Shimmy at 55 MPH

[bhorn]

Just as the title says. It's NOT death wobble. Just a small shimmy gradually building from about 52 MPH to 55, and then going away at about 57 MPH. It feels like it's coming from the left front, but could be anywhere though. It just started about two months ago, and at any other speed it drives as good as an XJ can.

Rotated tires, didn't help.
Removed front DS, didn't help.
Replaced dead shocks, didn't help.
New Track Bar, helped a bunch.
Eveything is tight up front.

Replaced all Ball Joints, control arms, right inner tie-rod end, and axle end U-Joints within the last year and a half, less than 20k ago. Also aligned it then. Replaced the Steering stabiliser about two years ago.

92 XJ 1.75" spacers up front, 2.5" Full AAL out back.

any Ideas? It's driving me nuts!:helpme:

[bhorn]

Forgot to add, I replaced the steering box with a low mileage used one at the same time as the track bar.

[rocklandxjer]

maybe you should lay off the reefer, sounds like you basically rebuilt the enire front end!! heh.

maybe you got a bent hub or somthing?? strange...

[jtl909]

Uh, death wobble? That's a good description of what my Jeep does. Anybody care to point me in the right direction to fix it?

[bhorn]

Haven't had any reefer in about 20 years ( before that I did have more than my fair share though :D)

I think I have two tie rod ends, and two hubs left to go, and it will be all new.

I had the hubs off when I replaced the knuckles, and they felt smooth, and tight then. I know the hub to knuckle bolts are tight, I double checked them.

This all started about a month after I replaced the knuckles. Gradually, untill I started replacing crap.

Actually, if I did fire up a fatty, I probably wouldn't even notice it:greensmok

[rocklandxjer]

jtl909 THATS not death wobble, youd know if you did, its a small vibration that turns into a wiggle and gets exponentially worse...

go to the search button, type in death wobble*
see what comes up

check to see if the knuckles are tightened to spec. not just to "damn, that seems pretty tight" im sure since you did all that work you must have a torque wrench, find the correct tensity and see if you are on spec. it may not be noticible at low speeds, but at high speeds small variations can grow to large problems...

[bhorn]

jtl909 Hit the search button, type in Death Wobble, get a drink, a sandwich, and some no-doze. I think you could spend hours reading through all the info on death wobble.

[rocklandxjer]

you can also search the "quick links" at the bottom of the page, they are often passed over, but can be very helpful with related topics.

[DementedXJ]

Just as the title says. It's NOT death wobble. Just a small shimmy gradually building from about 52 MPH to 55, and then going away at about 57 MPH. It feels like it's coming from the left front, but could be anywhere though. It just started about two months ago, and at any other speed it drives as good as an XJ can.


Wow. That is the exact problem im having on my 98 sport 4.0 auto. I mean down to the "T"!! mine is right at 52-55 then clears up around 60. I thought i had a bad tire or something since i've only owned it for 2 days

[rocklandxjer]

check all parts up front. grab and wiggle, if they move, tighten them.

i still say check the torques on the knuckles to you BHorn

[slingblade]

had a similiar problem with my 88 dont remember speeds it wobbled at but i replaced the front drive shaft u joints and the thing between the u joints on the cv cant remember the name its like a ball joint between the u joints hopefully some one else does but cleared the shimmy up wish i could remember what it is called but its like $20 at napa

[krelja]

If you search here or jeepsunlimited.com you will find that 55 seems to be a common speed for a little wobble. It isn't death wobble because if it was you would really know it. DW almost makes you lose control of the jeep. I would just go get your tires rebalanced and it should go away, worked for me when my stocker did it. Its a cheap alternative too

[Jess]

x2 on the tire balance

[Shomsky462]

its gotta be youre hubs if everything else is new or like new.
supposedly thats one of the "weak links" to a cherokee, the hub assemblies.

[jay97xj]

mine does the exact same thing...noticed it first after taking some bumps a bit too fast on the trail one day. i think i may have either lost a wheel weight or dented the rim a bit

[Fish'nCarz]

My '01 does the same thing from about 48 - 53 mph. I've done everything but change the rotors. Doing that tomorrow.

[meaded]

Broken belt, bruised tire inspect from the inside sometimes not visble inside.

[bhorn]

Thanks for the replies!

Krelja, Jess and meaded, I switched the tires front to rear, and it didn't change at all, I mean none, so I doubt it's the tires. Or at least the shimmy didn't move with the tires.

RocklandXJer, I'll check the torque on the Balljoints, axleshaft, and tie rod ends, but I do tend to crank the crap out of stuff when reassembling things. But you never know.

Slingblade, I took the front driveshaft out, and it made no difference.

Shomsky, I'm kind of leaning in that direction, but this old P.O.S. isn't worth new hubs.

Fish'nCarz, I had the rotors turned, and didn't help.

All good ideas, but I've already checked most of them. At least I know I've searched in the right direction.

[90Pioneer]

I had a similar wobble and thought it was my tires at first. I had them rotated and there was no change in the wobble.

Finally after a couple weeks of hunting this problem down, I had the tires rebalanced.

Wobble went away.

[Fish'nCarz]

Maybe it's a 'feature' like the issues we all have with MS Windows!

"Jeep engineers have developed a speed alert system (SAS) that tells drivers when they have reached 55 mph, as a part of our continuing effort to enhance vehicle safety." Daimler-Chrysler sources announced today.

[krelja]

I did the same thing moved tires around wobble still there REBALANCED TIRES like 90 pioneer gone

[XJING]

98% of the time if there is a speed induced shimmy(and for some reason almost all xj's get it at around 55mph) its unbalanced rims or a tire that the belt has slipped. This is fact. unbalanced rims will shimmy at a certain speed, and yeah its pretty rough, but untill you have felt full tilt boggie death wobble, nothing compares, Now that will make you stop and pray by the side of the road.And clean out your shorts...

[Fish'nCarz]

Just finished the front brakes, shimmy is gone! I'd had the tires rotated and balanced, which helped. I'd swapped pads a while ago, but the rotors seemed fine and I just slapped the new pads on. I used ceramic pads, and the rotors had been turned by the PO, so my guess is that the ceramic pads heated the rotors up enough to cause one or both to warp. Now I gotta go through the "Oh shit, this isn't how the brakes are supposed to work!" break in period again!

But at least it doesn't shake and the braking is smoooooothhhh!

[apsdad]

Many, many years ago when I was in college taking one of the automotive design courses, the rule of thumb that they told us was that wheel shimmy that starts at about 35-40 mph is usually front wheels out of balance. If it appears at 55-60, it is usually rear wheels out of balance. That was back when all cars were still rear wheel drive.

[bhorn]

I guess the general idea is to re-balance the tires. I'll try it, but I really don't think that's it. It should have moved, when I rotated the tires, but hell, stranger things have happened.

It's not death wobble for sure. I had that before on this one, and while driving my buddy's XJ on 35's. That will make you clean out your pants.

Like I said, it's not bad, most people wouldn't even notice it. It's more the fact that this damned thing is beating me, and I can't figure it out!

[sjx40250]

Not to discount any suggestions, they are all worth checking, but how about caster? My 90 and 92 drive very differently, in terms of steering wheel response. I have often wondered if a slight difference in caster could contribute to shimmy. I may need alignment in my thinking!

[Goldschlager]

Ive had my alignment re-done, and tires rebalanced........ nothin'. I get the same wobble.

[XJING]

Ive had my alignment re-done, and tires rebalanced........ nothin'. I get the same wobble.

Did they give you a sheet with the figures on it? A few shops will balance to "good" if the rim is slightly bent, they wont bother even telling you that they couldn't get you wheel "zeroed" out. Especially if you run a 4wd. I know my brother used to own an alignment/muffler shop, and becouse it was in truck country they used to see alot of slightly bent rims, and they could get them back pretty close to balanced and with a proper alignment, most trucks would never have a problem. Unfortunatley, our XJ's do. either re-check you castor, or balance. A speed related shimmy is almost always related to balance. If its not a speed related shimmy, you have a lot of front end peices to check. Good Luck

[goodburbon]

My wifes 2000 is doing the exact same thing. It has had this shimmy since the new tires went on it. We have taken it back to Sears for a re-balance more than once and it hasn't changed. I know it needs an alignment and I suggested that she get that done while I am in Turkey. If after the alignment the 55mph shimmy is still there it's goin back to Sears and I'm gonna have to insist that the tires be pulled off the rims, inspected and re-mounted and balanced

[Goldschlager]

nope, no spec sheet. ill try another shop to get them rebalanced.

[92DripCherokee]

its' out of round tires, they'll never roll smooth, even with perfect balance

had this problem on my 92 until recently,

got 4 new BFG's mounted, rides like silk now.

[camarors8992]

My jeep does this, but at any speed above 55 and doesn't go away. :( It also wanders ALL over the road and the stearing has about 2" of play in it.

[goodburbon]

that would be steering not stearing, and you need an alignment, possibly tie rod ends and possibly a steering box, maybe new bearings

[nickangus]

i had this same problem its now fixed........
my trak bar would keep coming loose and pissing me off.....
i found the reason for this was that the lower ball jonit on my drivers side knuckle was really loose
it had spin the cotter pin and just cept going getting the trashed pin out was fun
but once i got it out and tightened the nut w/ so lock tite on it its all better

91', 6.5" lift, 35s

also since you have the money to dump into a new front end why dont you try joining NAXJA

-nick

[goodburbon]

Forgot to mention possible trac bar, good call.

[camarors8992]

Steering** I was in a hurry and didn't catch that.

[IH8RDS]

Same problem. I replaced the LCA's. My bushings where shot. No vibes now.