Steering! is it a deal breaker?

[greg613r]

Hey gang, new member here from central FL. I am looking to purchase a used Mojave, but have been reading about the loose steering. I have driven several and there is a definite looseness/ wandering in the steering. Is this something that can be fixed by the dealer, or am I looking at upgrading brackets or adding a steering dampener?
I am looking forward to hearing from owners and what they have done to repair the issue.

Thank You,
Greg

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[Lunentucker]

Stabilizer and geometry correction brackets.
Ask the dealer to put it on the lift and check all of the torques on the ball joints and steering components.
Ask them to check the stabilizer for proper function. Many have failed with low mileage.
You'll probably want to upgrade it anyway, but it's worth a shot.
Make sure they check the steering gearbox bolts and the pitman arm nut.
If it's not lifted install the brackets and start with the first hole down (Rancho Brackets).
I recommend the Metalcloak sector shaft brace as well.

 

[Lunentucker]

If it's a 2020 make sure that it doesn't still have the aluminum steering gearbox.

 

[Lost1wing]

Does it have the new steel gearbox? Is it still under warranty?

 

[Buzzlb]

No. My Overland was fine, I had the box replaced anyway under warranty and it it was a small change in steering, for the better.

 

[Lost1wing]

I had the aluminium gearbox and it was replaced with the steel under warranty. It took care of the wandering issue I had. There is the possibility that some of the suspension parts or the gearbox itself was loose and the dealer took care of that during the replacement.

To answer your question, no it is not a deal breaker, especially if it still has the factory warranty.

 

[BUZZHEAD]

I have no steering issues ,would not be a deal breaker.
There still is a loose nut behind the steering wheel ME

 

[Dougstdig]

If you’re expecting to make the starting of Corvette quality, you’re looking at the wrong vehicle. If you have the expectation that it will be better than a TJ, JK or a JL it’s the correct vehicle. The added wheel base of the JT provides a better ride and steering feel. If you have worn steering components or fasteners have loosened tighten them back to speck and you’re golden.

 

[steveorama]

Keep in mind this is a solid front axle vehicle. So the steering and control is not going to be what you are used to, assuming you are coming from and IFS vehicle. The natural loose steering of a Jeep can be very off-putting to those new to them. There was a problem with steering boxes early on that was since remedied with a beefier replacement, but that only fixed the exacerbated symptom of the loose steering. The JT's steering is much better than previous Jeeps, but it's still not what most are used to. It honestly took some getting used to for me when I traded in my Silverado to the Gladiator, and that's with having multiple Jeeps in the past and fully expecting it to drive like crap. Having owned mine now for 2 years this summer, this is the best driving/steering Jeep I've ever driven by comparison.

There are minor things you can do, but still I wouldn't expect anything dramatic to help the steering or wandering by replacing parts. The best thing to do is lower the air pressure in the tires to help the wander (the dealerships famously love to have 40+psi for some reason in the tires) and check the nut on the steering box. There is slop in the gearbox by design, but too much can lead to a very loose steering. There's a decent write up on this here.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...system-i-am-finally-happy-with-my-jeep.31671/

 

[Readyt]

I had the Aluminum Gear Box and the Dealer replaced it NQA.

 

[greg613r]

Thanks everybody I appreciate everybody taking a moment and leaving some info I found a 21 with 13,000 miles on it and it seem to wander real bad appreciate all the help and knowledge.
gs

 

[steveorama]

Thanks everybody I appreciate everybody taking a moment and leaving some info I found a 21 with 13,000 miles on it and it seem to wander real bad appreciate all the help and knowledge.
gs

Is everything still stock on it? I would recommend test driving a new one too and see if it's the same wander by comparison. I'm guessing it's the tire pressure as the culprit if it's all stock. Point out how bad the wander is and maybe you can talk them down a little more, then before you drive off the lot lower the pressure by 5psi and I bet it will make a difference.

 

[Rocksalt]

I have original aluminum steering box.. 35k miles ... no issues at all.
Yes bad steering would have been a deal killer for me when I bought my JTS in 2020. Dont accept poor steering as normal

 

[jeepdan]

2020 Overland with stock suspension, wheels and tires here. Aluminum box. 25,000 miles.

Compared to the stock 2016 JKU that I traded in for the Gladiator, the Gladiator steering took some getting used to. My reflexes have adapted to it, and it doesn't bother me anymore.

 

[Bjeepz]

If you don't like the way it drives from walk away. Test drive a brand new one or two or three Mojave's and see what you think. Maybe it was traded in because nobody was able to fix anything. Even under warranty the dealership will look, say everything is tight and nothing is wrong.

My Mojave is the nicest driving Jeep I've driven right out of the box. I then immediately added 35's, a 3/4 inch rear spacer and 1 inch front spacer, bumper and winch. Shortly after I crushed the steering stabilizer and added an adjustable Falcon pass through stabilizer. The couple days I drove around without it for short distances it was very light and wouldn't have made for a nice hwy trip. The Falcon is nice and no complaints!

I recently picked up the Mopar 2 inch lift lower control arms to add more caster and improve the steering feel at hwy speeds.

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