Steering stabiliser, Just another name for....

[graham]

Finally, after much leg work, I've picked up new extended travell shockies for the front shackle extention I'm doing. The existing Monroe Gas shockies are in good nick.
While underneath measuring I noticed the steering stabiliser is leaking and needs to be replaced.
So a few Q's
Is the stabiliser just another name for a shockie?
Could I used one of the Gas shockies to replace it?

Thanks for any input.

[Crazy_Jeepman]

No, A shock dampens the motion one way. The Stabilizer dampens both ways. So a shock will not be a good replacement. ;)

[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: Crazy_Jeepman ]

[River Beast]

Pete is correct...also.. I've noticed that the quality of the Aftermarket stabilizers such as Rancho and Skyjacker have a drastic improvement over the stock replacements... Get a good one.. worth the extra couple of bucks... ;)

[Michael]

I replaced mine with a rancho. It is a great improvement over the stock replacement. ;)

[SpruceMoose]

"A shock dampens the motion one way."??? that sounds a little strange to me. did the shock maker decide to damp out potholes or speed bumps??? or just rely on the "wrong" input to go the other way after a half cycle???

no offense intended, but that goes against my common sense.

ok, putting on the flame suit now...

sm.

[Nathan]

Off the subject but, SpruceMoose, do you belong to any 4wheel clubs here in VA? Ive been looking for people locally to hook up with but have had trouble finding a group to go on outings with. Let me know. Thanks.
Nathan

[fas2c]

The Virginia 4wheel drive Association is a good place to start to look check'em out smile.gif
Virginia 4wheel drive Association (http://www.geocities.com/od4wdc/vacopy.html)
fas2c

[SpruceMoose]

nathan: no, i dont belong to any groups. i have not gotten into off-roading yet. too many other things to do. kids, etc. eventually i want to give it a try though.

sm.

[Bob Barry]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SpruceMoose:
"A shock dampens the motion one way."??? that sounds a little strange to me. did the shock maker decide to damp out potholes or speed bumps??? or just rely on the "wrong" input to go the other way after a half cycle???<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Getting back on topic... smile.gif

No flame suit necessary. More accurately, the shock dampens the motion differently in one direction than it does in the other. The rebound and jounce rates are different, so the shock would offer different resistance when you turned one way than when you turned the other.

[Michael]

Well put Bob. ;)

[Manhattan]

I've read (in one of the big 4x4 mags) that steering stablizers are over-rated and not needed if the steering and suspension are set up correctly, blah, blah, blah... On one hand that seems to make sense... on the other, these are the guys who like to write about mega-buck Jeeps with reverse cut Dana-60s, etc...

I've got all new 3" lift springs, new shocks and new 31" ATs and the original steering stablizer that we can assume is shot. My Jeep is very twitchy. I may need (probably need) an alignment, but will a new steering stablizer really help or just hide another problem?

[Michael]

Manhattan,
Have you done an alignment since the springs? You will need to do that for sure and then go from there. The stabilizer will help but if that will not stop the play and wondering. It could be anything.

[River Beast]

I'll give you a scenario:

When you're out off-roading.. not everything you do is slow paced....we tend to get wild when we can... think about your rig going down an off-camber gully and your front tire hits a rock just the wrong way and the the steering wheel whips around too quick for you to realize and you can't move your hands fast enough and you lose control.

The steering dampener or stablizer controls that quick 'jerky' motion you can get on trails of an off-camber nature.

This concept on the streets works the same way to a lesser degree. potholes and ruts alike. IT controls your steering to the point that YOU can control it better.

Pull paralell to a curb and slightly cut your wheel into the curb, now gas it and watch what happens to your steering wheel as your tire contacts the curb. without a dampener.... IT'S GONNA WHIP!!!

Stabilizers are the one of the things that aren't given much thought until you experience a good one.... THEN you will know how important they really are in everyday driveing... ;)

[Hump]

Check out the three sections under shocks for a more detailed description of what they do, and how they do what they do.
http://www.monroe.com/suspmen.htm#Shocks

[blt2krl]

any one have a dual sterring stabilizer or now who makes one for our rigs? I know that ranco recommends a single stabilizer for up to 35in tires. I'm going to run 37's and figure on more stabilizer couldn't hurt.

[SpruceMoose]

bob b and hump: thanx for the clarification. that make much more sense than a one-way shock.

sm.

[Bandit]

Manhattan, you did put a drop pitman arm on with your lift, didn't you? I noticed you listed the springs, shocks and tires and hoped the pitman arm was included with the springs. If not, you might start there on getting the twitch out of her. As posted lower, the stabilizer mainly dampens bad spots in the road.

[graham]

Thanks all for the input. Another lesson learnt along road of life with a Jeep.
Guess I got me two spare short shockies.
But then I could them on, opposite to each other......Nah to much work, easier to replace the stabiliser. Hope its easier to buy than the dramas of getting the extended shockies :rolleyes: