The 411 first....
99 XJ
4.0L, AW4
2" lift
Currently on 235s.
Fairly new longer shocks front and rear for the lift. New rear heavy duty full leaves.

I'm coming to the community to truly find out once and for all if this is really an issue or if I'm just being nit-picky and this is just the way it is with our 20+ year old solid axle jeeps. If so... I'll just get over it and let it sleeping dogs lay.
If it really is an issue however, I want to correctly diagnose and fix it....
Quick back story info..... OEM box finally quit on me about 2 years ago (which if I knew then what I know now).... I would've dealt with not having my jeep while I got it rebuilt.
I started down the reman. rabbit-hole. (not knowing those manufacturers have no conscience along with anything that remotely represents Quality Control.
After a couple of those replacements going south in short order, I said fine, I'll just bite the bullet and get a RedHead gearbox. Had good reputation for doing a quality rebuild of the boxes they sell.
For a while that seemed to resolve the issue but there was still on-center vagueness. Which I attributed to it being a 22 year old solid axle jeep. I never expected much better...as it comes with the territory.
Now it seems that there's a bit more of it... generally drift to the right ( could be road crown)...but a little to the left sometimes too.
the tires I currently have are just your basic no frills GY wranglers. They were almost new when I bought the Jeep 4 years ago so figured run 'em until they either wore out or didn't get the job done for me.

Also, most of the front end is new too. tie-rod ends, trac bar, etc. well within the last 10k. All new u-joints except the wheels. but when tested don't seem to be an issue nor any play in the ball-joints either.

So.... all that being said... Am I losing my mind? or is there a real issue to track down here? I would say I correct or have to hold on average within a full inch from center on the steering wheel to each side even when on a very seemingly flat straight stretch of road....reminds me of a worn rack and pinion setup from an old circa 1970s full size Ford truck.

 

Done anything with the control arms or their bushings?

 

have you taken it to a good alignment shop to get the measurements? do that first

also, if you find a straight stretch of highway and let go of the steering wheel, does it stay straight? if it stays going straight then the issue may be the way the steering wheel is set in relation to your dominant arm. like you i had redone everything in the front and was not happy with the steering. however i am a one arm steerer mostly with the left arm resting on the door arm rest. when i had it aligned last year after i redid the gearbox, they reset the steering wheel but it is off a little bit in relation to how long my arm is, so my arm tends to push the wheel more than it should. but if i get it going straight on the highway and let go, the jeep keeps straight. also, if i change to 2 hands on the wheel it keeps straight.

 

That was an issue on CJs, had a few of those. However you can dial in your steering to be tight. So two things come to mind. One is steering box adjustment. The other is U joints on the sector shaft. Look down on your sector shaft while it rotates. You will have to remove your efan first. You should get immediate movement of the sector shaft. You will probably have to get someone to rotate your steering wheel while you look at it. Another thing, have you gone to aftermarket steering?

 

There's a rubber joint inside the steering shaft that can de-laminate.
Need to have someone move the steering wheel back and forth while you do some noggin pokin,

 

Not yet... that's all stock and pretty positive it's original to the jeep... so yeah...22 year old rubber there. One of the big things that plagues using a vehicle this old as a DD.

 

- Alignment, yes.... numbers I dont recall at this time. but was a reputable shop that is familiar with 4wd's.
- didn't want to adjust the box if I didn't have to.... didn't want to over tighten/adjust and cause problems.
- steering is all stock or including the box OEM rebuilt.
- will have to check the steering shaft again... last time I checked that with a buddy of mine...there wasn't any play.

 

tried to pick a straight stretch of road and let go.... seems to be straight for approximately the first 100-150 feet (@ 40mph)...then it starts drifting to the right enough that I have to correct before I'm in the next lane over.
It's not a "hard/sharp" pull to that side..but I'd say a mild to moderate one. I've spun the wheels off the ground and don't think I've got any brakes dragging. Air pressure in tires is even on all 4 corners.

 

I would take it to another tire shop with a good reputation and have them take the measurements. Get a print out and go from there. Without knowing the values you will be wasting time and money. The tire shop around me charged $75 only for the measurements and to adjust the toe. They gave me a print out of the before and after values.

 

agreed... gotta have the starting point and where it needs to be.

Another thing that was stated that makes sense too....is to throw a closer eyeball on the LCA bushings. I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that even though 108k is pretty low miles for the year...... 22 year old rubber is 22 years exposed to wear and the elements. I could easily see that being a possibility.
I really want to get this sorted out before I chuck a new set of tires on it....I don't really care if these get a little chewed up in the process of dialing things in. But not something I want to fix after a set of new shoes.

 

Recently had the upper control arms which includes upper ball joints replaced on our '96 Blazer. Already had replaced everything else in the steering linkage including the steering box plus new unit bearings and LCA's. Having the uppers replaced got rid of the little bit of wandering that remained.

 

@ EZ ...is that a pain in the butt to do yourself....and do it right?
My main area of knowledge is in building/rebuilding engines.. and body work....not as much with suspension work...I understand the components and how the work, but wouldn't say I'm a master level in that area.

If it's best for an experienced shop to do it...well that's another strike against my old Jeep... my wife already wants me to get a truck... don't want to give her anymore "ammo" to use against me in selling my beloved XJ...

 

I did both uppers and lowers on my '96 XJ. Wasn't bad at all. Only bushing I didn't replace was the upper left front one. It looked solid with no cracks in the rubber. Glad of it because I've read replacement isn't a fun job. Would have done it if I'd of had to though. Lots of info on how to.
Also did my own front end alignment. Had it at 1/16 toe in. My friend has an alignment/front end repair shop. He set it at zero. He also said that with an adjustable track bar it could get to steer the best it could be had.

 

yeah... unfortunately with my setup... I don't have an adjustable track bar. Just an OEM quality replacement....when I did all of my tie-rod ends.

 

I'm not running one either. Stock MOOG one with a relocation bracket at the axle. Right now the front diff sits a bit to the right (less than 1/2"). An adjustable one would fix that plus get my steering geometry spot on. Track bar and drag link perfectly in line with each other. Thing is the last I checked into them there wasn't one shaped that could do that because of the short lift (3.5" and under). Clearance issues with the front diff cover or tie rod. Only solution would be to bump stop. Here's a good read (but long!) on what I'm talking about if you want to get in to it.
https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/t...it-fit-738948/