ReneH Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 Depending on how wide your wheels are you may have a mismatch between the tires you have and the wheel width. I use Tire Rack and find my tire and then see what wheel widths they recommend for those tires. And also check the tire pressures. You might be surprised how much difference a few pounds of pressure makes. Too little pressure causes the edges of the tires to catch on grooves or ruts in the pavement and the steering tries to follow the ruts. So play with the pressures to see if it changes the handling. I drive the 32x11.5x15 wheels, which are very common for the CJ7. I think the problem is more the personal feeling about that, if comparing to my bronco or the LeBaron... As the CJ7 is more an off-road than a street vehicle, a strong and very easy steering maybe is wanted...so I'm currently looking for a electronic hydraulic valve to bypass the powersteering pump. Maybe combined with a pressure regulator to not completely deactivate the powersteering on the gearbox. I don't know if a complete bypass will damage the steering gearbox... The basic idea is to reduce the pressure of the steering pump by pressing a button when driving to get the steering more stiff. If standing still or parking, you can re-activate it. So it's the manual version of a speed dependent powersteering in modern cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I drive the 32x11.5x15 wheels, which are very common for the CJ7. I think the problem is more the personal feeling about that, if comparing to my bronco or the LeBaron... As the CJ7 is more an off-road than a street vehicle, a strong and very easy steering maybe is wanted...so I'm currently looking for a electronic hydraulic valve to bypass the powersteering pump. Maybe combined with a pressure regulator to not completely deactivate the powersteering on the gearbox. I don't know if a complete bypass will damage the steering gearbox... The basic idea is to reduce the pressure of the steering pump by pressing a button when driving to get the steering more stiff. If standing still or parking, you can re-activate it. So it's the manual version of a speed dependent powersteering in modern cars. If I understand right, you have 32 x 11.5 tires. Have you checked to see what width of wheel those tires should be on? I usually go to Tire Rack and find my tire and look at the specs for wheel width. I just looked and two tires of that size that I picked should be on 8 - 10" wide wheels. What wheel width do you have? Tires on too wide or narrow of a wheel do not handle correctly. And if the wheel doesn't have the proper offset and backspacing it messes up the handling as well. My SiL, TJ, bought a truck with way too wide of wheels and tires that don't fit them correctly - the sidewalls are rounded instead of being straight to the tread. And the handling is very poor. We attributed some of the problem to the steering box, but when we replaced it with a BlueTop we realized that a big part of it is the tires and wheels. They are getting replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneH Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 If I understand right, you have 32 x 11.5 tires. Have you checked to see what width of wheel those tires should be on? I usually go to Tire Rack and find my tire and look at the specs for wheel width. I just looked and two tires of that size that I picked should be on 8 - 10" wide wheels. What wheel width do you have? Tires on too wide or narrow of a wheel do not handle correctly. And if the wheel doesn't have the proper offset and backspacing it messes up the handling as well. My SiL, TJ, bought a truck with way too wide of wheels and tires that don't fit them correctly - the sidewalls are rounded instead of being straight to the tread. And the handling is very poor. We attributed some of the problem to the steering box, but when we replaced it with a BlueTop we realized that a big part of it is the tires and wheels. They are getting replaced. Hi Gary, I have checked what's mounted: Mangels 10JJ X15 CH ET34 with tires Yokohama Geolandar A/T 32x11.5 R15 LT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Hi Gary, I have checked what's mounted: Mangels 10JJ X15 CH ET34 with tires Yokohama Geolandar A/T 32x11.5 R15 LT. Here's the page at TireRack on your tires. And it says the right rim width is 8 - 10". So your wheels should be right for them, albeit at the upper end of the width range. But they should work. Have you tried different pressures? That can dramatically effect the "feel" of a tire and wheel combo. So I'd raise the pressure 2 - 3 psi and try that. Lower it 2 - 3 psi below where you have them now. Play around to see what changes in "feel" that might make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneH Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 Here's the page at TireRack on your tires. And it says the right rim width is 8 - 10". So your wheels should be right for them, albeit at the upper end of the width range. But they should work. Have you tried different pressures? That can dramatically effect the "feel" of a tire and wheel combo. So I'd raise the pressure 2 - 3 psi and try that. Lower it 2 - 3 psi below where you have them now. Play around to see what changes in "feel" that might make. Ok. Thanks for this. I have searched via Google what tires the people drive with my wheels on the 1986 CJ7...the most I've found have the 32x12.5 on the 10" wheels... But ok, as you've found out, my setup should fit. I've raised the pressure a bit, but as I've removed my hardtop and the weather gets unsteady, I haven't had time to drive and check. But my opinion is still that I should be able to regulate the pressure of the steering pump, when my wife would drive the CJ7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Ok. Thanks for this. I have searched via Google what tires the people drive with my wheels on the 1986 CJ7...the most I've found have the 32x12.5 on the 10" wheels... But ok, as you've found out, my setup should fit. I've raised the pressure a bit, but as I've removed my hardtop and the weather gets unsteady, I haven't had time to drive and check. But my opinion is still that I should be able to regulate the pressure of the steering pump, when my wife would drive the CJ7. I wonder if there is a pressure regulator that you could use? It would let you reduce the max pressure, and therefore the assist, that the system gives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneH Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 I wonder if there is a pressure regulator that you could use? It would let you reduce the max pressure, and therefore the assist, that the system gives. Hmm...that's still the question for me. I want to get less assistance from the steering pump...or better an adjustable assistance... I think an electric three way valve should work fine to bypass the fluid back into the reservoir. If I can combine thus with a regulator, I can setup one line with full assist and another with reduced assist, controllable by a switch from the dashboard. So, when driving on a highway or a country road, you can switch off the assist, or even better switch to a reduced assist. So, that's the plan so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I wonder if there is a pressure regulator that you could use? It would let you reduce the max pressure, and therefore the assist, that the system gives. Gary, on a Saginaw pump the pressure regulator varies with the application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Gary, on a Saginaw pump the pressure regulator varies with the application. So his Jeep has a Saginaw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 So his Jeep has a Saginaw? I don't know about '86, but my '75 CJ-5 had a Saginaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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