Vibration through steering wheel is killing me! Need Opinions

[cowboybarber]

Might try that. I got under the heep last night and tightened all of the control arm bolts as tight as possible. Didn't help. I am thinking I might have a warped rotor, do you guys think this might contribute to the vibes? I think I'm gonna replace those and the calipers and pads this weekend. Then I am gonna do the axle u-joints. I want to do 1 thing at a time to try and figure out what is causing this.

 

[cowboybarber]

By the way, I replaced the entire shock, not just the bushing.

 

[byu_xj]

I had a warped rotor once but only notice the vibration when I applied the brakes. It was when I first bought the jeep and the dealer that I bought it from actually replaced it. I did test it on the freeway but don't remember feeling any vibes. I am trying to remember back 4 years.

Mechanically I do not think that a warped rotor would have enough mass variation to cause a vibration.. This is just a guess.

 

[Jeeper Eric]

I once had a terrible vibration and couldnot figure it out until I determined that my tires were cupped. Never considered them since they only had about 10K miles on them.

Have a tire expert check them out...

 

[old_man]

High frequency vibes are normally caused by driveline balance. First pull the front drive shaft and see if the problem goes away. The centering joint in the dual cardan can cause wicked high frequency vibes.

If that doesn't do it, replace the shaft and drop the rear driveshaft. Run it in 4wd high and see if you get vibes.

 

[92DripCherokee]

My 4wd 92 has the same speed sensitive wobble, but I've done nothing about it since I cant find any established, reliable fix. It shows up at approximately 52 mph and
hangs on to a lesser extent up to about 65 mph, and becomes harmonic with other vibrations.
I'm as counfounded as you, because the vibration in my Jeep FAILS TO HAPPEN every once in a while as I cross the speed threshold of 52 mph.

I drive a stock height Jeep, but it reminds me of "mini-death wobble".

If it was simple tire balance, the vibration would stop with rebalancing. It has to be a quirk of the Jeep front suspension design, it can spin smoothly, but once you perturb it, it will oscillate until you drop under the harmonic frequency.

I also have a 2000 Classic 4wd, that I never mention here cause its little miss perfect, and it vibrates slightly in a similar right front pattern. At only 58,000 miles its far from worn out, its front end is tight as a drum, and its shocks are still good.

Vibration is must be a Jeep thing.

 

[cowboybarber]

I pulled the driveshafts when I was repalcing the u-joints in the rear. It didn't change anything. Drove to the parts store on front shaft. Took it off and drove to work the next day on just the rear. I bought mine used and it had a very slight vibe at around 55 when I got it. But here lately it is getting worse and worse. I'm tempted to jump it off a cliff and see if that helps! My wife is starting to complain about me staying in the garage so much trying to find this problem.

Just thought of something, this started to get worse when I put the Grand Cherokee coils on up front, I was doing the "budget lift". I really like the way they ride, but I tok those back off and put the stocks back on.

 

[bluebullet6]

I'm a newb to all this so I might be repeating things that have already been posted... or say something that doesnt make any sense... so play nice; I have a 93 XJ that I put a 5 inch Rocky Road lift on. Old man Emu coils and poly spacers, OME leaf pack with shackles, pro comp 3000's, and an Aussie locker in the rear. I put the lift on, had 33x12.5's put on, put the locker in. I ran it for about two weeks. got about 17mpg average. No vibes, things worked great. I was powder coating a pair of Sky's fixed lower control arms, so didn't put them on till last week. Now I'm getting about 12-13 mpg, and I have a noticable lulling hum in the front end anywhere from 50-65mph (not too much vibration in the steering wheel, but the passenger seat, when unoccupied, sure goes to town). My caster angle changed about 2 degrees when I put the new control arms on, but is still well within the jeep recommended settings. (5.2 degrees before the control arms, 7.4 degrees in the positive with the control arms) I checked wheel bearings, wheel balance, changed transfer case fluid, had the alignment rechecked... i'm at a loss as well. I'm going to check the front u-joints this weekend. What are the odds that a U-joint go bad on or near the same day I put on new control arms? Any advice with this set up... and a possible explanation for the MPG drop would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[Micha]

my friend's xj has a terrible wobble shaking the whole front end, getting worse the faster you drive. we finally found the BALLJOINTS to be the culprits! will change them as soon as possible...

 

[bluebullet6]

New developments... I have a knock on or near the front right tire about 50% of the time on my slow left hand turns, only 1 knock, not knocking. The vibration is present at all speeds, but the resonating hum is only noticable at 50-65mph. Upon visual inspection with the front end raised, how would I determine a ball joint or cardan u-joint was bad? I gave it a passing look last night, but things looked pretty normal. I'm going to raise it and remove the tire and brake tonight and check the ball joints and the u-joint.

In another somewhat unrelated question, ive seen posts where people have problems with their aftermarket track bars not seating up tight on the axle end, and fixing it with a welded plate... what about the frame mounted end, any fixes there? Mine isn't lose or moveable by my own power, but when the jeep is on and someone turns the wheel back and forth slightly, you can see the bolt has some play. I've heard a loose track bar can attribute to the "death wobble", but my track bar has been like that before I had this mystery vibration, and for the first week with my lift wasn't even set properly.

 

[TheDogsAreDead]

Had the same problem. Yokohama's. Belt coming off (inside) tire, death wobble from 50-60, and from 20-0.

Have you checked for uneven tire wear? Even on low milage tires, this is a possibility as they come defected from the factory, and it's just a matter of time before it gets bad enough to start the death wobble.

Like the other guy said, have a tire expert look at them. Uneven wear was the #1 indicator in my case. inside of tire had %50 tread, outside had areas close to 0%.

 

[Micha]

if there is any play between the steering linkage and the steering knuckle assembly where the ball joints are, then they are toast. stick a pry bar inbetween and wiggle it around. you should see some movement if they are shot...

the u-joints: move the driveshafts while holding the wheels/discs/hub and see if the little " + " has any play. that would be bad...

 

[bluebullet6]

I'll go back and have them check... I have BFG AT's with less than a thousand miles. First time they mounted my tires wrong... and the ground force was about 65 lbs, about 30 lbs over whats considered safe. Discount tire was a mistake...sigh. Thanks for the tire info... and the u-joint/ball joint info. hopefully I can get to the bottom of this.

 

[Johnny V]

In another somewhat unrelated question, ive seen posts where people have problems with their aftermarket track bars not seating up tight on the axle end, and fixing it with a welded plate... what about the frame mounted end, any fixes there? Mine isn't lose or moveable by my own power, but when the jeep is on and someone turns the wheel back and forth slightly, you can see the bolt has some play. I've heard a loose track bar can attribute to the "death wobble", but my track bar has been like that before I had this mystery vibration, and for the first week with my lift wasn't even set properly.

I had that exact same problem with the track bar loose at the frame mounted end and all looked tight to the naked eye.

It turned out the castle nut was too short – as the mechnic used a tie-rod-end castle nut - and didn’t lock down the stud...even though the cotter pin was set properly.

Since the trackbar was shot at that end I purchased a new trackbar and used a full size castle nut - not a tie-rod-end castle nut.

 

[IH8RDS]

I know you said you replaced the LCA's but that was the trick for me. I had vibes in the 45-55 MPH range. There all gone now.

 

[bluebullet6]

I had that exact same problem with the track bar loose at the frame mounted end and all looked tight to the naked eye.

It turned out the castle nut was too short – as the mechnic used a tie-rod-end castle nut - and didn’t lock down the stud...even though the cotter pin was set properly.

Since the trackbar was shot at that end I purchased a new trackbar and used a full size castle nut - not a tie-rod-end castle nut.

So was it the small/loose castle nut the culprit that actually ruined your track bar? Thats something I dont want to buy again...

 

[Johnny V]

Yes! The top of the track bar was just hanging there semi-tight.

Over these last couple of years I notice tire cupping, vibrations and the steering wheel going off center at highway speeds but the Jeep going straight. Couldn't figure it out until one day I looked under the Jeep with someone turning the streering wheel...that's when I found the culprit.

 

[flexjay87]

my .02 would be to check the front driveshaft, and the pinion area. i had a similar vibe when i trashed my front pinion bearing in my d-30, just a thought...

 

[cowboybarber]

Just for the record , I still have my vibes. I was just wondering, have much play can there be in the front t-case output shaft? Mine doesn't move up and down but you can pull it out about 1/4" with the front shaft removed. Thinking I might replace this this weekend and also the ball joints. Another ? how do I check the front pinion bearing. I have tried to move the yoke from side to side and up and down but it seems tight.

 

[kwp]

Service Bulletin Num : 0200303

I have a very similar issue the TSB above is the best info I've found.