2000 XJ does the shake

This is for my friend's 2000 Cherokee Sport. Completely stock with 98k miles.

He just bought the jeep a few months ago, and it needed a front end alignment BAD. The front passenger tire was worn down to nothing, it had a hard pull to the right, and I'm thinking the previous owner drove it like that for awhile. He didn't seem to be very good at maintenance.

The Jeep shakes on the highway between 55-60 mph. Not death wobble shake, but it shakes the steering wheel. The alignment was fixed by a local mom and pop shop who does excellent work. They also checked the front end for any play. Everything in the front end is tight. I looked under it and couldn't find play in anything either. He bought a set of used tires with 90% tread. Didn't change the issue, rotating the tires also doesn't help.

The shop thinks it is the steering box having play in the gears. Seems to make sense since the front end parts have no play. Even the TREs and ball joints look good.

Any ideas? I'm thinking the PO driving it with the bad alignment for so long could've messed with the steering box.

Driving on a horrible alignment for a long time can screw up the bearings to. Also did they check the tracbar, on a 11.5 year old vehicle usually bushings are toast. Also the steering stabilizer

upper lower control arm bushings, tierod ends, trackbar bushing and end.

I highly doubt it is the steering gear.

My 2000 is starteing to shimmy, shake and wobble also. Granted at 175K miles, however when I climbed under it everything looks tight or within acceptable wear including the control arm bushings. I believe the shimmy, shake and wobble is brought on by the sum of the total; i.e. add up ALL the wear and the correct vibration from the road will result in the bad ride. Replacing front end components will be this years project.

jeepkid03 said:

..... The Jeep shakes on the highway between 55-60 mph. Not death wobble shake, but it shakes the steering wheel. .....

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A shake that appears and disappears at specific speeds and/or is felt in the steering wheel, is usually a tire balance issue.

Since the previous owner neglected to perform any repairs or routine maintenance, it would be logical to assume that some suspension components are worn and need replacing.

Tim_MN said:

A shake that appears and disappears at specific speeds and/or is felt in the steering wheel, is usually a tire balance issue.

Since the previous owner neglected to perform any repairs or routine maintenance, it would be logical to assume that some suspension components are worn and need replacing.

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That is what I thought also. I was positive it was a tire balance issue. When he put on the newer tires it had the same problem though, and no significant change from the other set, even when rotating them. I checked the track bar mount and so did the shop. This shop is really good and fixed my trackbar issues before. They even tried realigning it and checking for play in all the bushings. I didn't check control arm bushings yet. It doesn't make any popping sounds when turning or wander on the highway. I also checked the unit bearings for play and they seemed solid. You can definitely feel the vibration and shaking in the steering.


This jeep was owned by the previous owner's father-in-law who drove it cross country from CT to AZ a few times. Then was purchased by the previous owner who had it for 2 or so years and neglected it.

Just to be certain, I will probably swap my tires and wheels onto his and go for a drive to eliminate tire balance as a problem.

May be in left field but I once had warped rotors that created the same balance at curtain speeds. Worth a shot?

Might be worth the short time it takes to pull the front driveshaft & see if it still shakes at the same speeds.

It could also be a rim (or rims) that took a hard hit on a curb or hole and was bent or distorted.

If there's play in the steering gear you can detect it. Don't take anyone's word for it. Look for it. It's quite possible that there is play, and the usual first place for that play to show up is in the bearings of the pitman (output) shaft. Wear in the gears is less likely. Get together with someone, and have that someone swing the steering wheel back and forth at medium speed, while you observe the steering components for play and flex. If the pitman shaft bearings are worn, the whole shaft will move sideways a bit before it starts to rotate, and this can contribute to shakes and wobbles, though it does not cause it by itself.

If your front end is properly aligned and your tires are round and well balanced, it will track straight and steadily even if your steering gear is shot, your stabilizer toast, and your tie-rods a bit iffy. But if any of these things are bad, slight imbalances will set it off.

Your best bet is to get underneath and really look over everything. Test for play, wobble, and binding. Look at the tie rods, the steering gear, the ball joints, and don't forget the steering shaft universal joints. Jack up each front wheel and check for ball joint wear, wheel bearing wear, and binding in the universal joints at full lock.

And finally, don't dismiss the tires. Just because they were balanced once upon a time, don't count on their staying balanced. Alloy wheels can shed weights, and many electronic spin balancers do a crap job of it anyway, especially if the operators aren't careful. I don't think I've ever seen a shop where they clean the caked mud out of the inside of a wheel before they balance it. If the tires have been run with bad alignment, they often won't run well even when the alignment is fixed. And if they have tread separation or other defects, nothing will help. A tire swap may be the first thing you should try.

gdavis said:

Might be worth the short time it takes to pull the front driveshaft & see if it still shakes at the same speeds.

It could also be a rim (or rims) that took a hard hit on a curb or hole and was bent or distorted.

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I have the exact same (I assume) type of vibration on my 2k and I strongly suspect it is an out of round wheel. I soon hope to get it into a shop I like to verify as well as hopefully correct a few other quirks.

Then I decide (assuming a wheel is bent) what I will do about it without going broke.

<curmudgeon>

I probably am beginning to sound like a broken record, but if you suspect something as elementary as an out of round wheel, all you have to do is jack it up and give it a spin. Even my stepson, who would benefit from instructions on a screwdriver handle, can do this.

</curmudgeon>

This weekend we will work on the jeep again and see if we can find the issue. I'm pretty sure its not the wheels or tires since we have swapped those out and had no change at all. I'll check again for play.

I had a distinct shake between 48-50 MPH and rode on 32x10.5x15 BFG A/T tires. What fixed it for me was just inflating them to 40 PSI. They are rated for 50psi so are still within safe measures. Rides great now without any shakes. Tire psi might be worth a shot since it's completely free.

Right now I'm pretty convinced it ISN'T the tires or wheels.

Here's why:

1. Jeep came with crappy balding tires. It was aligned, and my buddy found a set of almost brand new 225/75/15 michelin tires on jeep wheels. We bolted them on and used the wheels that the tires came on. No change in the shake.

2. Took the Jeep to a trusted shop (we know the whole family that runs it and they do quality work), said the alignment was good and the front end was tight.

3. Swapped on my front 30x9.5 BFG A/Ts and wheels which are balanced correctly and there was still no change.


The only thing worn in the steering looks to be the steering stabilizer. Even that doesn't even SEEM worn, its just kind of nasty looking and original. The steering does seem to have a bit more play in the box than mine does.... thats why I thought it might be the steering box.

Also, to update: I drove it yesterday and the shake starts very faintly at 50 mph, and gets worse between 50-60 mph. 60 is when it is the worst, and at like 62 mph it goes away completely.

Driveshaft u-joints that are going bad will cause that shake at those speeds. Sort of an early warning sign. That is what it has always been on my vehicles the last 40 years when they got the shake at that speed range. It is a harmonic speed issue, and early signs of U-joints going bad. They reach a peak amplitude of vibration in that speed range I think.

Ecomike said:

Driveshaft u-joints that are going bad will cause that shake at those speeds. Sort of an early warning sign. That is what it has always been on my vehicles the last 40 years when they got the shake at that speed range. It is a harmonic speed issue, and early signs of U-joints going bad. They reach a peak amplitude of vibration in that speed range I think.

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So would it be the u-joints in the front axle or in the driveshafts? I thought bad driveshaft joints would cause driveline vibrations, not shaking in the steering.

Some times it is hard to tell where the vibration is coming come. Last month I thought the driveshaft u-joints or rear end, rear axle was going bad, until I filled the gas tank. Turned out the old renix fuel pump was telling to go buy gas! LOL


I had not considered the front axle u-joints, as I have never had them go bad yet, but you may be on the right track there.

Yeah this jeep kind of puzzles me. Usually I can find a loose trackbar or other worn parts that cause wobble on other jeeps. This one is clean and tight. The shake is definitely in the steering, you can feel it in the wheel more than anywhere else. Its too bad I don't have a camera or something I can mount underneath to see what is moving. :laugh:

jeepkid03 said:

Yeah this jeep kind of puzzles me. Usually I can find a loose trackbar or other worn parts that cause wobble on other jeeps. This one is clean and tight. The shake is definitely in the steering, you can feel it in the wheel more than anywhere else. Its too bad I don't have a camera or something I can mount underneath to see what is moving. :laugh:

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Now that is an idea....

Props to CJ-7Tim, it ended up being a tire balance issue. I was pretty sure it wasn't a balance issue since we used 2 sets of tires with no change in the shake. Last night we swapped my correctly balanced tires and wheels onto his XJ, and the shake was gone. :thumbup: