2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

[alaskahunter26]

Greetings!
This is my first time on a forum, so please bare with me. My husband bought me a Jeep for my birthday last month and while driving to work the last few days, I've noticed some issues with the front end. Steering can get loose at times when driving, no shaking like the DW but definitely doesn't feel normal. Consider the fact that I live in Alaska and I drive on a mountain highway at 65-70mph. The Jeep is in great shape with low miles. We are calling this coming week to get the front end checked out. Any ideas what we may be looking for?

While driving straight the steering wheel sometimes pulls to one side or the steering wheel feels loose. The real scare is when I change lanes on the highway. At time the steering wheel feels so loose, the Jeep will literally jerk to one side of the lane. I feel that may be the Jeep and the road conductions contributing to that issue. Any information or suggestions, I would greatly appreciate.

Thank you!

Wendy

 

[mark sr]

Hi Wendy!

Are you able to jack up the jeep and carefully inspect all the front end parts? how is the wear on the front tires?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Sounds like a trackbar issue, they control side to side movement of the front axle. When loose it can cause the steering to feel loose and unexpected lane changes.

 

[JPNinPA]

Is there a lift on the jeep? When was it last aligned?

Things that will make the jeep pull to one side
Excessive Road crown -design of the road not much you could do about it.
Uneven tire pressure
Rubbing brake pad from a loose pad or a stuck caliper.
Alignment
Worn loose track bar
If vehicle is lifted 4 or more inches the suspension geometry could be off
Drag link and track bar not parallel causing bump steer
Caster angle changed due to the lift could lead to the darting feeling.
Worn tie rod ends
Gearbox ash
Steering column loose or angle. Or worn column joint



Most of this can be verified by looking or completing a dry steering test.