Still working on it. I started moving my wheels back and forth with one hand on the steering box and pitman arm and seems to have more play than i thought with a mild cluck. other than that, the only thing that really stood out to me was the track bar bushing on the frame side. I torqued to 125lbs (jacks under axle) and pulled my SS off. Im gonna put the wheels on and take her for a spin. See if there is any difference. Hopefully for the better. Ill be back soon. Thanks everyone for your help so far, i really appreciate it.
Steering...again
- Thread starter 132JKPNW
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Still working on it. I started moving my wheels back and forth with one hand on the steering box and pitman arm and seems to have more play than i thought with a mild cluck. other than that, the only thing that really stood out to me was the track bar bushing on the frame side. I torqued to 125lbs (jacks under axle) and pulled my SS off. Im gonna put the wheels on and take her for a spin. See if there is any difference. Hopefully for the better. Ill be back soon. Thanks everyone for your help so far, i really appreciate it.
Ill do this before i drive off. Thank you. I was trying a pry bar to see if there was movement. Is so, how do you recommend i pull it and replace it? I would think jack stands on the frame?
WJCO
Meme King
Prybar won't show it. IF you do have to replace it, you don't even need a jack or stands. We'll cross that bridge later. Go drive it first and see if your steering is fixed. Don't mess with the track bar at all unless you have confirmed it has play via the way I stated above (where you need a helper to turn the wheel while you watch it).
WJCO
Meme King
No need to feel dumb. You'll feel better that you actually took the time to find the problem rather than throwing a bunch of money in parts at it. If you really are planning on getting a ProRock in the next year (assuming you'll do ProSteer ball joints at the same time), for the time-being just go with some Crown ball joints or the comparable.
Also if your ball joints are all really bad, and your stabilizer is now removed, anticipate the possibility of death wobble on your test drive, it could happen. FYI. If I were you, I would still drive it just to see if that steering symptom is still there or not, just be careful.
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YEP! just had my first (in this jeep) experience of death wobble! Wish i read that first...
WJCO
Meme King
Scary shit, huh? Sorry I didn't type it sooner.
I would. It's safer, and it also helps aborb the shock. Everytime you have death wobble, you risk damaging other parts. So leave it on until you get the ball joints fixed. Then after you put new ball joints in, take the stabilizer off again and drive it, just to make sure that there is nothing else causing your issue.
Your ball joints and/or any other play somewhere caused it. Likely it's just the ball joints, you seemed to find out they were bad pretty quickly after you checked them. The steering stabilizer was merely absorbing the shock/shimmy and hiding it.
Go with the Napa for now I guess. I don't have any experience with them, but if you're putting in ProSteers next year, hopefully your Napa ones will get you by.
Your steering stabilizer was masking the real problem which were your ball joints were bad. I would reinstall them for now and set your toe-OUT by just a bit. This is NOT a fix but rather a bandaid that will help out a lot until you can have your ball joints replaced.
Well I'm already replacing the ball joints, and I'll take your advice on the test drive without the SS now that I'm prepared for DW if it should occur after the new ball joints. Thank you again for your help.
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Well it's daily driver so I need it fixed quick. This means I gotta take my wife's sequoia to work now which I'm not to upset about. It's fast
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JKbrick
Active Member
What socket fits the 3 bolts on the back of the knuckle that hold on the bearing? Want to make sure I have one for when I do my ball joints and steering knuckle replacement
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I believe it's a 12 point 12mm, I know it's a 12 point though.
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OverlanderJK
Resident Smartass
yep, 12 point 13mm.
So I got the passenger side almost torn apart last night until I hit a stopping point removing the ball joints. I have the press and several adapters, just not the exact right ones I need to finish the job. I tried a several sockets and had no luck either. Also hopped on the interwebs and couldn't find a specific kit or adapter size for the jk. What ha e you guys used in the past that worked, or if there is a kit I can buy. I have a harbor freight near me, and plenty of auto stores. Also, I purchase a used rental press kit from auto zone for 40 bucks. If anyone has made that kit work, let me know please. I'd rather not buy more stuff at this point. Especially if I'm doing something wrong.
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