My son's first jeep, 2000 xj sport.
steering turns by itself, I'm not talking bump steer while driving, I mean stand beside it while stopped, reach thru the open window and tap the steering wheel, watch it ghost steer to full lock in either direction.
I should add that it's still stock at this point.

 

Time to start checking the steering parts. Have someone turn the wheels back and forth while you look at the front suspension. Is the gearbox moving when the wheels turn? Is the steering damper stuck and pushing the wheels in one direction? Check your steering pump fluid and level. Most likely the steering gearbox is the cause. It creates steering power by running the high pressure steering fluid through different channels that open and close depending on the position of the input shaft. All the pressure is directed and controlled by a bunch of seals inside the gearbox. If they start to fail, the gearbox will pull on its own.

If the gearbox is the issue, you have to rebuilt it or get a new/remanufactured one.

But check for other causes first, cause changing the gearbox is a PITA. And getting a good remanufactured one is even harder. If you go the reman route, be ready to replace it all over again because the reman is bad out of the box. Sometimes you can find a deal on a new one. Good luck

 

It's gotta be the box then, I've never had one fail like this. You can let it idle in the driveway, and a few moments later the wheels will just slowly start to turn with nobody in the car.
Either that or she's jealous of these self driving cars and wants to be one.

What box would be a good upgrade for it?
It's going to lose all of its factory suspension soon anyway to get a moderate rock crawler lift, my son needs to be able to catch me on the trails.
Thanks.

 

Ya I have seen this before , it is the steering box that is doing it .

 

Whatever you do... PLEASE heed my warning... don't go down the re-man steering box hole from hell....... if you have to.... ask me how I know....lol

Save yourself a lot of grief and just fork over the cash for a Redhead box. They rebuild them the right way. I wish someone would've given me that piece of advice back when mine hit the fan... nearly all re-mans are pure junk.
Unless you're going to rebuild the box correctly yourself... go with the Redhead. Im not paid in any way to promote them.....I just know from personal experience that it just wasted time screwing with remans.