Jeep all over the place at hwy speed

TNuggs13

TNuggs13

Member
So it's been a while since I've posted but having a very frustrating issue after getting work done. My jeep is all over the place and feels flighty. At about 60 mph is when it starts and will move from line to line in the lane and very hard to control. There where 2 times the traction control or possibly limp mode kicked in to slow the jeep down to gain control. Here is what I've replaced and it all started after the ball joint install. Crown ball joints installed. New front lower arms. Castor adjusted on new arms. Brand new tires, balanced and aligned. New Synergy rear lower arm brackets welded on the axle. Everything has been re-torqued throughout. . I'm being told it would be a good idea to rebuild my King shocks and replace the coils. How often should the coils be replaced or what would cause them to have to be replaced? Any feedback or advice would be great! I really want to figure this out so I can drive my jeep again!
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
I would ensure track bar is tight. Next thing, check ALL bolts that would have been loosened when ball joints were done. Make sure ball joints are fully seated in the knuckles. Make sure unit bearings don't have play.
 
TNuggs13

TNuggs13

Member
WJCO said:
I would ensure track bar is tight. Next thing, check ALL bolts that would have been loosened when ball joints were done. Make sure ball joints are fully seated in the knuckles. Make sure unit bearings don't have play.
Click to expand...

I mentioned that and they said they checked EVERYTHING. They said everything is tight.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
TNuggs13 said:
I mentioned that and they said they checked EVERYTHING. They said everything is tight.
Click to expand...

If I were in your shoes, I would check everything myself. I don't trust shops. I've had good friends that own shops and still mess stuff up. That's just me.
 
JAGS

JAGS

Hooked
WJCO said:
I would ensure track bar is tight. Next thing, check ALL bolts that would have been loosened when ball joints were done. Make sure ball joints are fully seated in the knuckles. Make sure unit bearings don't have play.
Click to expand...

TNuggs13 said:
I mentioned that and they said they checked EVERYTHING. They said everything is tight.
Click to expand...

What about toe? I would also check air pressure in the tires. Too much and could cause some of that flightiness and ABS.

New coils and rebuilding king shocks ain't gonna be cheap.

How trustworthy is the shop to know they have all the angles dialed in right? Tight and torqued doesn't mean right.
 
TNuggs13

TNuggs13

Member
I'm taking it to a buddies house tomorrow after work to check everything. I miss driving my jeep and disappointed the shop that has been trying to figure it out built it from the beginning and can't seem to figure it out.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
TNuggs13

TNuggs13

Member
JAGS said:
What about toe? I would also check air pressure in the tires. Too much and could cause some of that flightiness and ABS.

New coils and rebuilding king shocks ain't gonna be cheap.

How trustworthy is the shop to know they have all the angles dialed in right? Tight and torqued doesn't mean right.
Click to expand...

Air pressure is at 30psi. Everything was measured and checked out fine for the alignment. Rebuilding the shocks aren't going to be cheap but it's about the same price to buy new shocks if I take them off and turn them I myself. Luckily the jeep isn't a daily driver. I would say the shop is trustworthy. Just disappointed since it feels like I'm just throwing $ at it and hope it fixes the problem.
 
Snboarder113

Snboarder113

Hooked
TNuggs13 said:
it feels like I'm just throwing $ at it and hope it fixes the problem.
Click to expand...

Because that's what you're trying to do. You've had multiple people tell you you need to verify a few things yourself.

Start by grabbing a tape measure and measuring as squarely as you can from the front of the tire to the the other front of the tire, pick a tread block that's easy to see to measure from. Then repeat this process using the same method and same tread blocks on the rear of the tire to the other tire and post the measurements.The symptom you are describing is very common with incorrect toe. I can't speak for the other knowledgeable folks here but I have never heard of a shock or a spring ever causing lane drift and darting without first hitting a pothole or bump to start the drift.

This is what I mean about how to measure
https://youtu.be/wBrzXeJnYiQ



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TNuggs13

TNuggs13

Member
Snboarder113 said:
Because that's what you're trying to do. You've had multiple people tell you you need to verify a few things yourself.

Start by grabbing a tape measure and measuring as squarely as you can from the front of the tire to the the other front of the tire, pick a tread block that's easy to see to measure from. Then repeat this process using the same method and same tread blocks on the rear of the tire to the other tire and post the measurements.The symptom you are describing is very common with incorrect toe. I can't speak for the other knowledgeable folks here but I have never heard of a shock or a spring ever causing lane drift and darting without first hitting a pothole or bump to start the drift.

This is what I mean about how to measure
https://youtu.be/wBrzXeJnYiQ



Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

I'll try this tomorrow when we are looking at everything and post the measurements. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
 
TrailHunter

TrailHunter

Hooked
Do you have adjustable track bars? Are your axles centered? If say, the rear is off center, and the front was aligned based off that, the Jeep will fight itself going down the road.... always trying to correct itself... just a thought.
 
J

JKDream

Guest
TrailHunter said:
Do you have adjustable track bars? Are your axles centered? If say, the rear is off center, and the front was aligned based off that, the Jeep will fight itself going down the road.... always trying to correct itself... just a thought.
Click to expand...
What? That doesn't make any difference.

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TrailHunter

TrailHunter

Hooked
JKDream said:
What? That doesn't make any difference.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

You're probably right... like I said... just a thought... something similar happened to me though.. my '65 was wondering like crazy at high speeds after a total front end rebuild and an alignment.... realized later the rear end was 1" off center.... adjusted, re-aligned and it tracked perfect... maybe it was just a better alignment the second time.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
TNuggs13 said:
So it's been a while since I've posted but having a very frustrating issue after getting work done. My jeep is all over the place and feels flighty. At about 60 mph is when it starts and will move from line to line in the lane and very hard to control. There where 2 times the traction control or possibly limp mode kicked in to slow the jeep down to gain control. Here is what I've replaced and it all started after the ball joint install. Crown ball joints installed. New front lower arms. Castor adjusted on new arms. Brand new tires, balanced and aligned. New Synergy rear lower arm brackets welded on the axle. Everything has been re-torqued throughout. . I'm being told it would be a good idea to rebuild my King shocks and replace the coils. How often should the coils be replaced or what would cause them to have to be replaced? Any feedback or advice would be great! I really want to figure this out so I can drive my jeep again!
Click to expand...

As mentioned several times, you should double check the work.

Stock axle?

What did they adjust the caster to? some shops think 5-6* is good but you may experience what you are describing at the higher speeds depending on other factors.

What type tire did you put on? Mud terrains seem to run better at lower PSI 26-28, chalk test will help you determine the psi needed.

only adjustable lower control arms or uppers as well?

Here's what I would personally check:

1 - Caster angle - easy to do and angle finders are around $7 at any hardware store.

ideally should be close to stock 4* this write-up will show you how:

https://wayalife.com/showthread.php/3861-Basic-Do-it-Yourself-Jeep-JK-Wrangler-Front-End-Alignment


2 - check the length of the upper and lower control arms.

If they welded the new brackets in the stock position the lowers should start around 23"and uppers around 18-7/8"

using a tape measure, measure the length of the lower control arms center of eye to eye and do the same with the uppers if they are adjustable.

The lower control arms are used to adjust caster. Check the caster angle and adjust the lowers as needed.

I'd also check the control arms and make sure they put them on the proper side and direction...
 
Ddays

Ddays

Hooked
I may have missed it but how much work was done to your jeep? New lift, tires, etc?
Something not mentioned was track bar/drag link. If a 3" or over lift was installed and no raised track bar or
Drag link flip was done that can cause flighty handling at highway speeds. You want those pieces as parallel to the axle as possible. Also like Jeeep said, do yourself a favor and get a
$5 plastic protractor/angle finder from Harbor Freight to verify your caster setting. That will also contribute to wandering.
 
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TNuggs13

TNuggs13

Member
Ddays said:
I may have missed it but how much work was done to your jeep? New lift, tires, etc?
Something not mentioned was track bar/drag link. If a 3" or over lift was installed and no raised track bar or
Drag link flip was done that can cause flighty handling at highway speeds. You want those pieces as parallel to the axle as possible. Also like Jeeep said, do yourself a favor and get a
$5 plastic protractor/angle finder from Harbor Freight to verify your caster setting. That will also contribute to wandering.
Click to expand...

All the work that was done is listed in my first post. Not a new lift. All the mod info is in my profile. When the arms were installed I was assured that castor was set to how they always set it for the 4" lift but not sure of the number. The new tires are the Open Country R/T's. I asked them if they checked the track bar and they said everything was correct.
 
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