Slop in steering and dead zone

[CdnJeeper]

Hi all, my jeep can be a little hairy to drive on the highway. It wonders within the lane and at all times has a dead spot in the steering between 11 and 1. I have to keep constant attention on my position within the lane. No shakes, vibrations, death wobble etc.

I've had two mechanics look at it and one said the drivers ball joint boot is torn and should be replaced however both said the front end feels tight and solid.

Any suggestions on what I should do or check?

99 XJ classic, bone stock, 221,800 miles.
Cheers.

[XJ Wheeler]

At over 200,000 that steering gearbox is probably getting a little loose. You can adjust it to tighten up the slack. Just don't over tighten it, that's worse than it being loose.

[GrumpysMJ]

Had the same problem with my recently purchased 88 Comanche, base 2 wheel drive, manual steering, stock. Replaced the steering box which took care of 80% of the problem. New track bar took care of another 10%. When I took the original track bar off, found that the ball end that attaches to frame was so bad it literally fell apart. Yesterday, replaced the steering damper and the stock/original front sway bar bushings and end link rubber. Now it's almost back to no wander at all. Ball joints and tie rod ends are still good, so the only thing I'm going to replace next are the lower control arms. which also look to be original/stock.
Your Jeep has 50,000 more miles than mine, and if a lot of your suspension is original, I suspect a lot of your rubber bushings are like mine, shot. New parts aren't to expensive, and easy to install.
GrumpysMJ

[4.3LXJ]

The most common cause for this is a worn steering box. To determine if this is the case, remove your efan and have someone saw the steering wheel back and forth. If the pitman arm does not immediately move when the sector shaft rotates, then it needs to be adjusted. It takes an allen wrench and box end wrench. Loosen the lock nut and turn the allen screw in until the box is tight, but not so tight so as to have resistance to turning the sector shaft. As mentioned check the trac bar for a bad bushing or ball joint

[CdnJeeper]

Thank you for the quick replies. I'll try to find a box from the wreckers (less miles than mine) . I've already replaced one broken sway bar link and a seized steering dampener. I will likely replace the other link and track bar as the joint side is hidden by a thick layer of grease. I assume both are original.

[4.3LXJ]

You may still need to adjust the new box.

[nickyg]

You may still need to adjust the new box.

Do you mean adjust a used one from a JY? Do you need to adjust a new one right out of the box? Just Curious A steering box swap /upgrade is in my near future.

[denverd1]

bought a remanufactured box instead of JY model. I still need to tighten mine up. My old box was leaking like b***h on nickel night. New one doesn't leak but is too loose. Steve's got the magic

[4.3LXJ]

Do you mean adjust a used one from a JY? Do you need to adjust a new one right out of the box? Just Curious A steering box swap /upgrade is in my near future.

I had to adjust my new AGR box

[CdnJeeper]

The most common cause for this is a worn steering box. To determine if this is the case, remove your efan and have someone saw the steering wheel back and forth. If the pitman arm does not immediately move when the sector shaft rotates, then it needs to be adjusted. It takes an allen wrench and box end wrench. Loosen the lock nut and turn the allen screw in until the box is tight, but not so tight so as to have resistance to turning the sector shaft. As mentioned check the trac bar for a bad bushing or ball joint

I just had a friend rotate the steering wheel from left to right (engine off key in) and from 11 to 1 the shaft moved but the pitman arm did not move until the steering wheel reached the 1 oclock position. Same in reverse, from 1 back to 11 the shaft moved but the pitman did not move until 11 oclock.

Myself and two shops cannot find any play in the front end so unless it's a bad track bar joint or bushing I am leaning towards the box.

I will tighten the box next week when I have a free day and post back with my results. Thanks again for the assistance.

[bluedragon436]

Might have to try tightening my gear box up some... as I have a little bit of play like that too...

http://youtu.be/gAD0ugRQNek

[denverd1]

Might have to try tightening my gear box up some... as I have a little bit of play like that too...

http://youtu.be/gAD0ugRQNek

Bingo

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[bluedragon436]

Although I plan on replacing mine with a Dango box anyways... but for now at least hopefully it'll tighten up the current steering setup... and may need to use the same thing on the Dango box too... If it wasn't already getting dark I'd go out and hit this p now...

[4.3LXJ]

This is one of those repairs that costs nothing

[CdnJeeper]

update!

I swapped out the old sway bar bushings as the bar had a lot of wiggle room. As I was under there I pushed up on the drag link for some leverage and it moved up. Sure enough I look over and the inner tie rod to drag link was moving 1/4" up and down.

Today I swapped out the entire drag link, sleeve and inner tie rod. What a difference! This eliminated 75%+ of my steering wheel play and it handles far better. Unfortunately the alignment seems to be out (steering wheel aims left when the jeep drives straight) and the front passenger wheel has a bit of toe out when the steering wheel is centered.

I think I should replace the other tie rod ends before I tighten the steering box. After I'll get an alignment done and if all of that doesn't correct the issue I will tighten the steering box.

Anything else I should be thinking of?

[4.3LXJ]

Sounds like you just about have it licked

[CdnJeeper]

Sounds like you just about have it licked

Thanks! It is a work in progress and even more so after today. A local shop repaired a nail in one of my tires but didn't tighten the lug nuts. The tire fell off while driving and the back end of the jeep slammed into the ground. Fantastic start to my morning, the shop is taking care of everything thus far but we will see what happens.

[4.3LXJ]

Oh great. Brakes messed up?

[XJ Wheeler]

Yep, had a shop leave off several lug nuts before, and the others weren't tight. Thats why i always give them a twist if anybody but me has touched em.

[CdnJeeper]

Update!

I have been doing more work to the front end. I've replaced the entire track bar and I've purchased the driver inner and outer tie rods (not install yet).

I cannot say I noticed a huge steering difference with the new track back except it has noticeably reduced the amount of sway I had on the highway. All of the joints on my front end had a lot of play and it is nice to have tight steering again.

After these tie rods are installed front shocks will be next on my list. I don't think mine are terrible but they are very old and have more rust than paint. Again, failing all of this I will tighten the steering box as I am almost certain there is play in it.

More to come as it progresses.

[Azzy]

Another thing to look for is the steering box mount and the unirail there. They like to crack. Usually that comes with some popping.

Ive had 3 steering boxes go bad, and were well past adjustment. My current one has no more adjustment, and I have from 12-1 free play. Not the end of the world, but less than stellar. (both replacements were junkyard pulls)