running out of options on death wobble

Jeep is a bone stock 92 cherokee.

I have replaced:

Steering stabilizer, two weeks ago
Trac bar, today
shock absorbers, today

I still have just as bad of a wobble as I did in the begining. I am running out of options here. Has anybody been to this point and still had the wobble?
I was looking at the sway bar links and they look like they could be replaced but I don't think that would make my wobble this bad. They will be replaced tomorrow regardless.
Any opinions out there on what to do or look for? Thanks.

Kim

Jack the front axle off the ground and start shaking things. Grab a tire at the top and see if it has play, could be a unit bearing, ball joint, etc.

Crawl under the front.

Have a buddy work the wheel back and forth.

Look for the loose parts.

Rev

I suppose I should of been more specific on what I did today. I used a buddies lift to get the jeep off the ground and do the trac bar install. We checked everything for loose parts and everything came out ok.
Hub assemblies are good along with tierod ends. I was moving the steering wheel around while the mechanic checked underneath and also I checked while he turned the wheel and only a very small amount of play in the gearbox.

check your control arm bushings

When I replaced the steering stabilizer the wobbles went away for about 75 miles and then came back. You could feel the wobble slowly coming back.

Kim

Nobody every mentions this but it can also be caused by improper pinion angle and or steering linkage angles. if the angles are too great on either one you will get death wobble. especially if the joints are warn.

phurealdeaux said:

check your control arm bushings

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I will check them out tomorrow but I am leaning towards that not being the problem. They seem to be the last thing to go out. I hope.

Kim

You need to check for loose parts with wieght on the front.

Rev

Rev Den said:

You need to check for loose parts with wieght on the front.

Rev

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Was done both ways. We checked on the hoist then after the trac bar was installed I took it for a ride and got the same results. I went back and we checked everything again on the ground and seemed to be in good working order. That's when I found the minimal play in the steering gearbox.

Kim

jpcherokeekid said:

Nobody every mentions this but it can also be caused by improper pinion angle and or steering linkage angles. if the angles are too great on either one you will get death wobble. especially if the joints are warn.

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No lift, no bad angles and joints are in good shape.

Kim

How long have you been dealing with this? And when was the alighnment last checked/done? I have guys that bring me thier rigs after almost every outing, so it seems...

And adjust that "play" out of your box.

Did you check alignment?

I have not had an alignment done. It tracks good down the road and no bad wear on the tires. An alignment never crossed my mind in this situation. One thing worth mentioning is when driving and getting up to speed the entire front end feels very loose even though everything is tight.

Kim

My best guess would say the alighnment is good, maybe too good? Still all stock. When I align anything with a possible death wobble I set toe at the more positive end of the tolerances. Meaning more toe in. If you can turn the allen screw in just a bit and lock it back down without turning it more(you dont want it too tight) you can take that play out of the steering box. If that doesn't cure you, I wound just toe it in a bit, then straighten the steering wheel when you are all done.

I don't think the play in the gearbox is causing this wobble. This is a $200.00 beater jeep and I am just trying to get rid of the wobble to be a decent selling jeep. I don't want the new owner in a crash the next day.

Kim

Have you checked your front tires? Uneven wear, broken belts, out of round, or out of balance conditions can cause problems.

Put the front axle on stands with the tires a couple inches off the ground. Set a 2x4 where it's almost in contact with the tire, and spin it by hand. If you see the tire pull away or touch the 2x4, the tire is out of round. Move the 2x4 so it's on the sidewall, same setup. The sidewall shouldn't "wobble" away from the 2x4. If it does, the tire body is damaged or a rim is bent.
If you seem to have a problem, swap the tires front to back and test drive. See if the problem goes away.

If the tires check out, take them to a GOOD tire shop and have them balanced. If you can, watch the guy doing the job. After the tec's finished but before he removes the tire from the machine, ask him to loosen the lug, spin the tire a half turn, and run another balance test. The tire shouldn't require rebalancing. If it does, the machine is broken, or the rim won't center on the machine hub.

tbburg said:

Have you checked your front tires? Uneven wear, broken belts, out of round, or out of balance conditions can cause problems.

Put the front axle on stands with the tires a couple inches off the ground. Set a 2x4 where it's almost in contact with the tire, and spin it by hand. If you see the tire pull away or touch the 2x4, the tire is out of round. Move the 2x4 so it's on the sidewall, same setup. The sidewall shouldn't "wobble" away from the 2x4. If it does, the tire body is damaged or a rim is bent.
If you seem to have a problem, swap the tires front to back and test drive. See if the problem goes away.

If the tires check out, take them to a GOOD tire shop and have them balanced. If you can, watch the guy doing the job. After the tec's finished but before he removes the tire from the machine, ask him to loosen the lug, spin the tire a half turn, and run another balance test. The tire shouldn't require rebalancing. If it does, the machine is broken, or the rim won't center on the machine hub.

Click to expand...

I have put on a totally different set of tires and the problem is still there.

sorry about the double post, display not updating

This vehicle is at stock suspension height, correct?
The new tires were balanced properly, correct?
Did you finish the swaybar bushings, I'd do the frame to bar bushings as well, its only a couple of extra bucks? BTW, your extremely likely to break the sway bar links trying to take them apart for the new bushings, most auto places sell new ones fairly cheap, but its just one more expense.

Adjusting the pre-load on the steering box should get rid of the play, that was what the previous poster was talking about when he said to put a couple of turns on the allen screw. Be careful on this, only do about a half turn at a time, you over tighten that pre-load adjustment and you'll chew up that steering box in no time.

Have you checked for play in the ball joints? Support the front axle with the wheels off the ground, use a 2X4 as a lever, see if you can find some play in the wheel/hub and the axle. Up/Down, In/Out and Tilt.

Front Wheel Bearings?

I hate to say it, but if everything above checks out, the only thing I can think of is the UCA/LCA Bushings. Even though they appear OK and you can't find anything loose, perhaps they may be soften and deteriorated enough that they don't stand up to the forces on the axle going down the road. Its a lot of work, and although you can probably get the arms and/or all bushings for roughly $80, thats a lot for just a guess.