The KK is on Life Support

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:46 pm

Finally heard back from the dealer. The new rack they installed 3 weeks ago is already dumping fluid. So that's the 3rd rack in 6 months, this one only lasted a week of daily driving!! They're telling me there's no way the tie rod sockets will hold up at the angle they are at. The mechanics doesn't think Chrysler will pay for a 3rd steering rack replacement. I'm at a crossroads here and need to make a decision ASAP. Do I scrap Project KK or keep her on the ventilator??? Busting racks offroad is one thing but blowing seals on a brand new rack with one week of daily driving is no bueno. Help Guys!

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:51 pm

This is crazy! Daily driving? Are you sure your lift is installed correctly? A arms on backwards? Just thinking that the angles are not that bad. Going on 85K lifted 3.5-4 inches and no issues on or off road. I think there must be a different reason we haven't thought of yet.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 6:45 pm

Just remember you will experience in some form or another a issue with any vehicle you modify and take off road.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 6:51 pm

Right, but this time is was a brand new rack that lasted 1 week with no offroading. If I can't even drive it down the street what am I supposed to do?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 6:57 pm

ElCuervo52 wrote:

Right, but this time is was a brand new rack that lasted 1 week with no offroading. If I can't even drive it down the street what am I supposed to do?

Drop the lift 1",align,then drive and see what happens.

Did you ever think a possibility of the PS pump and/or lines causing a over pressure condition? If you hold the steering at "full lock" for more then 1-2 seconds you can cause the same issue as your "dead heading" the PS pressure and if the relief valve in the pump is bad you could over pressurize the rack and blow seals. Collapsed lines internally can cause a over pressure issue also.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 7:22 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

ElCuervo52 wrote:

Right, but this time is was a brand new rack that lasted 1 week with no offroading. If I can't even drive it down the street what am I supposed to do?

Drop the lift 1",align,then drive and see what happens.

Did you ever think a possibility of the PS pump and/or lines causing a over pressure condition? If you hold the steering at "full lock" for more then 1-2 seconds you can cause the same issue as your "dead heading" the PS pressure and if the relief valve in the pump is bad you could over pressurize the rack and blow seals. Collapsed lines internally can cause a over pressure issue also.

I'd have to swap for smaller tires also if I drop the lift ugh.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:27 pm

My parents have a 2008 JK w/ 55k miles they're looking to get rid of. They're willing to give me the JK for whatever I can get for the KK. I don't think I can pass that up.

Ted15 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:31 am

ElCuervo52 wrote:

My parents have a 2008 JK w/ 55k miles they're looking to get rid of. They're willing to give me the JK for whatever I can get for the KK. I don't think I can pass that up.

I probably would.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 1:32 pm

I think I'm gonna do it. About time to cut my losses on the KK.

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 4:40 pm

'08 is the 3.8. With an auto, it's very similar to our 3.7/autos. They're beyond dogs when running bigger tires and lots of guys really over gear them to get some kind of performance (figure 5.13s or deeper). Just keep that in mind.

That said, she's a baby at 55k miles. My KK is an '11 and already over 65k miles. For what you want, I think you'll be happier in a JK. Stock will fit 33x12.5s no problem. Hell add some bumpstops and flat fenders and you'll run 35x12.5s. I have more than a few friends on 3.5" of lift (and flat flares) to 4.5" running 37s. One is soon to be spinning 40s on tons.

Lots of aftermarket for you though. One ton axles, one ton steering, more lifts than you know what to do with, plenty of affordable armor, supercharger kits (if you want to build/boost the stock 3.

, v8/diesel swap kits (I'm a GM guy...MoTech makes a great almost plug and play LS swap kit, and I know there's a few other companies offering one as well). You can do almost anything to a JK far easier and for much less money than the KK. But you'll have a "me too" Jeep (some people care about this, I don't. It's your rig though....).

Btw, might help to pull some of the parts out of the KK and sell em here or else where before trading her in.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:30 pm

Depends what kind of deal I can get on the KK as is. If I can't get more than 10k I'm better off bringing it back down to stock, selling it for blue book value and selling the aftermarket parts. It's a manual JK. I'm hoping there some money left over to build the JK. Definitely enjoyed the uniqueness of the KK, but it's just not happening. I'm thinking 3" teraflex lift with 35" duratracs and 4.88 gears for the JK. It's bright red too which I can't do so prob paint it black.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:00 pm

Man this is becoming such a nightmare. Dealership is only willing to do a trade in and they offered under 10k. Whether I get rid of it or not I need to make this thing driveable. How much can you crank down the front end? I still have my 31" BFGs. You think cranking down to 3" and running 31" tires will solve the issue?

Ted15 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:12 pm

ElCuervo52 wrote:

Man this is becoming such a nightmare. Dealership is only willing to do a trade in and they offered under 10k. Whether I get rid of it or not I need to make this thing driveable. How much can you crank down the front end? I still have my 31" BFGs. You think cranking down to 3" and running 31" tires will solve the issue?

It would probably help. Have you had the power steering fluid pressure regulator checked? It sounds more like a pressure problem, as stated above.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:13 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

ElCuervo52 wrote:

Right, but this time is was a brand new rack that lasted 1 week with no offroading. If I can't even drive it down the street what am I supposed to do?

Drop the lift 1",align,then drive and see what happens.

Did you ever think a possibility of the PS pump and/or lines causing a over pressure condition? If you hold the steering at "full lock" for more then 1-2 seconds you can cause the same issue as your "dead heading" the PS pressure and if the relief valve in the pump is bad you could over pressurize the rack and blow seals. Collapsed lines internally can cause a over pressure issue also.

I'm still thinking that height may not be your issue. See tjkj's post above just for consideration. If it blew the seals on the street in just a week at the same height that a lot of us run at with no issues, I would have to say it's not the lift causing the failures. Just my :2cents:

Getting it driveable may not be as simple as lowering it.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 26, 2017 11:26 pm

I called Offroad warehouse, the shop that installed the lift and gears. They're telling me the issue is that the steering rack on the KK isn't built to push 32" tires, so swap for smaller tires and that should do it. My car is at the dealership right now, who has been replacing the racks. They are telling the the tires are not the issue, the angle of the tie rods are. They say drop the lift and that should do it. Are you guys running 32" tires? Taking it offroad? Not that that really matters at this point if the rack is going out after a week of pavement only. Another thought is that the one constant through all of this is that the pump hasn't been replaced. The dealership says its good but is it worth replacing and see if that helps? Of course this all depends on whether or not the dealership will replace the rack under warranty again. They will let me know tomorrow. If they won't do it I would have to do it myself, as I can't afford a 1500$ job again. Needless to say, replacing the rack myself is way out of my league, but I'd have to learn. Assuming the dealership will replace the rack one more time, here are the options I can think of:

A) Replace steering pump/lines etc. Keep lift as is at 3.5" with the 32s and see if that does anything. If this works I'd keep it.
B) Drop to 3" (or lower if possible), swap 31" tires. Keep it like this or sell for JK.
C) Take it apart and bring it back to stock. Sell aftermarket parts. Sell for JK.
D) Get behind the wheel and drive into the ocean.

I really appreciate all your input guys I know I've been a pain in the booty but this has been Friggin Stressful. My GF is so mad at me for blowing all this money!!!

WolverineFW · **Posted:** Thu Apr 27, 2017 12:27 am

How much did the dealer offer you to trade in your girlfriend?

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Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:23 am

You're only sitting at 21.5" from the center of the hub to the flare? When you get the Jeep back snap some pics of the angles (and for me, what you had to trim/cut to fit the 32s). I've been sitting at that height running 31s for close to 45k miles now. Most of the guys running 32s that blew racks wheel really hard. Even then, I don't believe it's as often as you're blowing them.

Unless something's wrong. I can't see a reason to come down from 3.5". That's the accepted "good" height. Usually 4+" is considered pushing it.

Btw she's only a girlfriend now. Just wait until she becomes more. I try to hide some here and there from the fiancé to support my Jeep and gun addictions...err hobbies lol

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:28 am

Bmxer524 wrote:

You're only sitting at 21.5" from the center of the hub to the flare? When you get the Jeep back snap some pics of the angles (and for me, what you had to trim/cut to fit the 32s). I've been sitting at that height running 31s for close to 45k miles now. Most of the guys running 32s that blew racks wheel really hard. Even then, I don't believe it's as often as you're blowing them.

Unless something's wrong. I can't see a reason to come down from 3.5". That's the accepted "good" height. Usually 4+" is considered pushing it.

Btw she's only a girlfriend now. Just wait until she becomes more. I try to hide some here and there from the fiancé to support my Jeep and gun addictions...err hobbies lol

Yes 21.5". 3.5" of lift. Had to do some cutting of the pinch weld at the back of the wheel wells to fit the tires. I'm hoping Jeep will pay for another repair. But even then I need to figure out why this is happening. Should I replace the pump?

New development in the saga is my Dad is giving us his 250cc Harley. This will get my gf to work and give a little breathing room to figure out what to do with the KK.

ElCuervo52 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:02 pm

Just spoke with Marlin at JBA. He said in general he's ran into more problems with the KK racks than KJs, but he's only had customers bust them with heavy offroading, never street driving. He said he knows some guys running 4" lift with 33s with no issues. He's thinking along the lines of a pressure issue also (pressure relief valve). I definitely would not put it past the dealership to miss something like this. They seem overwhelmed with volume and only mediocre mechanics. I'm gonna ask them to check the pump/pressure and possible replace even if it seems normal. Fingers crossed they cover the rack again.

Ted15 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:08 pm

ElCuervo52 wrote:

Just spoke with Marlin at JBA. He said in general he's ran into more problems with the KK racks than KJs, but he's only had customers bust them with heavy offroading, never street driving. He said he knows some guys running 4" lift with 33s with no issues. He's thinking along the lines of a pressure issue also (pressure relief valve). I definitely would not put it past the dealership to miss something like this. They seem overwhelmed with volume and only mediocre mechanics. I'm gonna ask them to check the pump/pressure and possible replace even if it seems normal. Fingers crossed they cover the rack again.

If the rack keeps failing because they missed the pressure issue, they should cover it. That said, getting those guys to admit a mistake is a chore.

The KK is on Life Support

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