Steering tight but squirrelly at highway speeds

[Neuner]

With swapping out the steering shaft, my steering is tight and I enjoy not having the play. All was good until I got new KO2 tires since I do mostly highway driving. They roll easier than my old KMs but they also steer much quicker to the point that I sometimes feel a little squirrelly on the highway doing around 60mph.

Don't want to swap out expensive tires. I remember there being a hex screw type adjustment on the gear box but not sure if that affects it? Don't want to do anything that might damage the gear box or swap it out because the PO welded the bracket to the frame.

Caster angles are good and the vehicle returns to center nicely. Overall it steers great and feels natural. Able to hold it straight and change lanes without question just gets blown by the wind or diverted because of rougher road much much easier now.

 

[Torxhead]

Toe-in can cause issues also worn tie rod ends. Toe-in can be checked with a measuring tape and tie rod ends with channel locks. I think 60 is a good highway speed for the CJ7 . Tires could use a break in period, especially mud terrains. I like my air pressure around 26-28 p.s.i.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

X2 on toe-in ck.
What are your castor and camber settings.
How much PSI are you running in those tires?
LG

 

[Neuner]

Toe-in can cause issues also worn tie rod ends. Toe-in can be checked with a measuring tape and tie rod ends with channel locks. I think 60 is a good highway speed for the CJ7 . Tires could use a break in period, especially mud terrains. I like my air pressure around 26-28 p.s.i.

Toe-in/alignment is good, set between 26-28psi pending outside temperature but will have to check the tie rods. Everything feels good and tight and responds well.

My description and using the term 'squirrelly' may not have been the best. I don't loose control. The steering is just too quick and easy to turn like there's no friction or resistance in the steering system.

Ever try your tires out at 35 psi? That might be the best way to describe what it feels like for my going from bfg muds to all-terrains. I have the same size tire and keep at the same pressure.

 

[Hedgehog]

Others have said it ..... Tire pressure, even a few pounds, can make a heck of a difference. Some tires just don't like some vehicles. Also, CJ's are twitchy, that's why you are supposed to grow a big ol' belly. It helps to anchor your hand and adds friction to the whole steering system ..... hey, it works for me anyways. My CJ5 gets road nervous at ~ 73mph.

 

[Neuner]

My CJ5 gets road nervous at ~ 73mph.

Just the CJ?

I think my old tires were also too old and hard. The new ones are almost too soft and malleable. Yes, 1-2 psi makes a huge difference with these whereas I didn't have a problem with the old ones. 1 psi and I can tell the engine is pulling harder.

Alright, well thanks guys, I appreciate it!

 

[Hedgehog]

And I'm not kidding .... Changing the gearing from 3.73's to 3.31's calmed the whole highway engine noise situation down enough so that I frequently find myself hitting +70mph before realizing it.

Come to think about it, while re-gearing several small things that were miss aligned springs and spring perches were taken care of along with straightened and shimmed shackle mounts. Also adding a very stiff bumper stiffened up the end of the frame. All small things, but the CJ drives better than it ever has, at least for me.

 

[Posi]

With swapping out the steering shaft, my steering is tight and I enjoy not having the play. All was good until I got new KO2 tires

Tires could use a break in period, especially mud terrains.

^^^ This

Everything worked as it should, the only change was new tires, give them a chance to break in.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Drop the TP down to 20-22psi and see what's, what.
LG

 

[Posi]

If your willing to do some extra work you can find the correct tire air pressure for your rig. This is what I did with a truck I previously owned with new tires.
Load your Jeep with your usual cargo, fill the tank, and go to your local auto scale. You can find them at scrap yards or land fills. I have one 2 miles from my place typically $10 will get your Jeep weighed.

Drive onto the scale and weigh the front axle, weigh both axles (optional), then weight the rear axle. Call your tire manufacturer and speak to a tech and have them send you an axle weight tire pressure chart and fill the tire to the proper specs.

At the time I had cooper tires with a side wall tire pressure rating of 140psi, after weighing the axle weight and going by the chart I filled the tires to 70psi. The truck handled great with a smooth ride as trucks go.

I know its more work then most would be willing to do.

 

[tarry99]

Don't want to swap out expensive tires. I remember there being a hex screw type adjustment on the gear box but not sure if that affects it? Don't want to do anything that might damage the gear box or swap it out because the PO welded the bracket to the frame.

Caster angles are good and the vehicle returns to center nicely. Overall it steers great and feels natural. Able to hold it straight and change lanes without question just gets blown by the wind or diverted because of rougher road much much easier now.

Don't touch the Hex screw , that screw sets the bearing pre-load on the sector shaft and unless it is flat worn out there is nothing to gain there.

Sometimes the addition of new tires can point to other issues in your Jeep , like suspension, lift, shocks & alignment Etc, and when I say alignment that includes the rear axle tracking correctly also.............you mentioned your caster was fine but you never posted the degree's of positive caster.......Jeeps have been well known to like greater numbers of caster than the factory recommends......5-7 degrees positive is what I have found to work the best.
Also steering gears can be an issue in a Jeep.........if the steering gear is a fast ratio then any little movement at highway speed will get you a reaction at the tire..........Most folks like to use a variable ratio in there Saginaw gear boxes in there Jeeps........the variable ratio will give you slowing steering in the middle ( straight ahead ) and increase as it gets out towards full lock.......this also keeps the Jeep from wandering.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Check the slop/play in the shackle and spring hanger bushings.
LG

 

[Torxhead]

With tires that size, hopefully you have at least an additional steering box brace to hold it in place and check for frame cracks at each of the four corners on the front crossmember.

 

[CJim7]

do you have a sway bar?

 

[1977CJ7TN]

70 PSI? What size?

 

[Posi]

P-30 Chassis. 19.5

 

[Kane]

What size rims and what is the offset? The further the rim center is away from the steering center meaning the ball joints, the more twitchy the jeep will become even with good caster and a tight setup. This is why the Jeeps now have such wide axles and rims that tuck in so far. My CJ5 had 15x10 rims with 33s for over 20 years and I now have 15x7 with 31s. The highway twitch difference was a noticeably improved. Food for thought.

 

[Neuner]

^^^ This

Everything worked as it should, the only change was new tires, give them a chance to break in.

After about a thousand miles, the tires broken in, everything improved some but still there was something that didn't feel right.

An idea clicked when I read Hedgehog's post about his stabilizer. I removed mine and found it had a weird play in it. It would act blown and then really stiffen up hard and then move freely as it was compressed or elongated. I thought they either worked or were blown, with nothing inbetween. I replaced it and it made the last remaining difference. Had a great drive into work this morning!

With my old mudders having a little bit more rolling resistance, I guess they were masking the play in the stabilizer.

 

[Torxhead]

Thanks for the update. I recently went from 35" mudders to 33" all terrains and it really smoothed things out on the street, they grab on to the rocks o.k. also.

 

[Neuner]

And I'm not kidding .... Changing the gearing from 3.73's to 3.31's calmed the whole highway engine noise situation down enough so that I frequently find myself hitting +70mph before realizing it.

I thought of your comment on my commute back home as I found myself doing 75 without knowing it. The change in tires, steering and working out the small things with the engine has made quite the change. 60 feels like I'm creeping along instead of blazing down the highway with my hair on fire like it use to.