Steering and Front End Problems

[tylergrant2011]

I have a 87 mj 4.0 2wd. Whenever I drive and reach speeds around 55mph it starts to vibrate a bit then goes into this crazy shake almost like a flat tire. It reminds me of the death wobble found in some Dodge's. Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem might be?

 

[Dragonlich1961]

Check all front end components for any looseness. If it feels like death wobble like a Dodge then it's the same as our jeeps. Dodge borrowed their solid axle coil setup from jeep . mine was caused by a worn trackbar end and a bad alignment. Look up procedures for checking death wobble. Mileage would also help.

 

[tylergrant2011]

I could wiggle the trackbar it feels as if the vibration has wollered out a hole a fraction bigger than the bolts.

 

[smokeyyank]

Definitely sounds like death wobble. As suggested check all the front end for any loose parts. Also tires can play a huge part in it. I had death wobble and replaced all my steering parts (needed to be done anyways) helped a little. Got new tires and bam fixed it.

 

[Dragonlich1961]

a wollowed out trackbar hole can be a cause, if the balljoint end is bad then it must be replaced as a whole. if the bushing end(axle) is bad it can be repalced(just the bushing). if the hole is bad either drill the hole out to a larger bolt or weld on a heavy washer or plate.

 

[rockclimber]

a wollowed out trackbar hole can be a cause, if the balljoint end is bad then it must be replaced as a whole. if the bushing end(axle) is bad it can be repalced(just the bushing). if the hole is bad either drill the hole out to a larger bolt or weld on a heavy washer or plate.

welding a heavy washer or plate onto the bracket will not help. what matters is not the size of the hole, but rather that the bolt is kept torqued properly so that the bonded sleeve of the bushing is clamped properly in order to develop a friction bond between the inside faces of the bracket and the sleeve. no amount of crap welded to the outside of that bracket will help.

if the hole is so wallowed out that sufficient friction bond cannot be created, then drilling it out for a larger bolt (would require a new bushing with a larger sleeve and making a new flag nut.


OP make sure the Trackbar bushing is not shot, then torque the bolt to spec.

check all the other connections, wheel bearings, Balljoints, etc. make sure your tires are properly balanced and all of your steering ends are not worn out.

 

[tylergrant2011]

Welding doesn't seem like a great idea. I can see how possibly drilling a larger hole and using a larger bolt and torqueing to specs would help. My theory is I know it's loose and it may can be tightened I haven't tried but if it is tight and the whole is wollered out too large for the bolt there is no way to keep it from sliding except for going bigger on the bolt size. Does anyone have a part number for the bushings incase they are shot.

 

[Ecomike]

I have a 87 mj 4.0 2wd. Whenever I drive and reach speeds around 55mph it starts to vibrate a bit then goes into this crazy shake almost like a flat tire. It reminds me of the death wobble found in some Dodge's. Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem might be?

In both cases when I had it on my 87 Wagoneer XJ and 89 Cherokee, all the parts were worn enough to need replacing, the track bar, the tie rods, the stabilizer steering shock absorber, and the drag link, and I think the Pitman arm on the Wagoneer. The 89 also needed lower ball joints. We just finished the 89 a week ago. Had to go back weeks later and do the ball joints to get the front end alignment. The ball joints did not cause the death wobble but they were dangerously worn out too. Found that out when we tried to get an alignment.....

While the current issue may be one part, the parts are so cheap and so easy to replace it is well worth it to replace them all yourself, except the ball joints (unless they are shot too) they are more of a pain to get loose. Most of the parts run $20 to $35 each IIRC.

 

[tylergrant2011]

I think I found the problem the tie rod is bent. It looks like the previous owner or someone must have stuck a hack under the front and it slipped and hit the tie rod. Could a bent tie rod cause this situation

 

[rockclimber]

a bent tie-rod could mean your toe is too far in, which can cause DW.

 

[tylergrant2011]

Appreciate it bud