Wierd occassional front end wobble

[sbilbrey]

1998 Cherokee Sport, 150K Miles, totally stock. There is a ramp in my town where there is a transition from concrete to asphault with a large bump while turning. Going over it at about 70 to 75 the steering wheel shuck violently for a couple seconds.

I figured something was loose in the front end. Following the Haynes manual I jacked one side at a time and checked for movement in the lifted wheel. Both felt very tight. While I was in there I replaced the front brakes. While it was in the air I lubed the front end. I also had someone turn the wheel from side to side while I looked for anything wrong. I could not find anything. I also rotated the tires while I was working.

It feels better now, but it does not feel as solid as I think it should. My next guess is the dampner shock. Maybe a front end alignment, I am not thinking this will fix it, but maybe the shop will report an issue.

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks,
Sammer

 

[blondejoncherokee]

maybe replace some tie rod ends. it would make your steering feel real tight again. then check toe-in(alignment) yah the stabilizer is a cheap easy place to start and will help with that wobble you are getting. it may be shot.

 

[Sideshow]

I'm not an expert but I think its a mild case of Death Wobble. I have never had it happen to my jeep but I wheeled the crap out of a rental jeep in Hawaii and it death wobbled on the way home. From what I could tell, when I hit a significant bump (roads suck in Hawaii) with one tire, the alternate tire would then bounce. I can't come with the right words to explain it but it was like articulating the front axle, except really fast.

Anyways, the wheel would saw back and forth just like you describe. I describe your case as mild because the rental jeep would not stop wobbling until I reduced to 20-30 MPH. The first time it happened I made the transition to a bridge also. The jeep was uncontrollable, the only direction I could go was straight until I slowed down and the death wobble stopped.

Scary Shit if you don't expect it.

 

[poorboy_616]

DW=Scary fun......

Mine does it on the beach, in 4wd, at 25-30 MPH....

Never on the street in 2WD.....

Follow the edvice in the above posts, they are right on track....

 

[sjx40250]

Mine did it @ 30-35 under the same conditions. I have recently added a BB of 2". In addtion, i had carried a heavy load and put some air in the rear shocks. Without the load, it had a slight rake. I queried the boards and some suggested the caster could be contributing. So I let the air out of the shocks and the problem nearly disappeared.
My next step is to measure the castor and adjust the LCA location to compensate.

 

[sbilbrey]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like replacing the tie rod ends, the stabilizer, then a front end alignment would be a good plan. I am new to the Jeep world, would these be something that I would want to upgrade while I am at it? This is mostly a street vehicle, but I do plan on adding some slightly larger tires at some point.

Sammer

 

[redneck23ms]

also take a good look at the track bar. a little slack in the frame side of the track bar can cause some wobble.

 

[sbilbrey]

Update on the project. I finally got up the initiative and started taking things apart yesterday. The tie rod removal was simple, remove the nuts and use a puller. Getting the dampner shock loose from the steering rod was a whole different experience. I used a huge puller to try to break it loose and ended up mushrooming the end of the bolt.

I finally just removed the steering rod itself. I figure I will replace those bushings while I am in there. But the dampner is still connected to the steering rod. Is there a trick to get this thing to pop loose. My friend has a press so I guess I will try that next.

Sammer