Steering Wandering

[bluesmanjesse]

Well I have come to the milage where my Jeep likes to wander all over the road,it's an 02 TJ with a 4" lift of unknown origin( I bought it this way) with 33's,basically it has a little play in the steering wheel and when turning in a parking lot or something I sometimes hear a clunk from the front end somewhere(not real loud/bad,just like something is worn or loose) I'm sitting around 85,000 miles. What's the first thing/s I should check,are there any likley culprits for the wandering situation?The steering seems to be loose when going straight but after you turn the wheel a little kinda takes out the slack and turns fine.

Thanks

 

[SUPERD]

trac bar is probably either loose or bushing and bolt worn

 

[bluesmanjesse]

Thats what i was thinking too,I just gotta find a few spare minutes to investigate,lol.

 

[SUPERD]

it helps to get some one to turn the steering wheel back & forth while you look & feel for whats loose

 

[XtrmTJ]

Let me see if I can do this without the visual aids. The steering of your Jeep involves many moving parts. No one part is worn out, but if there is just a little play in this part/joint/knuckle, and just a little more on that part/joint/knuckle, and then just a little bit more over on that other part/joint/knuckle, it all starts to add up to allot of "play" in your steering. So, you may not have any one thing worn out, but a little bit of "play" in several parts adds up to your Jeep wandering all over the road. :jawdrop:
Check it all out, tighten what you can and then learn to lead with a little left windage (lol).

 

[bluesmanjesse]

Left windage,lol I like it....or maybe Kentucky windage? lol

 

[Dave]

Left windage,lol I like it....or maybe Kentucky windage? lol

:lol:


Yeah, you need to get that "Kentucky Windage" sorted out...

Dave

 

[Antonio Gramsci]

One of the biggest issues with Jeeps and a topic that almost repeats itself in a new thread each week is "wandering or loose steering". As a forum contributor on JeepForum for close to 5 years now, I see it over and over.

 

[goliver9]

It could be a caster issue also. Try to adjust them.