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Vibration through steering wheel is killing me! Need Opinions

cowboybarber

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lafayette,TN
I don't post here often but I read the forum almost everyday. I have done the search and have checked almost everything and can't figure out where the vibes are coming from. At first they were only minimal at around 55mph but now they are getting more frequent and my hands are numb from the vibes when I get to work (60miles one way). I have replaced a few parts, but would rather not replace the entire front end to find this.

Any help appreciated
 
This is an obvious answer, but have you had your tires balanced recently?

A bent rim will cause the same sensation.

Also, but less common, a tire that has it's steel belts starting to slip (or separate) can cause that type of vibration.

Dave
 
I had the tires balanced twice, at different places even tried different wheels and tires. Also had an alignment.No difference. I have replaced the track bar. lower control arms, upper control arms,but not the axle mounted upper bushings, shocks and sway bar bushings and rear drive shaft u joints. The guy at the alignment place said everything looked tight.

I was thinking maybe the wheel bearings but I have checked and they seem to be ok. I have had bad bearings like these on other vehicles and these don't have any of the noises or signs.

Also, is it possible for the steering box to cause this? I noticed today that fluid is leaking (slowly) where the steering shaft connects at the box.
 
Are you sure you are not losing wheel weights? This was recurrent on my grand wag. The wheel weights wouldn't stay on the rims I had. The shop went to tape weights on the inside, and the problem went away for good.
 
I wish it were wheel weights and can't say that it isn't,but I have tried three different wheel and tire combos and the problem is still there. But I would like to try those pellets that go inside the tire to keep them balanced.

By the way, I have tried the Heep with the front drive shaft removed and vice versa but vibe is still there.

One more thing as I don't have a sig, this is a 98 Cherokee sport 4x4 118,000 miles.
 
Anytime I get a vibration at right around 60 MPH I think balance. If it is balance you can usually accelerate through it pretty quick.
Front axle U joints will also cause vibration, but the vibration usually lasts through a wider MPH range and often seems to get worse the faster you drive.
If you jam something in the axle yoke and twist the tire with it off the ground, you can often see movement at the rubber seal for the front axle U-joint caps. You can often feel the front axle U-joints (when they are worn) with it in 4X part time and a moderate turn at low speed. Kind of a thunk, thunk, thunk.
 
Are you sure the vibe is in the front end? A good rule of thumb is that if you can feel the vibe in your butt the vibe is in the rear end, not the front. (I know that sounds bad) If your fingers shake if you let them hang loose on the steering wheel, then its a balance or alignment issue.
 
cowboybarber said:
I'll check out the front u-joints tomorrow. I looked at them today but couldn't get them to move so I figured they were ok.
Sometimes in the early stages, you have to jam the yoke with something and try to spin/rotate the tire a bit and look close to see the movement at the cap. Rust dust around the rubber seal at the cap, is an indication service is required. Sometimes they vibrate (at highway speeds) when they are going bad, sometimes not.
I've only seen it once (in like 18 years), but I found a retaining clip *behind* a front rotor. One of those things that will drive you nuts.
If you spin a front tire with it off of the ground, you can often hear/feel a rumble if the hub bearing is going bad. You can often hear a harmonic that sounds like it is coming from the transfer case area. Sound and vibration travels through the drive train, hard to pin it down on occasion.
 
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No vibrations in my butt. There is something wrong up front. I figured alignment was off too but I had that checked and it was spot on. He even checked the wheel balance again and it was on the money also. And like I said before, I already tried a completely different set of wheels and tires and no change.

The vibes were only at 55-60 mph but now are present from 20mph+ nothing bone jarring, wife says she cant feel it on the passenger side when riding, but I had her feel the steering wheel and she said she could feel the vibe there too.
 
The front axle U joints are the first thing that pops to mind. Next a look behind the rotors for paint, undercoating or whatever that will keep them from sitting flush would be my next thought. I've never had any noticeable steering wheel vibration from bad wheel hubs, but they did make a lot of noise and what could be called a harmonic or vibration.
I've had my alignment pretty far off and never noticed any vibes.
On numerous occasions, I've jacked up the front and used a brick and a pointer (a stick taped to a cinder block) to check the tire and rim for true.
I've thrown many wheel weights. And bent steel rims on occasion. I've dinged aluminum rims, but have never bent one.
If there is something wrong with an axle, it will likely start to leak (at the seal) soon.
 
I checked behind the rotors today and cleaned off all the rust and crap, still no change. I thought one might be warped but after looking I don't think so. I may just replace the u-joints axle and see if this helps if it doesn't I dont know whats next.
 
I had the same problem, and on mine, it turned out to be a bad steering dampener, and a ball joint on the way out. hope that helps you some.
 
You might also check the steering box for play, and if there is any, try to adjust out using the lock nut on top of the box. Alittle play in the box from high wear can also cause this type of vibe.
 
How do I need to go about checking for excessive play in the steering box? I did notice while checking today that I could wiggle the shaft up and down at the box and a small drop of fluid would come out. Could this be the problem?
 
To check the box, you want to be able to look down at the top of the box where the shaft goes into it. Make sure that the key is turned to unlock the steering column, then grasp the shaft going to the box. Now, turn it side to side slowly, while watching the Pitman arm for movement. The shaft and the arm should move at the same time. If not, then you have some play in the box to try to remove. As for the input shaft wiggleing up/down, then a drop of fluid, it sounds like the upper bearing in the box is bad. That would tend to vibe. If the bearing is the problem then you can either rebuild the box, or toss it and replace/upgrade for another one.
When you say up/down, do you mean as up/down, or as back/forth into/out of the box?
 
Up and down as in up and down. I was lying under the Jeep looking around for stuff and noticed it looked as though it had been leaking. So I grabbed the shaft and try to move it side to side and nothing but I could push it up a little and a small drop of fluid would come out.
 
I realize that you mentioned that you had replaced the shock bushings. Did you replace both the upper and lower bushings?

I had a wiggle in the ~50 mph range that was elimianted by installing new "bayonet" style shock bushings on the ends of the shock that enter the engine comartment. I looked all over the internet and in several local parts stores to find thes bushings but had little luck. I finaly found that they are called "bayonet" style shock eyes or something like that. The will cost around $10.00 shipped for a set of 4.
 
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