Loose Steering/bump steer...... check your balls

[Insert_Clever_Name_Here]

He guys and gals. I just wanted to share a little experience I’ve had with my JT. I never had any issues with my steering except for the dealer having the tires overfilled when I first purchased it (44+ PSI I believe). So, upon installing my Evo lift I decided to do the full Steer Smarts tie rod/flipped drag link/steering stabilizer and Synergy Front Track bar brace. The results were AMAZING! I could not believe how well this truck drove and tracked with 38x13.5 tires. I felt really good about my purchases and the direction I went in.

Somewhere between 500-800 miles post lift (3500 total on the jeep) my front end began to feel a bit sloppy/loose and I experienced some bump steer. I brought it back to have it aligned after making sure everything was bolted down as I originally planned. I was shocked to get back my results that I now had negative camber on my passenger side front wheel. I knew there was no way my axle had been bent as I had only done local street miles after the lift. I figured I probably had a ball joint going out on the passenger side. I did the ball joint test and didn’t see any movement. I happened to find this video:
and realized I was experiencing the same thing. I had a shop pull apart my front end when installing my truss and sure enough my lower ball joint was loose and could be easily moved by hand. I had them install the upgraded Dana Spicer HD JT ball joints and all I can say is my steering is even better than before. These HD ball joints really tightened up my steering.

Looking back, I am fairly certain of when I damaged that ball joint. I hit a strip of road maybe 200-300 feet long that was very uneven due to construction at 45-50 mph. So if you are having these issues and can't nail down the cause. Make sure you look into your ball joints even if it passes the initial ball joint test.

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[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

I got some info directly from Dave Schlossberg and synergy that they are coming out with super ball joints for our truck.

 

[piroman683]

@Insert_Clever_Name_Here what lift kit from evo did you install? my JT has some pretty random bump steer issues going on and I'm using Synergy's 3.5in lift front springs + Fox DSC's. For the track bar I used rustys off road, which I thought might be the problem since the angles are not 100% parallel between the track bar and drag link. However, when reinstalling the OEM track bar the issue still exists. Checked ball joints, dampener (though I know it's not rooted in that), and will be taking it in for alignment next thursday (maybe toe adjustment is the root cause here?...)

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