot this. You need to get someone to rock the steering wheel back and forth while you crawl under the rig and feel each joint while this is being done. I have yet to run into a case where this would not allow me to find the culprit.

Click to expand...

Yea I was starting to get pissed off when writting up the thread so my mind was going blank with all the things I have checked and fixed. So yes the track bar mounts, both ends are good, the holes that were wallowed out were fixed maybe 2,000 miles ago. I do need to do the old school method and get underneath there while someone tunrs the wheel. I'll give it a shot this weekend espicially after welding and installing air bags on my friends truck and rig all weeekend. I don't think the thirty pack and pizza covered the cost :laugh:.

You say that its not to be done on a rig. Why is that? Does it detroy the box if done wrong or what? And just for the record this isn't my first rodeo.

If done wrong, when it heats up your steering could freeze and you could wake up dead.

I didn't see an alignment in your OP. Toe-in isn't the only alignment setting. Caster can definately make it "wander" like you've described.

As far as I know (and I'm no mechanic), the adjuster on the steering box sets pre-load, doesn't really fix a wandering problem.

I'd suggest a professional alignment as the next step...probably worth the $$.

With a 6.5" lift and a wandering problem I would be looking at caster. You need to figure out what yours is. I believe GoJeep has a decent write-up on DIY alignment, or take it to a shop. If you find your caster is way out of spec, you can dial some back in with your adjustable arms but it will also lower your pinion angle, possible creating driveline vibes. At that point you either can find a livable point of compromise between vibes and bad steering, or reweld the inner knuckles to the axle tube at an angle that gives you the best of both worlds.

The steering lash adjustment isn't all that hard to do, but properly, it should be done by measuring relative torque on and off center, and only after adjusting the input shaft preload, and empty of fluid. If you do it on the vehicle, it's a risky proposition, and Old Man's cautions apply. If it binds while driving, you're toast.

Before you think much about adjusting steering lash you should check the side play in the pitman shaft. On my Jeeps that's always gotten bad long before anything went wrong with the gears, and slop there can cause plenty of lost motion in the steering.

Get someone to wiggle the steering wheel slowly back and forth while you observe at the bottom. If there's side play in the pitman shaft you'll see it pick that up before it starts to move the drag link. If you're alone, you can even see it pretty well if you reach up and wiggle the bottom U-joint on the steering shaft (engine off).

The adjuster on top is for center preload, and the only way it will affect wandering is if its overly tight.

If you need to fix slop you have to replace or rebuild the gear box

Caster, caster, caster....

x100 on the Caster.


Don't mess with the steering box for this one.


Check this out... will tell you all about your caster adjustment...

http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoAlignment.htm

Okay i'll take your guys word with regards to not adjusting the Gear Box. I'll be doing the crawl and look method on Sunday as well as measure the caster and if the caster is out of wack i'll realign it.

Crap I've now only got two more weeks to get it figured out untill my week long 4X4 trip up in the Sierra Nevada Hills. Gotta get this DONE.

98XJLongBuild said:

Okay i'll take your guys word with regards to not adjusting the Gear Box. I'll be doing the crawl and look method on Sunday as well as measure the caster and if the caster is out of wack i'll realign it.

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Not sure what the crawl and look method is... but I can imagine.


I would be willing to bet it you adjusted your caster forward just a bit that you will notice a difference. I started by moving my LCAs as far foward as I could get them (you'll need to find or make some shims/spacers). I moved them only about 1/2"-3/4", and the difference was like night and day.

Making the spacers took the longest... otherwise it's a 30 minute job.

ocean_jet said:

Not sure what the crawl and look method is... but I can imagine.


I would be willing to bet it you adjusted your caster forward just a bit that you will notice a difference. I started by moving my LCAs as far foward as I could get them (you'll need to find or make some shims/spacers). I moved them only about 1/2"-3/4", and the difference was like night and day.

Making the spacers took the longest... otherwise it's a 30 minute job.

Click to expand...

When you say to move the "Caster Forward" do you that the top of the pumkin needs to be tilted forward or toward the rear. If you move it forward that would be a positive caster adjustment right, and tilting it towards the rear would be a negative caster adjusment right.

98XJLongBuild said:

When you say to move the "Caster Forward" do you that the top of the pumkin needs to be tilted forward or toward the rear. If you move it forward that would be a positive caster adjustment right, and tilting it towards the rear would be a negative caster adjusment right.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I always get confused as to which is positive and which is negative.

For me, adding the spacers in the lower control arm mounts, which pushes the bottom of the axle forward, and the top of the pumpkin backward (toward the back of the truck) completely fixed my wandering steering.

From the go-jeep site:

casters off.