It is worth looking at for sure. You are right, it really is no fun
when one wheel wants to go it's own way all by itself....

Tie rod ends for the steering usually fail in an up down kinda way, the
twisting is ok but the track bar is the likely cause in my mind.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Clint wrote:
>
> Thanks for the input, you guys. I'll check into some of these things
> tonight.My gut reaction is that it doesn't seem particularly safe to drive
> till this is rectified, as it seems a failure in the steering system could
> have quite a large impact (in more ways than one). Or is this not likely to
> fail in a sudden catastrophic event?
>
> Clint
>
> "Clint" <cneufeld@mysocks.shaw.ca> wrote in message
> news:COvXd.616396$6l.159923@pd7tw2no...
> > Something in my steering is allowing more play than it should when turning
> > the wheel, and this morning, when turning into a parking lot, I noticed a
> > small "clunk" as I turned the wheel hard left to hard right. I suspect
> it's
> > either the tie rod or the connecting rod that needs to be replaced;
> perhaps
> > both.
> >
> > Any suggestions how I can tell which one is due for replacement? Should I
> > just do both while I'm under there? While checking it out today, I
> noticed
> > that I can twist either of them back and forth with my hand (front to rear
> > rotational play, not side to side). Is that normal, or an indication that
> > something is going to fall off and leave me with two front wheels going
> > whereever they want to go?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Clint
> >
> >

 

It is worth looking at for sure. You are right, it really is no fun
when one wheel wants to go it's own way all by itself....

Tie rod ends for the steering usually fail in an up down kinda way, the
twisting is ok but the track bar is the likely cause in my mind.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Clint wrote:
>
> Thanks for the input, you guys. I'll check into some of these things
> tonight.My gut reaction is that it doesn't seem particularly safe to drive
> till this is rectified, as it seems a failure in the steering system could
> have quite a large impact (in more ways than one). Or is this not likely to
> fail in a sudden catastrophic event?
>
> Clint
>
> "Clint" <cneufeld@mysocks.shaw.ca> wrote in message
> news:COvXd.616396$6l.159923@pd7tw2no...
> > Something in my steering is allowing more play than it should when turning
> > the wheel, and this morning, when turning into a parking lot, I noticed a
> > small "clunk" as I turned the wheel hard left to hard right. I suspect
> it's
> > either the tie rod or the connecting rod that needs to be replaced;
> perhaps
> > both.
> >
> > Any suggestions how I can tell which one is due for replacement? Should I
> > just do both while I'm under there? While checking it out today, I
> noticed
> > that I can twist either of them back and forth with my hand (front to rear
> > rotational play, not side to side). Is that normal, or an indication that
> > something is going to fall off and leave me with two front wheels going
> > whereever they want to go?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Clint
> >
> >

 

It is worth looking at for sure. You are right, it really is no fun
when one wheel wants to go it's own way all by itself....

Tie rod ends for the steering usually fail in an up down kinda way, the
twisting is ok but the track bar is the likely cause in my mind.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Clint wrote:
>
> Thanks for the input, you guys. I'll check into some of these things
> tonight.My gut reaction is that it doesn't seem particularly safe to drive
> till this is rectified, as it seems a failure in the steering system could
> have quite a large impact (in more ways than one). Or is this not likely to
> fail in a sudden catastrophic event?
>
> Clint
>
> "Clint" <cneufeld@mysocks.shaw.ca> wrote in message
> news:COvXd.616396$6l.159923@pd7tw2no...
> > Something in my steering is allowing more play than it should when turning
> > the wheel, and this morning, when turning into a parking lot, I noticed a
> > small "clunk" as I turned the wheel hard left to hard right. I suspect
> it's
> > either the tie rod or the connecting rod that needs to be replaced;
> perhaps
> > both.
> >
> > Any suggestions how I can tell which one is due for replacement? Should I
> > just do both while I'm under there? While checking it out today, I
> noticed
> > that I can twist either of them back and forth with my hand (front to rear
> > rotational play, not side to side). Is that normal, or an indication that
> > something is going to fall off and leave me with two front wheels going
> > whereever they want to go?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Clint
> >
> >