Wandering steering on my 2011 JK Rubicon

[Jeep_Apnea]

I live in Little Rock Arkansas. I bought my jeep with "I think" a 3" lift. The jeep travels all over the road even if the road is smooth with no rutts. I have had three tire and suspension mechanics look at it and drive it. None could figure out why it is driving like it is. I have had the ball joints, tie rods, steering box, front end alignment, caster alignment done to the Jeep. Does anyone know of a 4x4 suspension specialist in central Arkansas that I could take it to. Or any other suggestions?
Thanks

 

[BLACKJKU]

Have you checked to see if your axles are centered under the Jeep?

What tire pressure do you have in the tires?

 

[Jeep_Apnea]

Have you checked to see if your axles are centered under the Jeep?

What tire pressure do you have in the tires?

Thank you BLACKJKU.
No, I have not checked the axles yet. I will add that to my list to get checked out.
My tire pressure is 36 psi. I have tried running my pressure at 32 and 38 but neither made a difference.

 

[Dirty Dog]

My tire pressure is 36 psi. I have tried running my pressure at 32 and 38 but neither made a difference.

That is probably part (or all) of the problem.

Recommended tire pressures as listed are for tires under maximum load. That will rarely, if ever, happen with a Wrangler. As a result, the listed tire pressures are too high. Driving around on rock hard tires will do Bad Things to handling. Most of us are running considerably lower. Your best bet is to do a chalk test to determine the proper pressure for your setup.

I actually kind of hope this isn't it. It would be a shame to think those "mechanics" threw all those parts at it when a free air pressure adjustment could fix it.

 

[liaztraht]

Following this as I'm chasing a similar problem.

Only 2 inch total lift on my recently acquired 09. Caster and toe in at factory spec, new control arms, tie rod, and track bar installed by previous owner.

Dropping the tire pressure (metric 34 toyo open country at2) from the 40 psi that was in 'em when I got it, to 31 was a large improvement, and replacing the shot drag link and dead stabilizer got it real good.

I still need to do a chalk test, but I have a feeling going lower on the tire pressure will help more. As is, the tire pressure had the biggest improvement on the wandering, and the drag link just took out the slop that made corrections difficult.

It was recommended to me to go beyond factory caster, but that requires adjustable control arms. And it was also recommend to toe in to about 3/16

Not sure how a feel about those adjustments yet. It bothers my wife more than it bothers me.

 

[Jeep_Apnea]

I will definitely be doing the chalk test this weekend. Thanks dirty dog!

 

[Jeep_Apnea]

I dropped my tire pressure down to 30 psi and

Have you checked to see if your axles are centered under the Jeep?

What tire pressure do you have in the tires?

I just happened to see that there is a broken bold in the pictured support bracket. It looks like it is just protecting the muffler.Opinion?

 

[Danarch]

Ours didn’t have that brace. It’s just a brace, I don’t think it would have any impact on steering.

 

[Dirty Dog]

That bar won't affect steering, but I'd fix it anyway.
What impact did dropping the tire pressure have? Did you do that based on the chalk test? I ask because I most commonly see people here running 25-26PSI on the street.

 

[Jeep_Apnea]

That bar won't affect steering, but I'd fix it anyway.
What impact did dropping the tire pressure have? Did you do that based on the chalk test? I ask because I most commonly see people here running 25-26PSI on the street.

I have bought the chalk but I've not done the test yet due to the 4 million degree weather here in Central Arkansas. I dropped my psi to 30
based on liaztraht's post. Lowering it down to 30 definitely is making it drive the best that it has driven since I purchased it. I'm still going to have my axles checked to make sure that they are aligned.

 

[liaztraht]

I have bought the chalk but I've not done the test yet due to the 4 million degree weather here in Central Arkansas. I dropped my psi to 30
based on liaztraht's post. Lowering it down to 30 definitely is making it drive the best that it has driven since I purchased it. I'm still going to have my axles checked to make sure that they are aligned.

I based mine on doing forum searches for tire pressure on 33-35" tires with an E load rating, as that's what's on mine.

I came across lots of posts for going down to 28, but I'm not comfortable with that without doing a chalk test first.

I'm coming from a Liberty KK with 31s to the JKU with 34s so I'm easing into it.

Edit: its only being driven a few miles at a time while sorting things out. It's got a leaky trans pan gasket, and I'm going to get that fixed first before doing any long drives or trails.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I have bought the chalk but I've not done the test yet due to the 4 million degree weather here in Central Arkansas. I dropped my psi to 30
based on liaztraht's post. Lowering it down to 30 definitely is making it drive the best that it has driven since I purchased it. I'm still going to have my axles checked to make sure that they are aligned.

You don't really need to "have" it checked. Just get out a tape measure.

 

[BLACKJKU]

I have bought the chalk but I've not done the test yet due to the 4 million degree weather here in Central Arkansas. I dropped my psi to 30
based on liaztraht's post. Lowering it down to 30 definitely is making it drive the best that it has driven since I purchased it. I'm still going to have my axles checked to make sure that they are aligned.

This is how you check to see if your axles are centered, get a straight 2x4 or 4' level. Stand it up against the tire so it's touching to top and bottom sides, then measure how far it is away from the fender. Then go to the other side and do the same, your measurement should be real close to the same distance.

If your fenders stick out past your tires you'll need to use a level or even a string with a nut on the end and hold it against the fender and measure the distance from the tire.

Do this on the front and rear.

 

[Speartip]

I run 30 lbs . 33” K02 .
Handles really well on the streets .
Was track bar bushings ever checked ? Didn’t see any mention of it in initial post ?
Jeep uses undersized threaded bolts for the front , rear track bar & control arms .
The threaded bolts act like a file on the bushings and causes them to oval out .
It causes the Jeep to feel loose or worse develop death wobble .
Worth pulling out the front TB and having a look . When I replaced mine the bolt threads were clearly evident in the bushings .
Replaced bolts with shouldered 9/16 Grade 8. That is the proper size .

 

[Jeep_Apnea]

I have not checked any of those mentioned. I will definitely add to my list.
Thank you for the additional information! It is greatly appreciated!

 

[liaztraht]

One thing you can check is the rear track bar.

Had a couple friends in my back seat, and they said they felt the rear was causing mine.

And what do ya know? Rear track bar was loose. Hole is ovaled a bit there, so there is a future repair. Not sure how much it's ovaled yet, but enough that tightening it revealed a crescent of clean metal on the frame side mount

Jeep tracks pretty darn good now, but still follows the ruts in the road.

I will grab some of the mentioned bolts on top of some repair washers.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Jeep tracks pretty darn good now, but still follows the ruts in the road.

Following the ruts is often caused by popularity. If you have the right track width and tire size to match the ruts, you follow them.

Good reason to have larger than stock tires...

 

[Jeep_Apnea]

Update: I have done the chalk test it looks like 26 psi is the sweet spot for my 35x12.5R28 tires. So far it definitely is a improvement.
I have also done the Axel test. I have 1 inch difference in the front and 3/4 inch difference in the back. Does that sound to far off center?

 

[liaztraht]

Update: I have done the chalk test it looks like 26 psi is the sweet spot for my 35x12.5R28 tires. So far it definitely is a improvement.
I have also done the Axel test. I have 1 inch difference in the front and 3/4 inch difference in the back. Does that sound to far off center?

Mines only at 1/16. Front and rear.

I did pick up some 9/16-18x3" grade 8 bolts, lock nuts, and washers to do my track bars.

Previous owner put an adjustable one up front.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Update: I have done the chalk test it looks like 26 psi is the sweet spot for my 35x12.5R28 tires. So far it definitely is a improvement.

So you're on par with the rest of us with similar sizes. No surprise.

I have also done the Axel test. I have 1 inch difference in the front and 3/4 inch difference in the back. Does that sound to far off center?

I'd consider that a lot. I insist on less than 0.25" difference, and I'm not really happy with more than 0.125".