Steering Slop!!!

[XJ4IV]

What causes steering slop? I recently have been having issues with my steering being VERY sloppy, I DID have a bent tie rod but I straightened it out perfectly AND I aligned the jeep again and measured to 1/8 accurate. soooo HERE is what I have to deal with I grab the steering wheel at idle and I rotate from 12:00 position to 1:00 position when I ROTATE it there becomes NORMAL tension then a little releaseand then back to normal as I keep steering past 1:00... when I return back to 12:00 position it does the same thing... this ONLY happens on the same rotation meaning when I do a full rotation it doesnt do it the second time in that 12:00 position.
Now that being said ALSO another thing that is occuring is
my jeep feels like its drifting... no not like fast n furious but like when your old man was telling you while teaching you how to drive anyhow when I go to correct the steer I have to way over steer it to get it to come back:
Picture this im heading onto a cloverleaf turn as such
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8t3iQBP5Hiy6bucKL6iOG6-WfwaJUOJLJZWTrD3HubOPe-delCg
when I head into the turn most folks would slow to about 25MAYBE 30 MPH of which is avg for myself as well however when the normal 25-30 MPH turn in this figure would normal have your wheel turned to about the 3:00 position mine would go to around the 5:00 position. and when straightening out instead of coming BACK to the 12:00 to go straight I have to over-compensate to about 11:00positionand let it ride out for a few seconds to where it would eventually come back to the 12:00 position....
my question is SUP WIT DAT YO???:smiley-scared002:See this guy?:driving:My jeep has THAT much SLOP with no response in the steering...

[bluedragon436]

I would say check all your bushings and such especially on that tie rod if it was bent... another thing I was thinking about is the tie rod ends... might be worn out... since it was bent might have stressed them a bit too much...

[Mudderoy]

Mine, and bigjim350's I believe, was a small amount of play in the pitman arm. It had to be re-tightened. I replaced mine. Not sure what Jim had done to his prior. I noticed mine while driving straight. I would turn the wheel 10 degrees(?) left or right and no noticible steering change.

[OrangeXJ]

Check your gear box and the knuckles on the stering shaft.

[msmoorenburg]

If everything else is tight read this its the issue


http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/steering_box_adjust.htm

[Mudderoy]

If everything else is tight read this its the issue


http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/steering_box_adjust.htm

Oh I forgot about that adjustment.

[4.3LXJ]

If it has never been done, that is the first thing I would check. Get a buddy to turn the steering wheel back and forth while you check underneath for things that move that shouldn't and look down at the steering box and see how long it takes the pitman arm to start moving when the sector shaft is rotated.

[Mudderoy]

If it has never been done, that is the first thing I would check. Get a buddy to turn the steering wheel back and forth while you check underneath for things that move that shouldn't and look down at the steering box and see how long it takes the pitman arm to start moving when the sector shaft is rotated.

What for extremely small amounts of movement on the pitman arm. A 16th of an inch was all mine was moving.

[4.3LXJ]

Tony

When you turn the wheel, the pitman arm should move immediately. Unless you are only moving the wheel a very little, you should get more than 1/16"

[Mudderoy]

Tony

When you turn the wheel, the pitman arm should move immediately. Unless you are only moving the wheel a very little, you should get more than 1/16"

Poor description on my part. It was moving down the shaft on the front of the shaft, or up the shaft on the back (looking at the pitman arm from the front of the jeep). That small 1/16th of an inch movement was being amplified causing a 10 degree dead spot on my steering wheel.

[4.3LXJ]

OK, I get it now.

[XJ4IV]

well the good news is I found out what was causing this... the bad news is I am not going to worry about it until my new axles are in place...
My lower track bar bolt has wallowed out AGAIN... this is my second hole I drilled... I suppose I can just get a larger bolt? but like I said that all has to change anyhow on the 60's!!!

[modestmar00xj]

good write up! cause i was kinda having the same issue with my jeep steering but very soon im going to upgrade to the one-ton steering. i think my 6.5 lift with 35" is too much for the stock Y steering set-up.

[4.3LXJ]

Yup, too much for it. It needs some beef

[PolarXJ]

If it has never been done, that is the first thing I would check. Get a buddy to turn the steering wheel back and forth while you check underneath for things that move that shouldn't and look down at the steering box and see how long it takes the pitman arm to start moving when the sector shaft is rotated.

x2
Sometimes its not very obvious, don't forget to look at the frame where the gear box mounts to. Torn frame or loose gear bolt are some times over looked. Also check the pit arm regularly if you have replaced it. My BIL had loose steering, we decided to check it out before our next Moab trip. Well the nut as a turn and a half from letting the pit arm drop. :eek: that would have sucked on the way down if that dropped. :smiley-gen165: