Like most topics with hobbies, automobiles, Jeeps, etc. there is a lot of discussion around steering stabilizers. The silly title is somewhat serious with this topic. I’m just going to lay out what my thoughts were and why I chose the way I did.

The steering felt really rough to me. The tires on the TJ were in good shape when I bought them. The jeep drove really well, but it was just rough in turning. There was a slight vibration, which I just assumed was a “normal” thing for a ’97 TJ. There wasn’t anything really wrong, but I just wondered if I could make it a little better. I chose the Teraflex 9550 v55 for my steering stabilizer upgrade.

I don’t have a lot of photos of this mod, because it was a royal pain in the rear. My stock steering stabilizer was rusted in so bad that PB Blast didn’t even help. I had to buy a pinion puller to get the stabilizer to disconnect. I kid you not I was really worried about how much pressure was on that connection.

There was a loud bang when the stabilizer finally let go. The pinion puller fell to the concrete and rattled around. I didn’t have the heart to look for a few seconds, but when I did I knew I rounded a corner. I cleaned everything out and bolted the Teraflex in. Here’s the difference in the two stabilizers:

I’ll admit that it could totally be a placebo-effect, but I really like the steering in the Jeep now. It’s much smoother on the trail as well. For under $75 I’m super happy that I put this into the steering system.

#JeepLife