Loose Steering

[will13fox]

I have a 79 CJ7 and the steering is really loose and likes to wander over 10MPH even worse going about 40 to the point were there is constant input from me just to keep it straight and I'm still bouncing from the white to the yellow line. Is this common in the older CJs or is there something wrong?

 

[CJ]

Yes it is common and yes - something is wrong.

Have you followed the steering troubleshooting thread yet? -->> https://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f99/troubleshooting-correcting-your-steering-4106/

 

[will13fox]

Not yet but I will now thanks

 

[mtnwhlr]

This is what I came up with when I had a CJ5. The older Jeeps have the narrowtrac axels and the roads have groves wore into them where the tires of all the cars and trucks drive every day and these groves are wider then your tires so your Jeep is fighting you and jumping back and fourth between them and when you have anything loose in your steering it will make it just that much worse and you are fighting it just to stay in one lane. Any way this is just my take on it.

 

[Rollie]

When the sealed ball joints get old the grease in there gets hard and makes little ridges in there that the bearings have to ride over. That causes the steering to jump. Anyway that is what a mechanic I have known for a long time and who works at the tire shop told me. He said to lift the rubber boot over the top of the ball joints and squirt some penetrating oil in there. Really soak it. The oil will get in there and loosen things up a little. I tried it and it helped a little. He also said that was not a fix and that it didn't always work at all. That is true, It didn't fix it, it just made it a little better. It is a way to see if that is part of the problem. You should still change them out, but this little trick will give you an idea if that is the problem.

 

[Rollie]

This is what I came up with when I had a CJ5. The older Jeeps have the narrowtrac axels and the roads have groves wore into them where the tires of all the cars and trucks drive every day and these groves are wider then your tires so your Jeep is fighting you and jumping back and fourth between them and when you have anything loose in your steering it will make it just that much worse and you are fighting it just to stay in one lane. Any way this is just my take on it.

That is very interesting, and I can see how it would affect the steering.

 

[tex1]

My '82 was doing the same thing.I replace the worn tie rod ends and that helped some but when I replaced the steering box(ran out of adjustment) it was fixed.Made all the difference in the world!

 

[KRUXR]

My '82 was doing the same thing.I replace the worn tie rod ends and that helped some but when I replaced the steering box(ran out of adjustment) it was fixed.Made all the difference in the world!

I am thinking about getting the quick ratio redhead box for our 84 CJ7