Bump steer and shimmy when turning ...

[PA Highlander]

OK, vital stats: '09 JK 2 door, 55500 miles, lifted 3.5" for the last 40K miles, running 35" AT's. Unfortunatly the JK hasn't been offroad since fall, so no new trail damage. Rough Country springs, stock UCA and LCA, stock steering linkage, trackbar extension braket on rear axle. Aftermarket steering stabilizer.

Issues: JK has a shimmy or wobble when turning. Feels almost like it's in 4WD on a hard surface. Also, bump steer when hitting a pothole is getting worse (not quite 'death wobble' yet)

I have very limited troubleshooting time, so I'm hoping y'all can help direct my focus based on what's common to the JK and the symptoms. I'll probably get into the troubleshooting Saturday afternoon (hopefully Anya takes a nap!). My initial feeling is a tie rod end, but also want to check the track bar too. Been awhile since I worked on steering ... oh, say since '01 with my XJ. :a_eek:

[ltdanyj]

Check out your front trackbar mount. I've seen a LOT of them work loose on the JKs....

[Scrambler84]

Ball Joints are made out of plastic and are notorious for going bad early. Poly Performance makes home nice looking metal greasable ones I plan on replacing mine with when the truly go bad. Also a if you have a bent tie rod you get the same thing or if the alignment is off enough(happens when you bend it like mine. I learned this this weekend, Stupid rocks lol, mine should have been replaced after the accident but i didn't know better, stearing was kinda hosed but not to bad, went to rausch and its F'ed pretty good now, Poly performance Tie rod in the UPS system as we speak)

[unscramble]

Check your axle shaft ujoint....classic symptoms you described

[PA Highlander]

Check out your front trackbar mount. I've seen a LOT of them work loose on the JKs....

Saw your post right before I left for Baltimore this morning, made a quick check and both bolts were tight. I'll check for bushing play when I have a helper to turn the wheel.

Ball Joints are made out of plastic and are notorious for going bad early. Poly Performance makes home nice looking metal greasable ones I plan on replacing mine with when the truly go bad. Also a if you have a bent tie rod you get the same thing or if the alignment is off enough(happens when you bend it like mine. I learned this this weekend, Stupid rocks lol, mine should have been replaced after the accident but i didn't know better, stearing was kinda hosed but not to bad, went to rausch and its F'ed pretty good now, Poly performance Tie rod in the UPS system as we speak)

I don't think I have any bends in the tie rod, but I'll give it a good look. Didn't know these had plastic ball joints ... if shot it should show up with the front end jacked up and push/pull on the top/bottom of the tire right? or is there another or better way to determine?

Check your axle shaft ujoint....classic symptoms you described

Quick visual check both appeared ok, but I'll check closer when I get it on jack stands tomorrow. The symptoms are nearly uniform turning either left or right.

And thanks y'all!!

[PA Highlander]

So I found that the right side u-joint was bad and made an attempt to repair ... only to have one of the unit hub bolts round off the 12 pt 13mm head. :mad2: Picked up a set of Irwin rounded bolt extractor sockets yesterday and need to call the dealer today to try and get a replacement bolt (or 3). Round 2 scheduled for Saturday afternoon ...

... and then this morning I get an incident of death wobble just before getting on 66 in Gainsville. So now I need to check track bar and tie rods closer too. Didn't have a helper other than Anya on Saturday so I didn't have anyone to turn the wheel while I checked for play in components.

I bought and build a new Jeep so I wouldn't be chasing issues like this ... at least this soon in it's life. 2 years old and 56K ... eh, it's a Jeep, should have know better. :der:

[unscramble]

winner winner chicken dinner!!!!

definately check the other side now...