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Rocking/Swaying @ highway speeds

Z

Zoro

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Colorado
Normally I run 30's on my Jeep but recently I switched to 31's and a 2" budget boost anyways lately on the highway when I hit bumps the cherokee will sway left and right while pointed straight then the rear end will start swaying left and right so I gotta counter steer the front end to fix it.

I just put in a new tie-rod and steering stabilizer and my shocks are crappy to say the least, could this have anything to do with it?
 
IMHO if think the shocks are shot you gotta go there first. I say do the jump test. If you can jump up and down on the front and and make the whole jeep start wiggling and shaking when parked they are gone.

When the XJ's 5 link coil sprung suspension hits a bump and moves up and down the trackbar link makes the front end move sideways a bit. So not enough dampening in the suspension will get you rocking down the highway with the wiggle for sure.
 
Well, not to belabor the obvious, but what about the sway bars? Are the links good, and the bushings? Bad shocks will certainly contribute too, because even with good sway bars the thing will have a tendency to rock, and the shocks are vital for damping this. You should also make sure your front tires are not overinflated.
 
Shocks of course but also you need to check you caster, it will be out if you did a lift and did not reset it.
Your problem has a name. it's called bump steering, you need a full alignment.
 
Right after I did my budget lift 2 years ago, I had it aligned and it still did that. The guy that aligned it told me to buy a new steering stabilizer. I put on a new one and that fixed everything.
 
All my sway-bar end links are brand new, they're Rubicon Express Gen 2 kwick disco's. When driving on any roads the XJ has a tendancy to wander and pull to the left but every XJ I've ever driven has been the same way wandering wise.
 
Matthew Currie said:
You should also make sure your front tires are not overinflated.
Click to expand...
X2 on the tire pressure check. Seems to me tire shops like to overinflate tires. Don't know why, but this is my observation in my area. Last 2 set of tires I got were inflated to 45 - 50 lbs and none of the tire pressures matched. Rode like crap, all over the road on the highway. Set the pressure to 32 lbs for all tires and the ride was golden again. Too bad I can't trust the local tire shops to get my tire pressure right. Hope this is the fix for you!
 
32lbs, isn't that what the factory 'recomends'? I'll check the tire pressure in a little while and see if that's it.
 
tagging along on this one.

Same problem, I've not replaced the steering stabilizer yet because I didn't want to just throw parts at it. Tires are at 32psi and all 4 shocks are brand new, 1000 miles on them.
I notice no other oddities that would lead me to believe it's the stabiliser, no shaking or bad habits when the front hits a bump.

I'll check the other stuff mentioned here, thanks!
 
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