Beach Driving

[curgon]

hey i have a 2007 jk sport, with open front diff. now when i am on the beach in 4wd Hi or Lo and start to turn at any speed or any angle the front wheels along with the steerring wheel turn about a 1/4 turn back and forth every revolution the wheels turn in the sand...any explanation or anyone have the same thing...i asked jeep...they said HUH ?

[brenttj]

dont understand mate so when you turn right the wheels turn left a 1/4 turn is this only when you let go of the wheel or is it forcing it self back a 1/4 turn??

[wranglertj]

are you referring to the wheels just following the ruts in the sand in which case would turn the wheels and steering wheel accordingly because of this. This is normal

Doesnt sound like an issue to me mate, i assume its fine on road?

If so, this seems fairly normal beach driving characteristics

[curgon]

say if i park on an incline and stop. then turn my wheels to the right at about 45 degrees and then acelerate, as the wheels are turning forward i get feedback through steering wheel. and when i look at my front wheels under aceleration while they are turning forward they are also trying to turn left right left right and so on
No rust flat smooth beach sand...and yes its forcing...with alot of force

[brenttj]

******** hey sounds crap if its in ruts its normal but on flat beach you should be fine is it like throwing the wheel left to right or just moving minimally

[curgon]

i hold the steering wheel as hard as i can but it still turns them left right left right....

[Yom]

Its because the front end uses uni joints rather than CV joints. It may be getting more noticeable as the uni joints are needing to be serviced (they're non serviceable items, throw out and buy new ones basically)


Why do they cause this feeling through the steering? basically, they're not smooth in operation unless their operating angle is dead straight. Consult the following link to see why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_joint