So on my 98 XJ 4.0 AW4 NP242 factory Upcountry Suspension I have developed an issue the last couple of weeks. When I turn right all the way to lock my tires have started to to rub.

Passenger tire hits the LCA and the DS tire hits the sway bar bracket. Tires are Michelin LTX M/S 2 235/75/15. Tires have been on over a year and close to 7000 miles and have been rotated once. This problem has really only started in the last month or so.

Suspension up front is original but looks good and drives fine. I've aired the tires. Steering stops are still intact. Do steering stops wear out?

There must be something wrong and I can't see it. I would rather fix the issue than just adjust steering stop to cover it up.




PS LCA



DS

What could cause this without, seemingly, any other symptoms?

 

Had the exact same tires on my stock '96. Not that the tire brand matters. Rarely only the drivers would hit in a particular off camber situation while making a sharp left turn. Your rubs don't look that bad. Stops will wear down if contacted enough. I'd adjust the stops out a bit.

Thought I'd mention that I had one of those tires come apart at the sidewall while on the road. 7yrs old with a lot of tread left.

 

Any chance you hit anything hard enough to knock something out of whack? When I bought my XJ one of the LCA's was bent and caused rubbing. Turning in the other direction, I had the same contact as your DS, but my steering stop was completely missing...yours is there. If it started suddenly my thinking would be something happened to bend that sway bar bracket enough to contact.
Backing that DS stop out a little should eliminate both rubs, but as you said it's probably not the real issue.

 

I suppose I will have to adjust the DS steering stop for now, that should correct the rubbing. If I can find a good front end shop I'll have them take a look at it and maybe do an alignment. I don't feel I need an alignment but it can't hurt.

 

Is the front axle centered relative to the body? Is the track bar tight on
the axle end, or does it float left and right when you steer?

There are lots of things you could check out without going to a shop.

One way to check for play in the front end is park the Jeep on some
gravel or sand, lie down in front of it, have someone start the Jeep
and simply turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock slowly several
times. Observe the tie rod sockets for any play and listen for any
pops or noises coming from either end of the track bar or the
control arm bushings. Look to see if the track bar floats left and
right where it bolts to the axle.

By doing this at different times I have found loose or bad CA bushings,
loose track bar axle end bolt, loose frame mount bolts, and a
loose track bar socket. The upper control arm bushings tend
to be neglected because they are hard to get at.

So, make sure the track bar is tight at the axle end and also the
frame end. If you have the stock track bar, tighten all 6 bolts in the
frame bracket and also the socket.

You could also check the ball joints for play. Jack up a front wheel
and grab the tire at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions and shake it. If it
moves, time for new ball joints.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive front end checklist. I used a washer to extend the DS steering stop and that gave me about an inch of clearance so I bought some time to figure out the problem. I'll give it another look using you examples, thanks!