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Still shakin' at 55!!!

ParadiseXJ

NAXJA Forum User
I posted part of this on another forum site, but after pulling my hair out I've yet to figure it out.

The XJ is shaking/vibrating when I hit 55 up to about 65. It also pulls slightly to the right when I let go of the wheel.

I have eliminated the following supects.

Axle u-joints (new)
Drive line vibes
(took it to the local 4x4 driveline guy who said it checked out perfectly). Mounts, tight and less than a year old (motor and tranny). Alignment (Les Schwab put it on their computer and said it was just about perfect).
Ball Jointscould be suspect, but the front end guy said they were tight and lubed. Tires 1 month old, balanced 3 times to be sure, checked for round, popped belts etc.

Now, the guy said he straightened my steering wheel out but as I said it now pulls slightly to the side it was before he "straightened" it. I'm thinking that might be the problem.

Any thoughts? Pleease!!
huh.gif
 
I had the same problem on my '92. It was a combination of worn out tie rod ends and a slighty out of round wheel. New tie rod ends took care of most of it, but it wasn't until I rotated the two front tires to the back that the shaking completly went away. By the way, I had the warped wheel balanced twice and neither shop mentioned that it was out of round...
 
I've rotated the wheels AND put on a whole different set and the shakin' is still there. The TRE's (incliuding the drag link) I forgot to mention are all less than a year old with regular lube.

I'm just bound and determined to get this @%#*& thing fixed, it's making me KRAZY

Karlito. click this link
http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/W_poly_Jeep.htm#Tranmission%20Mounts
 
brake drag for the pulling maybe?

get it off the ground and start wiggling tires to see what moves (prolly need a friend to help as it's hard to see while moving the tire manually.
 
I have this same exact issue. Though I am pretty sure one of my wheels is bent a bit as well. But ive rotated the tires and it doesnt make any sense as far the pull to the right.
 
So here was the fix for this.

After I had the tires balanced 3 times by 3 different places I took it in to my trusted mechanic and told him to run it through the mill to see if there was anything in the suspension that would cause a shake/shimmy since I was pulling my hair out trying to find it. Anything loose, worn, too tight, out of line that could POSSIBLY be causing this.
I had the following items eliminated as suspects.
Bearings (good), Ball Joints (good) TRE's (all new), steering stabilizer (new), track bar issues (none, all tight), brakes dragging (no), alignment (dead on), driveline (the guy said the driveline angle was perfect), bushings (all suspension bushings replaced last spring), axle u-joints (new).

So he looked at it for about 2 hours, on the rack, on the ground, all 'round town. Couldn't find a thing. Didn't charge me at all.

I took it to Big O Tires to see if the tires could possibly be out of round, He put them on the balancer for the fourth time and called me in to the bay to check out what the "other" tire place had done. The "other" tire place being Les Schwab had apparently put twice the weight on the wheel that the computer had called for. So that was my problem all along. Some rookie tire "tech" who couldn't balance a wheel.
 
Since nobody else has said it, I guess I will: So what you're saying, essentially, is that you can't drive 55? Take my license and all that jive, I can't drive 55.
 
Kyle Petterson said:
Since nobody else has said it, I guess I will: So what you're saying, essentially, is that you can't drive 55? Take my license and all that jive, I can't drive 55.

LOL nice....

Interesting, as I am having the exact same shake at around 55mph. It's worse when it's cold and i'm first driving it, which would indicate a tire balance issue, but the shake it still there after multiple tire balances. Heck, it's done it since the day I got it over two years ago (hasn't really got any worse), and I put new tires on shortly after I got it thinking that would solve the problem....nope. Just learned to live with it. Every other XJ i've driven has done it, so untill it gets noticeably worse, I just live with it.
 
The guy at Big O took 9.5 ozs. off all but 3 wheels and 8 oz. on the 4th. He only had to put 2.5 oz. on 1 and 3 oz. on the other 3.

And Les Schwab has the balls to drive a Jeep thru the creek in his ad. What a putz.
 
Over the years, I've worked at a few tire shops, as a tire tech and as an automotive tech. One constant has always been the same. The guy working the balancer has rarely, if ever, watched the tire spin up on the balancer. they never actually look to make sure the tires are round or the rims straight, and bangs on the weights the machine tells them to and don't bother to re-spin. Example?? At one shop I worked at, I had a customer with a vibration complaint. I removed the tires and sent them to the tire boys for balance, and got them back some 8 minutes later with the standard "all is good":thumbup:. Putting the tires back on the vehicle, I ripped open my right hand on the steel cords hanging out of the 1x2 inch flat spot on the SEPARATED tire. Yes, it was partially my own fault for not checking the tire myself, and I learned my lesson as I was rushed to the hospital for 28 stiches in my hand, not to mention the 2 hours off work (yes I went back the same day). I'll end by saying that the persons responsible for my injury were unwilling to come to work the next day, and unwilling to come near me for a couple of weeks.:firedevil
 
wrenchead99 said:
I'll end by saying that the persons responsible for my injury were unwilling to come to work the next day, and unwilling to come near me for a couple of weeks.
Sorry to hear you got hurt, but, no offense, you're the person responsible for your injury. Being a tech, to blame this on your GS's is lame. Nut up and take responsibility for your actions.

I rant because I care. Actually, I rant because I run a garage and situations like this make me angry. And because I care.
 
wrenchead99 said:
Over the years, I've worked at a few tire shops, as a tire tech and as an automotive tech. One constant has always been the same. The guy working the balancer has rarely, if ever, watched the tire spin up on the balancer. they never actually look to make sure the tires are round or the rims straight, and bangs on the weights the machine tells them to and don't bother to re-spin. Example?? At one shop I worked at, I had a customer with a vibration complaint. I removed the tires and sent them to the tire boys for balance, and got them back some 8 minutes later with the standard "all is good":thumbup:. Putting the tires back on the vehicle, I ripped open my right hand on the steel cords hanging out of the 1x2 inch flat spot on the SEPARATED tire. Yes, it was partially my own fault for not checking the tire myself, and I learned my lesson as I was rushed to the hospital for 28 stiches in my hand, not to mention the 2 hours off work (yes I went back the same day). I'll end by saying that the persons responsible for my injury were unwilling to come to work the next day, and unwilling to come near me for a couple of weeks.:firedevil

I was the guy that ALWAYS gave the tire a spin by hand on the balancer and watched for irregularities ;)
 
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