New JT Gladiator Steering Issue TSB 08-074-20 (for "Improved Steering Feel")

[seven30]

Good luck. I’m on box #7. FCA does not give any Fk’s about their horrendous unethical manufacturing processes. They will never fix the boxes because it will hurt their bottom dollar.
Disgusting human beings!!!
And yes, part of the internal problem is the valving. I have proof of this.

Man I keep saying FCA must be caught in some weird legal thing that compels them to manufacture these compromised boxes. All they have to do is put the guts from the GC box in the JT but something prohibits them from doing that. Whatever it is this funky design is not sloppy manufacturing because they clearly can mass produce steering boxes on other models which are not having these issues.

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[ShadowsPapa]

Man I keep saying FCA must be caught in some weird legal thing that compels them to manufacture these compromised boxes. All they have to do is put the guts from the GC box in the JT but something prohibits them from doing that. Whatever it is this funky design is not sloppy manufacturing because they clearly can mass produce steering boxes on other models which are not having these issues.

I hope you are joking.
The WK2 (Grand Cherokee) is rack and pinion.
There's no steering gear like these trucks have in a Grand Cherokee since the WJ.
Reason being is that the rack and pinion can't handle the abuse and load the Wranglers and JTs are presented with.
Trust me - no one wants rack and pinion on the JT - Jeep would be replacing them by the hundreds if not thousands. It's great for sports cars and sporty driving but unrealistic in a real truck that gets abused and sees massive tires. There's also differences in what the rack and pinion can handle as far as articulation, etc.

I also wonder- does Jeep even MAKE these steering gear themselves, or do they come from another source - perhaps Saginaw or other similar source?

 

[93civej1]

Went and got the alignment done this morning. Said they adjusted the Toe and recentered the steering wheel. I didnt think to get a sheet of the before and after specs. I should have.

It feels maybe a hair better, and driving through the parking lot I thought it was resolved. Once I got down the road and up to some speed, still seems pretty much the same to me, maybe a smidge better. Feel like im keeping the wheel pressured and turned left to go straight. I put the steering wheel straight and there she goes veering to the right. I would think i would maybe be able to adjust some more on the drag link, but i dont think that will help as if I turn the wheel to the left and angle the vehicle to go straight, the steering wheel will not stay in that left position. (the pull feel)

I do have to say that right before i had the gear done, i did have them change the oil and rotate the tires. I am wondering if it could be a matter of tires now on the front. The dont appear to look wore weird or anything odd.

 

[seven30]

I hope you are joking.
The WK2 (Grand Cherokee) is rack and pinion.
There's no steering gear like these trucks have in a Grand Cherokee since the WJ.
Reason being is that the rack and pinion can't handle the abuse and load the Wranglers and JTs are presented with.
Trust me - no one wants rack and pinion on the JT - Jeep would be replacing them by the hundreds if not thousands. It's great for sports cars and sporty driving but unrealistic in a real truck that gets abused and sees massive tires. There's also differences in what the rack and pinion can handle as far as articulation, etc.

I also wonder- does Jeep even MAKE these steering gear themselves, or do they come from another source - perhaps Saginaw or other similar source?

Right Im stuck in WJ with its live axles as the last real GC.

Point is, Jeep knows how to make (or source) good steering boxes and these weird JT boxes are due to a definite engineering criteria that appears hard to achieve.

 

[seven30]

Went and got the alignment done this morning. Said they adjusted the Toe and recentered the steering wheel. I didnt think to get a sheet of the before and after specs. I should have.

It feels maybe a hair better, and driving through the parking lot I thought it was resolved. Once I got down the road and up to some speed, still seems pretty much the same to me, maybe a smidge better. Feel like im keeping the wheel pressured and turned left to go straight. I put the steering wheel straight and there she goes veering to the right. I would think i would maybe be able to adjust some more on the drag link, but i dont think that will help as if I turn the wheel to the left and angle the vehicle to go straight, the steering wheel will not stay in that left position. (the pull feel)

I do have to say that right before i had the gear done, i did have them change the oil and rotate the tires. I am wondering if it could be a matter of tires now on the front. The dont appear to look wore weird or anything odd.

Could be tires. Be interesting to just swap all them all side to side even though it reverses rotation for a test drive.
It would sure answer that question and clear it off the plate of possibilities.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Right Im stuck in WJ with its live axles as the last real GC.

Point is, Jeep knows how to make (or source) good steering boxes and these weird JT boxes are due to a definite engineering criteria that appears hard to achieve.

Sold my WJ a couple of months ago - miss it already. It was a solid vehicle even with its age and 127,000 miles but due to wear the steering was not what it had been when newer. That's a lot of miles on stock parts. (and who knows the care it had before it entered my family)

 

[Scrubb84]

Point is, Jeep knows how to make (or source) good steering boxes and these weird JT boxes are due to a definite engineering criteria that appears hard to achieve.
[/QUOTE]
LMAO, Not hard to achieve. The engineering criteria that you speak of is a feeler gauge and quality control. The plant that produces these overseas is either...
- simply not being paid enough (from the FCA) to produce a quality product (my guess)
- OR they cannot find a feeler gauge anywhere in their country, which is hard to believe because most feeler gauges are made in their country.

 

[Trailman]

I've got mine scheduled for Monday July 12. I'll report back... (TSB on steering. Not related to whatever weird windshield discussion was happening.)

 

[93civej1]

I just had to drive about 30 or so miles to my doctor. I now do not enjoy driving my JT after the “upgrade” steering. It’s honestly a pain in the ass to drive now and fatiguing. My old box honestly was flawless except the first day I test drove it. I now wish I never gave in and still had my old gear.
I’m not sure what they think they did or changed this morning at the alignment appointment and steering wheel center but it feels no different. Constant hold to the left to stay straight. Let the wheel go and it centers but the truck starts heading right. I’m so pissed off at this point for giving In And “hoping” maybe my truck could be better than it already was. I’ve just made it not enjoyable at all now

 

[seven30]

I just had to drive about 30 or so miles to my doctor. I now do not enjoy driving my JT after the “upgrade” steering. It’s honestly a pain in the ass to drive now and fatiguing. My old box honestly was flawless except the first day I test drove it. I now wish I never gave in and still had my old gear.
I’m not sure what they think they did or changed this morning at the alignment appointment and steering wheel center but it feels no different. Constant hold to the left to stay straight. Let the wheel go and it centers but the truck starts heading right. I’m so pissed off at this point for giving In And “hoping” maybe my truck could be better than it already was. I’ve just made it not enjoyable at all now

Does the JT have a SAS?
SAS: Performs calibration for the Steering Angle Sensor (SAS), which permanently stores the current steering wheel position as the straight-ahead position in the steering angle sensor EEPROM. On successful completion of the calibration, the steering angle sensor fault memory is automatically cleared.

 

[93civej1]

Does the JT have a SAS?
SAS: Performs calibration for the Steering Angle Sensor (SAS), which permanently stores the current steering wheel position as the straight-ahead position in the steering angle sensor EEPROM. On successful completion of the calibration, the steering angle sensor fault memory is automatically cleared.

I honestly do not know the answer to that. BUT i do know that some of the JL guys i have seen mention a pull after the TSB and found out that the Electronic Hydraulic steering software was not updated, but after it seemed to be ok. I am hoping mine can only be sooo easy but at this point im not very optimistic.

 

[JeepCares]

Just joking. The idea was get good and drunk then sober up and see if it feels any different. But this is a safety issue for sure and it seems like its exceeding your dealers diagnostic abilities.

Have you already seen if the jeepcares folks can lend a hand?

We see you mentioned us, seven30, thanks!

Hey, 93civej1. If you'd like some assistance from us, please send a private message with more details.

Kate
Jeep Cares

 

[93civej1]

We see you mentioned us, seven30, thanks!

Hey, 93civej1. If you'd like some assistance from us, please send a private message with more details.

Kate
Jeep Cares

Hi Kate, i have sent 2 messages. Just sent my most recent:



Ok, so they just came back and are trying to tell me all is in spec and all looks good and that is has to be road crown or the 34.5 tires. That is not true, because this did not start until Friday after the new gear was installed.
I told them everything was fine on Friday before the new gear, there was no sign of pull. Just only a hair wonder / looseness in steering. Now its a constant right pull fight.

At first they told me sorry, not much else they can do. I would be ok with that, but it didnt start until the TSB update for steering.
I did go back in to the office and tell them I dont agree. They are asking me to bring it in on Tuesday 7/13 in the morning to have one of the "best guys" look at it. To quote "if he thinks its tires, then its tires". Not true, it didnt do that before friday. So does this also means that their other techs are subpar?

The dealer has been great so far, i just dont agree with their answer now after looking at this the 3rd time since 7/2. The 2 people that drove it agree that is has a pull.

 

[jimbom]

Does the JT have a SAS?
SAS: Performs calibration for the Steering Angle Sensor (SAS), which permanently stores the current steering wheel position as the straight-ahead position in the steering angle sensor EEPROM. On successful completion of the calibration, the steering angle sensor fault memory is automatically cleared.

Since one of the off-road pages shows your steering angle in degrees, I'd guess there must be a steering angle sensor. (That page shows up when I select off-road plus on my 8.4)

 

[MoparMadness]

Hi Kate, i have sent 2 messages. Just sent my most recent:



Ok, so they just came back and are trying to tell me all is in spec and all looks good and that is has to be road crown or the 34.5 tires. That is not true, because this did not start until Friday after the new gear was installed.
I told them everything was fine on Friday before the new gear, there was no sign of pull. Just only a hair wonder / looseness in steering. Now its a constant right pull fight.

At first they told me sorry, not much else they can do. I would be ok with that, but it didnt start until the TSB update for steering.
I did go back in to the office and tell them I dont agree. They are asking me to bring it in on Tuesday 7/13 in the morning to have one of the "best guys" look at it. To quote "if he thinks its tires, then its tires". Not true, it didnt do that before friday. So does this also means that their other techs are subpar?

The dealer has been great so far, i just dont agree with their answer now after looking at this the 3rd time since 7/2. The 2 people that drove it agree that is has a pull.

Its the new steering box. Tires can easily be ruled out by switching them from left to right and seeing if the pull trades sides. Mine did the same thing right after the first new box. I showed my dealer alignment specs, and told them I already rotated the tires. They agreed to install a second steering box and ensure the software is up to the latest version. The pull was gone after. I recommend making the dealer prove its the tires if they say thats the cause. Tell them you will pay for them to rotate them and if the pull changes you will leave them alone. If not, you will not pay for the rotation and they put another steering box in as well as ensure the software is the latest.

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