steering stabilizer with crossover steering, needed or not?

Ok, as some of you know, I'm running the U-Turn steering kit from OffRoadOnly on my XJ. I got an early production model and they didn't have their steering stabilizer mounts ready, so I spent probably the first 6 weeks with the kit without an SS. It drove just fine though. No wobbles or vibrations, it tracks better than our Denali, doesn't wander... and I put about 45-50 miles a day on my rig driving to and from work, mostly on the highway.

So a couple of weeks ago ORO gets their SS mounts ready and ships them out to all their customers, and I installed my old Skyjacker SS on there. Well, the ONLY difference I can tell is the steering wheel feels stiffer, and I actually kind of preferred it w/o the SS...

So my question is, assuming the steering is setup really well, are there any real reasons to keep the steering stabilizer on? Like any safety-related reasons I may not be thinking of? Because based on how well it handled without the stabilizer, I can't think of any reasons to keep it on...

jason, i'm running the WJ steering & brake parts and haven't had the steering stabilizer on since I installed everything over 6 months ago. personally, i don't see any reason to re-install it unless you're having trouble with the steering wheel being jerked out of your hands while off-road or you regularly drive on really bad pavement. my 2 cents

so if there is kind of a blank spot in my steering that mean I have a bad ss ? , what i mean is my steering is fine but when i turn the wheel to the right its like for about an inch it does nothing , its kind of scary cause the turn ends up being alot sharper then i wanted because all of a sudden I have to crank the wheel , im talking about on road

lickdj said:

so if there is kind of a blank spot in my steering that mean I have a bad ss ? , what i mean is my steering is fine but when i turn the wheel to the right its like for about an inch it does nothing , its kind of scary cause the turn ends up being alot sharper then i wanted because all of a sudden I have to crank the wheel , im talking about on road

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No, your SS would have no bearing on that. Sounds to me like you've got some worn out tierod ends or something worn out in your steering box.

Shoot , i was acctually really hoping that it was the SS since im replacing it soon anyways. I just had all new tie rod ends and ball joints done about a month ago so im really hoping thats not it.

I don't have one, and it's never been needed.

I'd base the decision on how well the steering handles single wheel impacts such as pot holes and diagonal expansion joints at the dreaded 50 MPH zone.

With a properly damped suspension you shouldn't feel more than one initial oscillation followed by a very few minor decaying oscillations at the steering wheel. If you're getting a fair amount of shake and shudder following the impact, I'd put one on for peace of mind, if nothing else.

Jason,

Im assuming That your still running that U-Turn high steer kit. Were there any modifications you had to do, such as relocating the track bar or grinding off sway bar attachment points?

I havent used a SS since I installed my WJ parts over a year ago, maybe 2 years... its all a blur.

No issues and no intention on installing one.

fdsa487 said:

Jason,

Im assuming That your still running that U-Turn high steer kit. Were there any modifications you had to do, such as relocating the track bar or grinding off sway bar attachment points?

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No, none of that is required for the U-Turn kit. Being completely bolt-on with no other required mods is part of the whole point in the U-Turn kit. See my review of it on Jeepin.com.

Jeepin Jason said:

...any safety-related reasons I may not be thinking of? ...

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Just keep your fingers and thumbs out of the spokes of the steering wheel

After the WJ swap, I don't have a SS either and so far, don't miss it.

Jeepin Jason said:

No, your SS would have no bearing on that. Sounds to me like you've got some worn out tierod ends or something worn out in your steering box.

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My old Dodge has an adjustment nut for steering wheel play which I can adjust out all or part of the play. Does Jeeps have this?

Jeepin Jason said:

No, none of that is required for the U-Turn kit. Being completely bolt-on with no other required mods is part of the whole point in the U-Turn kit. See my review of it on Jeepin.com.

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But... lets say you have 4.5-5" of lift (D30) and a Rubicon Express heavy duty track bar with drop bracket the track bar will not be parallel with the drag link so would this actually cause you steering to be worse?

i have 6 inch coils ,the u turn and re track bar with drop bracket and brace,u turn says to run a 1 inch pitman drop.i dont have the pitman drop and i dont have bump steer.