Steering Front End "Wobble" Issue. Opinions/ Ideas.

Steering Front End "Wobble" Issue. Opinions/ Ideas.

jafo

Old Time Jeeper
Posts
1,305
Thanks
5
Location
Blue Springs, Missouri
Vehicle(s)
1979 CJ7. 304 V8 3 speed.
I have a '79 CJ7 . I have had a long going issue with the front wheels going into a wobble at around 50mph. It can be hit and miss depending on the quality of pavement. Sometimes it's the speed, sometimes a bump gets it started. You can accelerate through it and at around 60 mph it subsides or if you decelerate it will subside. I have upgraded or replaced almost every front end part. Borgeson steering shaft. Rugged Ridge heavy duty drag link and tie rod with the flip kit. New steering gear. M.O.R.E. steering gear bracket. M.O.R.E. 1/2" lift shackles. Moog ball joints, wheel bearings and races and seals. Spindle seals etc. New rotors, pads and calipers. Jeep has a 4" lift with the drop pitman arm. I installed 6 deg steel shims for positive caster. I just put it on an alignment rack to find out exactly where the caster angle was at. It sets at positive 5 deg. It actually helped getting the alignment. But it still has the shake. So I was going one of two routes. One is going with 8 deg shims. The other was going back to 0" lift shackles. Or both. But I am trying to get as much positive caster as possible without causing driveline angle issues. So what are some opinions or something maybe I have over looked?
 
Ball joints, drag link, and tie rod ends fixed my wobble. I can drive 75 on the freeway with one finger on the wheel and no issues. I have a 4" suspension lift, drop pitman arm, extended sway bar connects, and a Transfer Case drop kit (doesn't affect front end, but helped with vibration from rear driveshaft angle). I also installed ball joint sleeves (camber/castor adjusters) with the new ball joints. Couldn't get the alignment right without them.
 
How much angle to your drag link?

Shackle length?

Most have ideal caster at around 6-7*

Pics would help, along with your numbers from the front end shop
 
You said Borgeson steering shaft, is this the one with universals or does it still have the POS rubber puck?
Also you replaced the steering box? just to clarify.

Have you done a proper balance? Have them remove all weights, balance the tires best they can my spinning the tire on the rim first, once they get that close then have them add weights. Most places are lazy and just add a :dung: load of lead without actually rotating the tire on the wheel first.
 
Ck the play in your wheel bearings.
Ck toe-in, you want a total of 1/8-3/32".
 

Jeep-CJ Donation Drive

Help support Jeep-CJ.com by making a contribution.

Help support Jeep-CJ.com by making a contribution.
Goal
$200.00
Earned
$25.00
This donation drive ends in
Back
Top Bottom