End of a long week....so I'm re-reading....and now I'm not sure. There are 2 questions in one sentence and Yes means doing opposite things.....and if I've read your humor enough here, you could be just saying "Yes it's a dumb question." I'm not saying you did, but could be interpreted.
So no....I'm not sure, ha. Basically you said yes, it is recommended to raise, and yes you can do it with the Jeep on the ground., I think, ha.
He's saying it can be done both ways. Yes to both options. It will just depend on how you can get access to things, how they come apart, and go back together. You may even have to use a jack and/or straps to realign bolt holes if things shift a bit or need to be adjusted to line up.
If the bushings are loose and letting things knock around, then absolutely fix that. You will notice the improvement. Beyond that, the SwayLoc is a much nicer front antisway bar than factory.
Yes, could be a dumb question, yes you can do it with the tires on the ground, yes it is recommended to do it with the axle raised.
Since you mentioned pictures. Here are a few. I doubt much insight can be gathered from these… but maybe someone can chime in
Replace all of that. Dead serious. It's how many years old my guy.
I found myself in a similar situation with a low mileage TJ. Heck, I still had the original shocks on the Jeep. But the steering was total slop. It's all these warn out ends. I mean driving down the road and I'm doing so much movement of my arms with the steering wheel.
The VERY first thing I did was replace the entire steering with the Currie RockJock Currectlync Steering System. That made an immediate and noticeable improvement. Then I did a drive way alignment to get things tightened up there. No more wondering all over their road.
Next was track bar, lots of options there, folks on this forum have solid recommendations, I would listen to them.
I found myself in a similar situation with a low mileage TJ. Heck, I still had the original shocks on the Jeep. But the steering was total slop. It's all these warn out ends. I mean driving down the road and I'm doing so much movement of my arms with the steering wheel.
The VERY first thing I did was replace the entire steering with the Currie RockJock Currectlync Steering System. That made an immediate and noticeable improvement. Then I did a drive way alignment to get things tightened up there. No more wondering all over their road.
Next was track bar, lots of options there, folks on this forum have solid recommendations, I would listen to them.
The bar itself never really has any issues, but worn bushings and links will definitely create a sloppy feeling that can feel like a steering issue to someone who isn't familiar to its quirks.
There are several aftermarket solutions available if you want to actually upgrade the bar. That said, focus on the actual steering first before upgrading.
If you do upgrade, my personal recommendation (and there are those who don't agree) is to consider the Swayloc over the Currie Antirock. The Swayloc is a dual rate bar that has a low spring rate like the Antirock for off road, but also has a much stiffer than stock rate for on road use. Meaning you can whip the car around corners with little body roll.
There is a good thread on this forum to boot about the difference between the options I wish I had read before I pulled the trigger, but that's what I get for making 1am white monster induced purchasing decisions.
Thread: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...-swayloc-dual-rate-anti-swaybar-system.46143/
The bars are bars. The end links are what’s important. The dialing in the alignment is important. The tire quality and proper backspacing for good scrub radius is important. Having good bushings and body mounts is important. Having everything torqued accurately is important. The more you focus on getting everything in spec the better it will drive. The transmission and motor mount rubber is important. The Swayloc is an excellent enhancement. Shocks matter more than anything. The last thing to replace is the steering damper. Once you’ve done everything else, do the damper and that’s as good as it gets. It will not drive like a 2015 Corvette or a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
It should not have dead play in the steering. If you're moving the steering from center and the tires don't change direction or something is clunking in the dry steering test, you've got worn linkages in the steering, worn ball joints, fried control arm bushings or occassionally an issue with the steering box (least likely in your configuration).
If you've only driven modern cars built after 2000, the steering in the TJ is slow and feels like crap in general. Less numb feeling than most electric assist, but slow. Solid front axle road manners aren't good. I won't sugar coat that. Camber is not adjustable stock. Caster is only adjustable in some years.
It needs a little toe-in. 0.16° toe-in is the spec and is a little under 1/8". With toe-in too low the steering feels vague and especially with toe-out will wander out of the grooves worn into the road. Too high and it'll feel a bit darty.
It truly looks stock from your photo so caster angle issues are not as likely. This is affects the return to center on steering. It can quickly affect steering when lifting the jeep. If it doesn't return to center well after going around a corner, your caster is probably below 6.5°. Stock spec is 7°.
If you've only driven modern cars built after 2000, the steering in the TJ is slow and feels like crap in general. Less numb feeling than most electric assist, but slow. Solid front axle road manners aren't good. I won't sugar coat that. Camber is not adjustable stock. Caster is only adjustable in some years.
It needs a little toe-in. 0.16° toe-in is the spec and is a little under 1/8". With toe-in too low the steering feels vague and especially with toe-out will wander out of the grooves worn into the road. Too high and it'll feel a bit darty.
It truly looks stock from your photo so caster angle issues are not as likely. This is affects the return to center on steering. It can quickly affect steering when lifting the jeep. If it doesn't return to center well after going around a corner, your caster is probably below 6.5°. Stock spec is 7°.
After looking at your front end pics first thing Id do is get a can of your fav penetrant and hit all the rusty nuts/studs before trying to take anything apart. Also that wad of dirt or grease inside the left front can throw a tire out of balance if you have any shaking going on. Tires can make a big diff in handling and ride and lastly I call BS on the "its 20 years old" replace everything. Out of 200+ trucks/jeeps/4x4 with only a handful being less than 20 years old I never replaced every front end component. The thing only has 45K on it and looks like a street rig. If it was a obvious hard core use rig Id say otherwise. Just my $.02 on that one.
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CJ with a TJ
TJ Enthusiast
I have a basically stock '02 that I pretty much did a complete steering/suspension rebuild on, and it drives like a dream now. No wander, it's not loose, no shaking, and it even goes faster on the highway now with less effort. Before, I could turn the wheel from 11-1 o' clock or so, and absolutely nothing would happen. And driving on the highway, I must've looked like a drunk driver with all the wandering, having to constantly make steering corrections.
I replaced the steering linkage with a ZJ upgrade, because it wasn't that much more expensive than the stock system. I also put new U-joints in at the front wheels, and boy did it need them. And a new stock track bar and stock control arms. I also had to replace my steering gearbox, as I damaged it when removing the drag link from the pittman. I don't recommend doing that, as that part was expensive. But things break after 23 years, what'cha gonna do?
I have an '06 LJ with 45k miles that was flat towed with the steering wheel locked. It is also stock. I replaced everything up front with stock components and it rides and steers like new.
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