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major vibes only on freeway when turning right???

S

slcpunk74

NAXJA Forum User
Location
UTAH
I just bought my bone stock 97 4 door xj yesterday and when I was driving home on the freeway( about 20 miles averaging 70-75mph) I encountered a bad vibration coming from the front end but only when I turned right on this one small hill(overpass). The turn was about a 30degree turn; nothing real sharp but it is the sharpest turn I have encountered at freeway speed.
At first I thought it was just the road but my dad was following me and he said it was fine. He told me that my front left tire was bouncing when this happened, but that was the only tire he could so the other side may have done the same thing.
Like I said it seemed fine all the way home except for that one right hand turn.

I checked some stuff on the front end yesterday and everything seems tight...so what do I check? what could this be?
 
tre's? How should I check these...tire off the ground,or on? sorry I am kinda a dumbass when it comes to the front of a vehicle unless its the engine.
 
unitberaing? if this were bad would I be able to feel play when I grabbed the tire with it off the ground? I took the tires off the ground and I feel no play at the wheel
 
I read a threat about this exact symptom. As it turned out the guy had a bad hub bearing.
 
I had a bad front axle U-joint that would start vibrating around 40, got pretty radical at about 60 or so and then the vibration just got worse the faster I drove, until I hit 85 or so, then mostly disappeared.
I had another really bad front axle U-joint, that never did any vibrating or make any noise at all. Never did cause any obvious problems I could detect.
Jam the U-joint with a bar and turn the tire against the U-joint, bounce it a little. If you look very close (I use a flahslight and get my eyeball close) you can see a little play by the rubber bearing cap seal. Sometimes a ring of rust dust around the seal, in the beginning stages.
Hubs will often get noisy when they fail. Bad front axle U-joints often get noisy and pop when in 4X and turning a corner.
 
I don't mean to hyjack, just share. But I have this exact problem. Turning right between 45 and 65. Even just barly I get this same wobble. I dont know if this has any relivance to the problem but at about ten mph to around 25mph I hear a LOUD almost whining noise coming from somewhere in the hub area. I had a friend drive the car and I ran next to the car(I'm a pretty fast runner. ;) ) and I pinpointed the noise at the hub. I was deffinatly thinking its the hub or bearing. Could it just be loose?
 
I will try the u-joint thing but I dont get any vibes anytime except that one instance when I was on the freeway turning right. I went on the freeway trouble free for about 20 miles befor this and about 5 miles after.

I felt the vibes throughout the whole vehicle. It shook very bad. I actually thought I had lost 3-4 lug nuts or something but they are good
 
How many miles on your '97? Any mods, i.e. lift, bigger tires etc? I would guess unit bearings initially. Could also be bad u-joint, TRE's, cat trapped in engine bay... the list is endless. Has it happened since?
 
149k completely stock with 235/75s
Where/what is the unit bearing?
I have not driven it on the freeway since and it has not shown up while driving around town
 
The unit-bearing hub is what your front wheels bolt to. It's a sealed, non-serviceable combination bearing & hub that bolts to your steering knuckle and slides over the outer axle stub. There's no way to service them (most of them, some folks say you can...) so when they're on their way out you need to replace the whole thing.

If it hasn't repeated itself, and you've brought it up to that speed more than a few times without it reappearing, I'd chalk it up to either a bad road surface or something else that's come and gone. Hopefully it won't ever happen again.

:)
 
I have been experiencing something similar as described. I lifted front and rear of XJ off ground and cannot locate any loose parts. My vibration is in the steering wheel. When I get up to about 55mph it is the worst. It is now doing it at 65, also the steering wheel is slightly turned to the left to keep it going straight. Any thoughts here? Mine is mostly on straight aways not during turns. I have noticed though as the jeep "bounces" when hitting the dips in the Interstate, the vibrations stop. I was told to disconnect the front d-shaft and see if that cures it. What is this "death wobble" I keep hearing so much about? If the Tracbar and or the TREs are worn, wouldn't you find that upon inspection? I have checked mine and they seem to be tight. My lower control arm bushings are shot though. Could those be leading to this vibration? Thoughts/suggestions??

Jeff
 
ihscoutlover said:
My lower control arm bushings are shot though. Could those be leading to this vibration? Thoughts/suggestions??

Jeff
Click to expand...

Yes. There's a few different things that'll cause death wobble. Worn track bar bushings, UCA/LCA bushings, TRE's, but given your description and the fact that you just lifted it I would lay money on it being alignment. A good alignment shop can dial it in for you. Do a search on death wobble and you'll find more info than you can read in a day...
 
I have driven my xj about 40 or so miles on the freeway since this vibration happened and I have not felt anything strange(other then a little tire vibration). I have even gone over that same strech of highway that it first happened and I have felt nothing... So I hope that it never happens again. Thanks for the help guys
 
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