gconcilio Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I have an 88 Comanche, 2 wheel drive. When going down a straight road I have to continuously keep moving the steering wheel to keep going straight. All of the linkage, track bar, tie rod ends, steering damper seem to be tight. I checked the ball joints with a bar under the tires and there is no movement. The wheel bearings were loose and I replaced them. If I lift the front end of off the ground I can move the steering wheel about 1" before the wheels start to move. Is this ok? The tires are all worn evenly. The control arm bushings have been replaced. Does anyone have any suggestions of what else to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1992EliminatorSWB4x4 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Might check your steering box for play. Also check the rag joint or steering shaft above the box. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I have an 88 Comanche, 2 wheel drive. When going down a straight road I have to continuously keep moving the steering wheel to keep going straight. All of the linkage, track bar, tie rod ends, steering damper seem to be tight. I checked the ball joints with a bar under the tires and there is no movement. The wheel bearings were loose and I replaced them. If I lift the front end of off the ground I can move the steering wheel about 1" before the wheels start to move. Is this ok? The tires are all worn evenly. The control arm bushings have been replaced. Does anyone have any suggestions of what else to check. What if you DON'T lift the front wheels off the ground? If you just park and turn the ignition key to OFF but not locked, how much free rotation is there in the steering wheel before you can see the front tires start to move? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Just my 2 cents. My MJ really enjoys catching the wind. Get a gusting crosswind and it's all over the place. Otherwise it's great. It even got a compliment the other day for how smooth and composed it was doing 70mph down a gravel highway, despite the blown shocks in the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Just my 2 cents. My MJ really enjoys catching the wind. Get a gusting crosswind and it's all over the place. Otherwise it's great. It even got a compliment the other day for how smooth and composed it was doing 70mph down a gravel highway, despite the blown shocks in the back. I have the same issue with mine, I DD my MJ about 60 miles per day and a good portion is open highway. The wind kills me sometimes but other than that its fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Yup, I roll 240km to work and then again going back. Get a good West Coast wind across the Island Highway and it's a fight keeping a lane. I have near no play at the wheel. I get the same reaction with my XJ, and had the same deal with my old Bronco. It's basicly the result of the Superior Aerodynamic Defalcation (snicker, snicker) of the body style in action. It's even more exaggerated in the XJ platform. Kinda like driving down the highway in brick with a sail attached. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Yup, I roll 240km to work and then again going back. Get a good West Coast wind across the Island Highway and it's a fight keeping a lane. I have near no play at the wheel. I get the same reaction with my XJ, and had the same deal with my old Bronco. It's basicly the result of the Superior Aerodynamic Defalcation (snicker, snicker) of the body style in action. It's even more exaggerated in the XJ platform. Kinda like driving down the highway in brick with a sail attached. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk A LIGHT brick at that. The only times that my MJ feels really well connected to the road is when I'm hauling a load in it. The straight line stability is inreased then. When empty, any cross wind tosses it around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 The MJ is hurt by the wind because it's a light vehicle with vertical sides. No real helping the fact it gets tossed around unfortunately - can't ever say I've had trouble keeping the '91 in the lane though, but it has pretty much brand new front suspension and a good alignment. The '89, on the other hand... better hold on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Might check your steering box for play. Also check the rag joint or steering shaft above the box. Good luck. No rag joints on the Jeep MJ/XJ Saginaw columns, all u-joints. And they do wear out and can definitely cause steering slop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 But 1 inch of steering wheel movement before the tires start to turn really isn't very much -- and I don't understand what jacking up the front does for checking the steering. It's best done with the tires firmly on the ground, with as much resistance to turning as possible. I think a lot of people today are accustomed to driving newer vehicles with rack-and-pinion steering, and they don't understand that the older, recirculating ball steering like in the MJ can never be as tight as rack-and-pinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75sv1 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 As suggested I'd check steering gear box play or adjustment. Also, any slop in the track bar. My XJ had a slot for the hole in the track bar bushing. I fixed that. Much better. Then adjusted the gear box, but the seal leaked so replaced it. Much much better. Still, not like a rack and pinion. I will be changing to WJ big brakes and a GM cross over steering. Mine is lifted 4.5. So, the cross over steering is suppose to help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Hate to be the bearer of bad news then, play will be about the same as stock. The steering system is what it is on these, Eagle pretty much laid our the meat of the issue. My steering box on the XJ is tight, and the WJ knuckles with GM/Dodge truck TRE's didn't really make it any tighter, still drives like a Jeep, not a Honda. The weight issue is the MJ's biggest hurdle, they are pretty damn light. Still, go over everything, and make sure it's good and tight. Just don't expect Ferrari like handling anytime soon is all. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75sv1 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Not expecting miracles. I'll have to judge for myself, when I make the swap. I did change ball joints last year. So, it won't be one of those bunch of changes and saying just the one made a difference. I will have to change the bottom ball joints to the WJ ones. Just orders the GM TRE setup from RuffStuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Funny, I always considered the MJ to be pretty heavy. My other 4x4 that splits daily duties weighs over 1000lbs less than my MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Funny, I always considered the MJ to be pretty heavy. My other 4x4 that splits daily duties weighs over 1000lbs less than my MJ. Remember Morganstern's theory of relativity: "Everything is relative." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 My MJ is about 2900lbs ... To me that's fairly light, but it's still only 2wd and has little for optional crap, and a few bits have been removed (spare, spare tire winch, load sensing valve, has no A/C, short box). But given the sailcloth like aerodynamics it doesn't take much to get it to move, fought my way home the other night ... But the trees were going sideways so just a wee bit windy. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I wonder what happened to the original poster. He hasn't been back to the forum since posting the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtrux Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I guess I'm the odd man out. I bought mine a few months back with 64k on the clock. It had sat in a field for the last 15 years. Got it going well and I've been driving it daily to work and I'm extremely impressed with how well it drives and how responsive the steering is. My other Jeep is a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and I bought it when it was nearly new with 20k on the clock. It has never steered as well as my Comanche does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjrev10 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Maybe tire pressure? Nobody suggested that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gconcilio Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 I checked the steering wheel movement with the front tires on the ground. It is the same as with them off of the ground, about 1". The tire pressures are all even at 30 psi. My wife is going to take the truck on the interstate in a couple of days. Will see if she notices any difference with new wheel bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 I checked the steering wheel movement with the front tires on the ground. It is the same as with them off of the ground, about 1". I don't think 1" of steering wheel movement is excessive for a recirculating ball steering setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterK Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I have the same problem, my jeep will not go straight down the road. Looking at it, the rod that comes out the bottom steering box that has the pitman arm on it has a lot of play, you should check that. Not sure if anyone said anything about that but thought I'd share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I did have an issue when I first replaced my drivers side ball joints to rid myself of the dreaded DW, which it did eliminate completely. However since there was uneven tension from side to side since I only replaced the single side, i was all over the road until I replaced the passenger side joints as well, maybe you want to check out your ball joints and make sure one side isn't significantly more worn than the other. OR if you have recently replaced wheel bearings, double check to see that you properly seated them. poorly seated bearings can make you wander a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesco Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I believe if the steering is not loose or worn, wandering is a symptom of too little toe in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I believe if the steering is not loose or worn, wandering is a symptom of too little toe in. BOTH can cause the same issue. I aligned my truck myself at the shop with the hunter alignment machine and I set it within manufacturer specs and still had the issue. Also worn ball joints and suspension can cause your alignment to be off, toe, camber AND caster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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