I'm Ryan from extremeterrain.com, and this is my review and installation of the Old Man
Emu steering stabilizer, fitting your 2007 and up JK.
The installation of this steering stabilizer is a very simple one-out-of-three-wrench installation.
It's important to note what a steering stabilizer, or more accurately, a steering dampener, really
does for your Jeep.
When you're driving down the road and you hit a big bump, especially when you have big
tires, a steering dampener will suck up some of that shock that would otherwise be transferred
up through your steering linkage into your steering wheel, and that you would actually
feel while driving the Jeep.
A steering stabilizer is not there to eliminate any wobble, any bump steer, and certainly
any death wobble that you might have.
If you have any of those steering issues, you have a steering geometry or steering linkage
problem, and there are ways to both diagnose and fix those problems, and a steering stabilizer
is not one of them.
In fact, a steering stabilizer, or steering dampener, is not even necessary in your steering
system.
It is a luxury and not a necessity if your steering system is set up properly.
So, this is not a band-aid.
This is not there to cover up any issues that you might have.
However, if you do like having a steering stabilizer installed on your Jeep, and either
your current one is either bent or broken from off-roading, or just leaking and blown
out, a replacement is certainly something that you can do.
Now, this one from Old Man Emu does require that additional bracket which, of course,
is going to be some additional cost, and the stabilizer itself, while it is bigger and
beefier than some of the other ones on the market, is also more expensive than some of
the other ones on the market, and again, that's not necessarily a necessity for a lot of you.
So, it comes down to what you like on your Jeep.
If you have OME parts, if you have their lift kit, if you want to stick with one brand,
and you have the budget for it, you can go ahead and pick this up.
If you're just looking for a replacement steering stabilizer, you can go with a factory or factory-style
stabilizer that's a little bit less expensive because, at the end of the day, all these
are is a 50/50 valve shock.
As I said, this steering stabilizer is a little bit beefier than some of the other ones on
the market.
This is a 35-millimeter bore.
It has a slightly longer stroke than some of the others.
This has a nine-stage valving.
Although, at the end of the day, like I said, it's just a 50/50 valve shock like any other
steering stabilizer.
The fact that you do need an additional bracket in order to install this on your Jeep, in
my opinion, is a bit of a drawback because it's some additional cost and one extra step
in the installation.
However, if you really like the Old Man Emu brand, this is still going to be an option
for you.
So, this install is still going to be a one-out-of-three-wrench installation, and you can still get this done
in, probably, around an hour, but you do have to install that additional bracket.
The first step in the installation is, of course, removing your factory steering stabilizer,
and then bolting up that additional mounting bracket.
After that, you can bolt your new steering stabilizer into place, and you're finished.
Again, very simple, just some hand tools are necessary for the job, but that additional
bracket does create a little bit more work.
This steering stabilizer is going to come in at a little over $90, and that's before
you purchase that additional mounting bracket.
Now, in my opinion, that is a little bit much to pay for a steering stabilizer that's going
to do the same thing as any other steering stabilizer on the market, and a lot of those
other ones are less expensive and don't require that additional bracket.
So, if you have a bent, broken, or leaking steering stabilizer and you're looking to
replace it, there are a lot of OEM or OE-style replacement steering stabilizers that are
going to be significantly less expensive than this one.
However, if you really like the Old Man Emu brand, and you're willing to pay a premium
for that brand, and you're okay having to purchase an additional mounting bracket, this
option is there for you.
So, that's my review of the Old Man Emu steering stabilizer, fitting your 2007 and up JK, that
you can find right here at extremeterrain.com.