steering

[Trailabite]

Keith, I didn't put your name to you being Nu2Jeeps lol. It was good meeting you on the trail. I would say that since your tires are half tread I wouldn't do anything until you get new tires. You could be running some Chinese knock-offs or they could have been sitting around for a while and someone swapped them out right before they sold it and kept the good tires, you never know. I would start with new balanced tires and then have the alignment checked. Of course, I'm saying this without having seen the front of your jeep. Try taking a picture and posting it so that we can see what your talking about.

[Nu2Jeeps]

these tires came on the jeep when i bought it off the lot at Carl Black.  I noticed the pull to the right whn i got it home and had it up there the next two days for them to align it.  I didnt think they did a good job so they redid it.  I installed the new track bar and nothing changed, i installed the new lift and had it aligned at fortec and it was slightly better.  It feels worse after the little bit i did at AOP this weekend.  I cant imagine that a jeep just feels loose and light as a normal thing.

I saw a video yesterday from Exodus Jeeps about a sector shaft and trackbar brace, and they said the customer had a similar issue, then they showed the customer driving at speed on the highway with no hands on the wheel for a few seconds and it was straight as an arrow. 

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Has anyone heard of a sector shaft and trackbar brace, or installed one?

I am still concerned about this passenger tire being toed out.  I will try to get a picture of it, and some measurements.  But i still dont understand why adjusting the tie rod doesnt pull it in. 

[kent10sne1]

To add to this, i did have alot of play in my JK for years, I always figured driving a Jeep was like this.  fighting ..  after my hydro assist it was like i got a new steering system.  the hydro helped a ton, so based on what this guy said.  it seems to make sense.   im sure my hydro assist is masking stuff but if its not too much $ it might be worth it.  just my .02

[Blue J]

I think when a sector shaft breaks you can't steer anymore. I did a search on JKowners.com and come up with a ton of posts to search through https://www.jkowners.com/forum/search.php?searchid=16440832

[Anvilsam]

Do you have the print out of the last alignment? I'd be willing to bet your caster is low. Do you have adjustable upper/lower control arms on the front?

[Nu2Jeeps]

thanks, i will look through those posts ASAP.
I do not have a print out of the last alignment, i will make sure to get one next time.  I was told with the 2.5 lift i would not have caster and pinion issues.  I do not have adjustable CAs.

I dont want to mask a larger (possible) issue but i do like the price of the part in the video. 

In a different video this guy has a redneck ram put into his JT and said that the larger tires and 6 inch lift and new axles were causing steering issues, but the RRR cured that.  I dont have all of those mods so i was hopeful i wouldnt need to go that route. 

Thanks again for the assistance

[patman]

Did you replace any controls arms with your lift?

[Nu2Jeeps]

no CA replacement.  i got the 2.5 bc i was told i would not need to change the geometry. 

i will get some pics and measurements on the tires and hopefully that will help.

i appreciate all of the thought you guys are giving this.  You guys know more than I do so it is helping me think through a lot.

[Trailabite]

an easy thing to is maybe rotate the tires and see if that makes a difference. If it doesn't at least you rule the tires out.

[Blue J]

no CA replacement.  i got the 2.5 bc i was told i would not need to change the geometry. 

i will get some pics and measurements on the tires and hopefully that will help.

i appreciate all of the thought you guys are giving this.  You guys know more than I do so it is helping me think through a lot.

With a 2.5 there shouldn't be any geometry change but some adjustment may be needed, as you are experiencing.

You will need a Front Drive shaft eventually. The boot will tear on the stock one. You can normally cut it off after it tears and then get it replaced with an Adams or Tom Woods DS.

-ps your mailbox is full.

[Anvilsam]

no CA replacement.  i got the 2.5 bc i was told i would not need to change the geometry. 

i will get some pics and measurements on the tires and hopefully that will help.

i appreciate all of the thought you guys are giving this.  You guys know more than I do so it is helping me think through a lot.

With a 2.5 there shouldn't be any geometry change but some adjustment may be needed, as you are experiencing.

You will need a Front Drive shaft eventually. The boot will tear on the stock one. You can normally cut it off after it tears and then get it replaced with an Adams or Tom Woods DS.

-ps your mailbox is full.

Why wouldnt there be any geometry change? There will always be a change in geometry with any kind of lift. If his jeep was light on caster from the factory a 2.5" lift may just be enough to warrant a set of arms. Back in the day i put a leveling kit on my jeep and it drove like crap. A set of upper control arms allowed me to dial the caster in which is probably what the op needs.

[8lugLJ]

no CA replacement.  i got the 2.5 bc i was told i would not need to change the geometry. 

i will get some pics and measurements on the tires and hopefully that will help.

i appreciate all of the thought you guys are giving this.  You guys know more than I do so it is helping me think through a lot.

With a 2.5 there shouldn't be any geometry change but some adjustment may be needed, as you are experiencing.

You will need a Front Drive shaft eventually. The boot will tear on the stock one. You can normally cut it off after it tears and then get it replaced with an Adams or Tom Woods DS.

-ps your mailbox is full.

Why wouldnt there be any geometry change? There will always be a change in geometry with any kind of lift. If his jeep was light on caster from the factory a 2.5" lift may just be enough to warrant a set of arms. Back in the day i put a leveling kit on my jeep and it drove like crap. A set of upper control arms allowed me to dial the caster in which is probably what the op needs.

Absolutely need to compensate and make adjustments for ANY lift or change in suspension. As I said to begin with, it will need both track bars and an alignment shop that knows what they are doing, at minimum.