Pop in steering wheel

JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
So whenever I'm turning from left to right and right to left while driving my steering wheels sort of pops when it gets to the middle, it only happens when i change the direction that I'm turning, so if I'm turning right then I'm straightening back up the wheels it will sort or pop the second start straightening it up. I know I saw a thread on this before but can't find it, if anyone can give me some ideas, or point me to the tread if they remember it it would be most appreciated!

Thanks.
 
toxicwaste29

toxicwaste29

New member
Use the search function. There are tons of things it could be. I would start by shaking the wheel back and worth and having someone look at the front end for bad joints such as drag link or tie rod
 
Johnny Krawl

Johnny Krawl

New member
Check your track bar bolts. I only say that because I've seen the bolts not torqued and allowing it to move in its saddle during turning maneuvers.
 
Devallee

Devallee

New member
Like stated above, jack it up and have someone else turn the wheel back and forth while you check for anything loose in the steering. It could be tie rod ends. I had the same issue and my ends were shot so I ended up replacing the tie rod and no more pop. Also could possibly be in the steering box. Bad sector shaft or something, but I'd start by a visual inspection up on jacks. Good luck :thumb:

Edit: might as well get yourself a torque wrench if you don't already have one and retorque everything while you're under there just for giggles. It can't hurt and is a good habit to learn
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Johnny Krawl said:
Check your track bar bolts. I only say that because I've seen the bolts not torqued and allowing it to move in its saddle during turning maneuvers.
Click to expand...

I've tightened the track bar bolts to spec and the jam nuts as tight as I can get them, I can check them again though
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Devallee said:
Like stated above, jack it up and have someone else turn the wheel back and forth while you check for anything loose in the steering. It could be tie rod ends. I had the same issue and my ends were shot so I ended up replacing the tie rod and no more pop. Also could possibly be in the steering box. Bad sector shaft or something, but I'd start by a visual inspection up on jacks. Good luck :thumb:

Edit: might as well get yourself a torque wrench if you don't already have one and retorque everything while you're under there just for giggles. It can't hurt and is a good habit to learn
Click to expand...

I've only got a good 60ftlb torque wrench I have a cheap one that goes up to 120.. What's a good brand of torque wrench that I can get that'll cover like 50-250?

I'll jack it up tomorrow and check those things out, thanks

Also would the sway bar have anything to do with it? I've rocked the jeep and can hear a popping noise coming from my sway bar links, they're adjustable RK links I'm thinking maybe they aren't both the exact same size
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
JakeJK said:
I've only got a good 60ftlb torque wrench I have a cheap one that goes up to 120.. What's a good brand of torque wrench that I can get that'll cover like 50-250?

I'll jack it up tomorrow and check those things out, thanks

Also would the sway bar have anything to do with it? I've rocked the jeep and can hear a popping noise coming from my sway bar links, they're adjustable RK links I'm thinking maybe they aren't both the exact same size
Click to expand...

I've had harbor freight torque wrenches and snap-on. Never had issues with any. So get what you can find. Sears may have a craftsman one too. Sway bar link joints can commonly create noise and popping. Disconnect them and see if the symptom goes away.
 
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Devallee

Devallee

New member
Yup any of those work ^ If you think it's a sway bar link, try rocking the jeep side to side and see if you can recreate the sound. I've had loose links and heard the same sound but that was more over bumps (up and down movement) not so much when turning. But can't hurt to check

Edit: just saw that you said you rocked it and heard the sound. Try tightening it up and see what happens. Just gotta hunt down the sound it may take a bit of time but you'll find it eventually
 
Pyro1415

Pyro1415

New member
Mine had a similar problem it was the hubs. Big tires,Dana 30, love of speed bumps it happens. Make sure you torque your links under load and not with the wheels up.
 
cozdude

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Since you just recently installed your lift (if I remember correctly) then you should go under your jeep anyway and retorque the whole suspension while the jeep is on the ground.
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Pyro1415 said:
Mine had a similar problem it was the hubs. Big tires,Dana 30, love of speed bumps it happens. Make sure you torque your links under load and not with the wheels up.
Click to expand...

Okay will do, I tightened them when the wheels were off I'll go retighten them with the wheels on the ground
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
cozdude said:
Since you just recently installed your lift (if I remember correctly) then you should go under your jeep anyway and retorque the whole suspension while the jeep is on the ground.
Click to expand...

Yeah I did install it pretty recently, I'll definitely do that the hardest thing to torque down was the jam nuts on the ADJ track bar, I don't think that's the problem though so hopefully I can get rid of the problem re torquing everything
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
WJCO said:
I've had harbor freight torque wrenches and snap-on. Never had issues with any. So get what you can find. Sears may have a craftsman one too. Sway bar link joints can commonly create noise and popping. Disconnect them and see if the symptom goes away.
Click to expand...

I might go see if I can get a craftsman somewhere
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
I think it was mentioned earlier, but with wheels on the ground have someone turn the steering wheel while you watch from the front, you'll likely see what's not tight enough - usual culprit is the track bar

Also check your coils, make sure they are seated properly.
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
jeeeep said:
I think it was mentioned earlier, but with wheels on the ground have someone turn the steering wheel while you watch from the front, you'll likely see what's not tight enough - usual culprit is the track bar

Also check your coils, make sure they are seated properly.
Click to expand...

If so, would it be the bolt going through the track bar or what? Or would it be that the track bar is not adjusted long enough?
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
JakeJK said:
If so, would it be the bolt going through the track bar or what? Or would it be that the track bar is not adjusted long enough?
Click to expand...

Would be worn track bar bushings or bolt holes on frame/bracket wollowed out. Very typical. Mine happened to be a bolt that had rusted so it never fully torqued down even when I thought I was tightening it. If someone cycles the steering and there is movement at either end, you have a problem. It should be tight.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
^ You can do this test yourself with a video camera if you don't have a helper handy. Just film it and then watch the video.
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
WJCO said:
Would be worn track bar bushings or bolt holes on frame/bracket wollowed out. Very typical. Mine happened to be a bolt that had rusted so it never fully torqued down even when I thought I was tightening it. If someone cycles the steering and there is movement at either end, you have a problem. It should be tight.
Click to expand...

Hopefully the holes on the frame aren't wallowed out.. Got the jeep about 7 months ago with 49k miles
Bone stock, recently lifted it like 2 months ago and have only been able to take it off-road once since I lifted it I'm betting on it not being torqued all the way down
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Hey guys so i got up under it and everything seems tight... But I got my wheels off the ground and used a flat crobar (I think that's how you spell it)
And wedged it under the tire and got a little up and down movement. I will upload the videos to YouTube and can you guys let me know if this is not normal? I try to act like I'm mechanically inclined but I don't have much experience haha.
 
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