Out of ideas and replaced most components.....

Bad Judgement JKU

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Joined
Sep 29, 2022
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13
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Illinois
After owning my 92 YJ for awhile we decided to pick up a 2010 JKU sport for my daily back in May. Life was good. Had a new 2.5 RC lift on it and new wheels with 33s. Drove great for the first few months, no bad habits and highway driving was fine. After a short wheeling adventure it was still great on the road but discovered the U joints were bad in the front end. Not a big deal until it lead to new hub assemblies as well. Also replaced ball joints, tie rods and the drag link along with the steering stabilizer. Took it in for an alignment and now it darts all over the highway and the traction control has kicked in multiple times. Never had the issues before the new parts and I finally caved and took it to a shop to verify none of them were bad. Track bars appear to be solid as well. Tires were rotated, lowered the psi from 45 to 35 and still giving me fits. Even corrected the sway bar angles with new links. So......new hubs, ball joints, drag link, tie rods, stabilizer, 2 alignments, rotation( tires have approximately 4k miles and balanced) end links and still no joy. I have put about 800 miles hoping it might just need to settle in but it appears to be getting worse.
 
The common issue with the TC coming on is the steering wheel not centered.

Have you done the chalk test on your tires to see if maybe there is still to much air in the tires?
 
Sweet spot was 32 to 35 psi on the chalk test.( Grand daughter enjoyed "coloring" my tires for me) This thing is driving me nuts at this point and hitting me in the wallet worse than the YJ ever thought about.
 
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I'd air the tires down closer to 28-20 and check your front axle & steering wheel to ensure everything is centered.
The steering angle sensor is what trips the traction control light.
 
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I was going to air down more today and try it again.....as far as the axle it appears centered and no side to side movement at the track bar when wheels are turned back and forth. Steering wheel is straight too
 
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Aired down further and same results. Found my old gopro and going to mount it under the jeep to see what's going on while driving once it charges up. The old YJ is probably going to be getting more road time until this thing gets figured out
 
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Also tire size and type can cause bad handling/steering issues. Tall skinny are better than real wide
 
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I don't remember off hand but it could have been better. Drove fine before I tightened up the front end with new parts. Looking at LCA's still trying to convince myself to spend more money in hopes that it fixes the issue lol....wife wants to put "money pit" on the hood already
 
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And as far as tires go you are right on the money. My yj has narrow 31s and drives straight as an arrow with zero bad habits....the 33s on my old truck made you earn it
 
In my opinion when u start lifting a Jeep and monkeying with the suspension parts u are gonna have issues. Gotta ask yourself if it’s worth it
 
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What's your caster set at.
This is my vote as well. If all wear components are truly new then it has to be the alignment. Darting is a more common characteristic of caster or worn joints/bushings. Wandering is tires generally.

How much slop is in the steering wheel as well? Maybe an issue with a worn/loose steering box? Forcing you to over compensate?
 
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This is my vote as well. If all wear components are truly new then it has to be the alignment. Darting is a more common characteristic of caster or worn joints/bushings. Wandering is tires generally.

How much slop is in the steering wheel as well? Maybe an issue with a worn/loose steering box? Forcing you to over compensate?

This is my vote as well. If all wear components are truly new then it has to be the alignment. Darting is a more common characteristic of caster or worn joints/bushings. Wandering is tires generally.

How much slop is in the steering wheel as well? Maybe an issue with a worn/loose steering box? Forcing you to over compensate?
No slop in the steering wheel surprisingly. Broke down and ordered adjustable lower control arms earlier tonight.
 
I sort of chuckle at the idea of airing down to help with darting. I get that we get desperate when we try what seems like everything and it doesn't resolve the issue.

Does it feel like your uncontrollably moving to the right or left, as if you where in a floating boat on waves at highway speeds? Especially when the road sort of has smooth highs and lows?

2 cent EDIT: unless your YJ is a manual, you travel often with kids and or it has no AC, I think the YJ is more reliable. And tougher too. Plus cheaper and easier to fix. One exception to daily driving is if it carborated.
 
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I sort of chuckle at the idea of airing down to help with darting. I get that we get desperate when we try what seems like everything and it doesn't resolve the issue.

Does it feel like your uncontrollably moving to the right or left, as if you where in a floating boat on waves at highway speeds? Especially when the road sort of has smooth highs and lows?

2 cent EDIT: unless your YJ is a manual, you travel often with kids and or it has no AC, I think the YJ is more reliable. And tougher too. Plus cheaper and easier to fix. One exception to daily driving is if it carborated.

No shaking or feedback in the steering wheel usually, just decides to try and change lanes. And the yj is definitely more reliable. I'd drive it anywhere. Not sure what you have against manuals but I bought it because it was a 4.0 with a 5 speed lol
 
No slop in the steering wheel surprisingly. Broke down and ordered adjustable lower control arms earlier tonight.
A couple guys mentioned caster .
It's the first thing that popped into my head
after you mentioned changed just about evrything
up front .
What did your alignment print out read for Caster?
You want to have 4.5 degrees of caster .
A couple degrees more or below would cause
a problem like your describing .
Adjustable control arms will make it possible
to dial in caster . If running factory control arms
with a 2 1/2" lift it will be a mess .
It would be really useful
if we knew what caster was.
 
In my opinion when u start lifting a Jeep and monkeying with the suspension parts u are gonna have issues. Gotta ask yourself if it’s worth it
Lifts can be beneficial if done correctly . Unfortunately many are not and land on here asking questions .
I think what happens
Guy buys a Jeep
Lifts it and puts on bigger
tires without doing any
significant research into
geometry and proper good quality components .
That is when the problems start . We’ve all read similar threads like this before .
I preach geometry cause with that solid front axle it’s a must to have caster bang on .
It’s a must to have track bar &
drag link parallel .
You get those two things right when doing a mod shouldn’t have any issues unless something else is worn out or faulty .
 
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A couple guys mentioned caster .
It's the first thing that popped into my head
after you mentioned changed just about evrything
up front .
What did your alignment print out read for Caster?
You want to have 4.5 degrees of caster .
A couple degrees more or below would cause
a problem like your describing .
Adjustable control arms will make it possible
to dial in caster . If running factory control arms
with a 2 1/2" lift it will be a mess .
It would be really useful
if we knew what caster was.
It drove great when I bought it earlier this year so when things started escalating control arms were the last thing on the list. Even swapped wheels and tires for a few days to see if it was an issue with them.
 
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Lifts can be beneficial if done correctly . Unfortunately many are not and land on here asking questions .
I think what happens
Guy buys a Jeep
Lifts it and puts on bigger
tires without doing any
significant research into
geometry and proper good quality components .
That is when the problems start . We’ve all read similar threads like this before .
I preach geometry cause with that solid front axle it’s a must to have caster bang on .
It’s a must to have track bar &
drag link parallel .
You get those two things right when doing a mod shouldn’t have any issues unless something else is worn out or faulty .
Of all the jeeps I've owned this is the first (and last) one that was lifted by someone else prior to me buying it. My last xj I built was on 33s with about 4 inches of lift and was steadier than the new gladiator I test drove last year. Couple guys at work are running similar setups to mine on their jks without issues and as I mentioned, mine drove great at first. Time will tell with theirs
 
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