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Neewbie..loose Steering


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Hello all. Just joined the club today.Very nice site. I recently purchased an 87 Comanche. It has a lot of play in the steering wheel when driving. I thought it might be the steering damper and changed it out today. Strike 1!!! It helped a little but problem remains. Any thoughts? Again enjoy the site and the wealth of knowledge out there. My jeep is just ther base model 2.5 but I've always loved this jeep truck. Some awesome pics out there too. Thx!

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It could be the track bar ... but it also very well might not be.

 

It could be one or more tie rod ends ... but it also very well might not be.

 

It could be one or more bad ball joints ... but it also very well might not be.

 

It could be a worn steering box ... but it also very well might not be.

 

There are a LOT of things it COULD be, but until you have a better idea what it IS ... don't start buying parts. Do your homework. Get a helper, and do basic diagnosis. Park the truck on a level surface, front wheels straight ahead, chock the rear wheels, and put your helper in the driver's seat. YOU put on a nitrile glove and crawl under the front of the truck. Have your friend turn the steering wheel back and forth about 1/4 turn left and right of center. Maybe a bit more, but not much. What you want is to turn the steering enough to load the various parts, but NOT actually move the tires' contact patch on the ground.

 

Start with the track bar. You can feel movement before you can see it. Put your hand around the connection where the track bar bolts to the axle. As your helper turns the wheel back and forth, do you feel movement between the track bar and the axle?

 

Then move to the upper end of the track bar. This end looks like a tie rod end, and it works the same way. same drill -- while your helper turns the wheel back and forth, grab the TRE and see if you can feel any movement between the track bar and the frame bracket. There should be none.

 

Move to the front wheels. There's a tie rod end just inside each front wheel. Check em for flex while your helper turns the wheel. Then check the opposite ends. One has another TRE at the pitman arm, and the tie rod itself has another TRE when it attaches to the drag link.

 

Chances are, one or more of those points will reveal slop. If so, that's where you start the replacements. Don't just guess wildly and throw parts at it. Murphy's Law guarantees that if you go that route, the LAST part you replace will be the one you should have replaced first.

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  • 7 years later...

Last summer I redid the whole front end on my 89 comanche. 4.0 4x4.  I'm running on 31" bfg's.  Everything is torqed to spec and I got it alligned.  But it feels like I'm driving a boat.  any suggestions.  I know this is a old tread but it never hurts.

 

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9 hours ago, jubalb said:

Last summer I redid the whole front end on my 89 comanche. 4.0 4x4.  I'm running on 31" bfg's.  Everything is torqed to spec and I got it alligned.  But it feels like I'm driving a boat.  any suggestions.  I know this is a old tread but it never hurts.

 

 

1. What are the alignment specs?

 

2. What tires are on it? Post pics of the tread.

 

3. What does "it feels like I'm driving a boat" mean?

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I gave a once-over to my front suspension and steering and replaced any loose parts. I also rebuilt my steering box since it leaked a lot. Still, I still had steering wheel play while going straight reminescent of an old '60s- '70s cheesy movie driving scene. I finally adjusted the steering box via the hex screw and it's finally top notch!!! Just remember that this adjustment screw is your absolute last resort; make sure everything is tip-top before messing with this.

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On 3/19/2021 at 10:10 PM, Eagle said:

 

1. What are the alignment specs?

 

2. What tires are on it? Post pics of the tread.

 

3. What does "it feels like I'm driving a boat" mean?

Turns out adjusting the steering box did the trick.  Now handles way better than it ever did before.

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1 minute ago, jubalb said:
2 minutes ago, jubalb said:

Turns out adjusting the steering box did the trick.  Now handles way better than it ever did before.

 

 

1 minute ago, jubalb said:

What i meant about the specs was, the sway bars, drag link, tie rods, u joints, ball joints were torq correctly,  I will post pictures of the tires later today after work.  and what I meant by it driving like a boat was the steering didn't feel tight.

 

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My question wasn't about torque specs, it was about alignment specs. If you had it professionally aligned, they should have given you a printout of the alignment specs before and after they adjusted it. Alignment specs can make a big difference in how well or how poorly any vehicle tracks. Incorrect toe-in affacts this, and the caster angle makes a huge difference.

 

Also, off-road tires have very non-directional treads, so they don't track well. You wrote that you're on 31" BFGs. I assume that means A/Ts -- those are among the worst offenders. They're good off-road tires, but on pavement they don't track well at all. That contributes to sloppy steering.

 

Looks like you found the problem in the steering box adjustment. Adjusting it tightened things up for you, but now you need to ask why it needed adjusting. My original '88 XJ has 287,000 miles on it, the steering box is still tight and has never needed adjustment, and it has been driven on numerous fairly difficult trails. On the other hand, I bought a used 2001 XJ a few years ago that had less than 50,000 miles on it and the steering box was so badly worn that it couldn't be adjusted -- I had to replace it. I don't know how some people manage to destroy a Saginaw steering box, but they do.

 

I think the most important advice is to NEVER turn the steering wheel unless the vehicle is moving. Doesn't matter if it's only 1/2 MPH -- if the tires are rolling, it puts much less strain on all the steering components that are subject to wearing out. Do NOT just sit there with your foot planted on the brake and crank the steering wheel over to full lock.

 

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