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Post by scrambler81 on Jul 11, 2007 19:16:37 GMT -5
Anybody else have a problem with the front end shaking? If I hit a road patch, or a seam in the highway, my front end starts wobbling like crazy. It seems like the front left wheel is the worst of it. My 2004 would get a little unsettled over bumps at speed, but it was nothing like this. The Jeep is bone stock, so I have never changed anything up there. I'm just wondering where to start looking.
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Post by akwrangler on Jul 11, 2007 20:12:49 GMT -5
I fit is bone stock, I'd start with the Trackbar bolt on the axle end, then wheel balance, then alignment.
I know the last two sound trivial, but the TJ/LJ have a very finicky front suspension.
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Post by atcjeeper on Jul 11, 2007 20:17:24 GMT -5
I'm glad you mentioned this, I've been dealing with this for a while and I thought it might be due to the lift so I havent taken it in. I just balanced and rotated my tires, tightened up my track bars and links but its still shakes nearly uncontrolably after the slightest bump. I was going to have it aligned tomorrow even though my tire wear is even and I have no pull or shake unless I hit a bump. If your experiencing this with a bone stock LJ, I'm taking mine to the dealer tomorrow, I suggest you do the same. Good luck, keep me updated on what they say if you go. I may get the runaround since I do have a lift. Eric  |
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Post by atcjeeper on Jul 12, 2007 9:57:32 GMT -5
I cant get to the stealership until Mon morning. Does anyone else have input? I've read the "wobble with lift" thread but this seems more excessive. If I dont slow down to less than 40mph when it starts, I swear the whole front end will shake apart if I dont loose control of the Jeep first.
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Post by Steve on Jul 12, 2007 11:16:30 GMT -5
I'm dealing with the same issue on my 2004, with 2" Rubicon Express BB, stock,(until tomorrow) wheels and tires.
Several folks have suggested a Transfer Case Drop-simple with washers, or a 54.00 Quadratech spacer kit. I will most likely try it.
Steve in Maine
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Post by 04unlimited on Jul 12, 2007 22:01:47 GMT -5
It seems to be epidemic. I have been dealing with the same issue for 6 months. I checked all of my steering and suspension components, and had an alignment and wheels balanced. I changed pads and rotors all around, and swapped in a beefy Steering Stabilizer which helps, but won't last for ever, and only minimizes the problem. I see my symptoms almost exclusively when braking going down hill at around 55 mph. Weird?
BTW running 2" lift with 31's
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Post by jtstj on Jul 12, 2007 23:03:50 GMT -5
Notice if it shakes when braking, could be warped rotors. newer jeeps are plagued with crappy rotors and warp when you look at them wrong. I have this same issue but only when braking. Ive had my jeep to the dealership more than once and they tell me warped rotors. And they are NOT under warranty.  |
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Post by jered_jmm on Jul 13, 2007 0:27:33 GMT -5
Heres a long post about "Death Wobble" This is a cut and paste from something else I had, and may not relate to your situation specifically because you said yours is stock.
***Remember, once you lift your Jeep, the factory specs will not necessarily work for your situation. Get underneath, get your hands dirty, and learn about your Jeep, in the case of steering, you and your family's life may depend on it!***
***Accept this fact...Death wobble will not be cured by a steering stabilizer. This may mask the symptoms for a while, they will return, potentially more dangerous than before as the worn components are now even weaker!***
1- Trackbar axle bolt TIGHT, hole still round, correct size bolt, bushings/joints in good shape.
2- Tires balanced? Super Swampers are notorious for being way out of balance. I use Centramatic dynamic wheel balancers to keep mine balanced.
3- Upper adjustable control arms to set correct castor. A good self check can be performed by placing an angle finder on the flat plate next to the shock just behind the axle tube. (Check each side.) If it's about 3 degrees below 0, you should be OK, less than that and you will likely have some trouble. Alternately you can use a socket on top of the upper ball joint with the angle finder and get your castor angle that way. In my case, one full turn of the upper arm equals one degree, YMMV. Don't forget to check the angle on the front driveshaft. DS and castor are a compromise to ensure safe vehicle handling with good U joint life, you may not be able to get either exactly correct, shoot for what works best for both.
4- TRE's in good shape, you may even have to disconnect the joints and move them by hand to verify smooth operation. Remember, easiest way to remove TRE's is to hit the surrounding metal piece with a BFH to loosen, don't hit the threaded end or use a pickle fork unless you want to destroy the joint. Grease the joints every oil change, grease is cheap, joints are not.
5- Solid lower control arms to prevent unwanted movement and flex, if you still have the factory ones they could be the problem.
6- Control arm joints tight, my RE superflex joints can be disassembled, cleaned, lubed, rebuilt, and reassembled as required. Alternately I can just tighten them up with an inexpensive tool. RE told me to rebuild after tightening 3 or 4 times.
7- Factory washers on the lower control arm to axle joint. My RE arms came with new washers, so I used 'em. They were slightly smaller in diameter and thickness them the factory, and didn't have the tapered edge to ensure correct axle alignment. Once I replaced them with the factory ones, it tightened things up nicely.
8- Check the joints in the steering wheel shaft itself, two under the hood and one under the dash. I had one wear and loosen up, and it took forever to find it. Felt like problems elsewhere in the steering system because it allows play between steering wheel and the rest of the steering system. I ended up replacing my intermediate steering shaft and was good to go.
9- Wheel bearings (hubs) in good shape? Cheapest I found for my wifes TJ was about $150 at Autozone, made by Timkin, highly respected bearing company. Everybody else wanted around $200. Don't do what the previous owner (idiot!) did to hers, he only tightened the axle nut to hand tight instead of 175 ft/lbs.
10- How about your ball joints? Same goes there, a good way to check is to jack the tire off the ground and see if there's any top/bottom play.
11- Ensure upper and lower shock bushings are in good shape, I had one get cut by a sharp edge on the upper mount, allowed some unwanted axle movement before any dampening occured.
Basically do an inspection of every part from the steering wheel to the tire. Verify each fastener fits correctly in the holes provided with no slop. Each time you find a component worn, or loose, and you tighten or correct the problem, your alignment may be off again. Get a factory service manual or Chilton's to ensure correct torque specs. Near the end of ORO's U-turn install instructions, they give a good step by step procedure for doing a self alignment that you can follow. Basically you use two 4' long 1"x1" aluminum angle pieces (Got mine at Lowes for about $5 each IIRC) held to the wheel with bungies, and two tape measures to check the difference. I do this about once a quarter anyway just to check. Make it part of your routine maintenance as it only takes about 20 minutes.
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Post by scrambler81 on Jul 13, 2007 20:40:00 GMT -5
Notice if it shakes when braking, could be warped rotors. newer jeeps are plagued with crappy rotors and warp when you look at them wrong. I have this same issue but only when braking. Ive had my jeep to the dealership more than once and they tell me warped rotors. And they are NOT under warranty. No, it's not when I'm braking. I just hit certain types of bumps, and the front end just starts wobbling. If I brake it will stop. I did have the warped rotor issue with my 2004. I had them cut and it stopped for a while, then it started up again. I installed after market rotors and it never came back. |
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Post by ebtek on Jul 13, 2007 22:13:40 GMT -5
Mine started doing it when I had my tires rotated. The spare which was brand new didnt have a weight on it. I drove the day after the rotation and I notice a wobble. Took it back to the shop and had the tire balanced. I have noticed a difference since I got the lift. Planning on going with 33's soon. Hope it doesn't get worse. Added a steering stabilizer just to make sure. Epidemic? Maybe Unlimited's are not meant to be lifted. I do notice a wobble when I hit a bump on the road. It's very little, but it wasn't there before the lift. I'm running 31's and I have a 4" ProComp lift.
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Post by jered_jmm on Jul 14, 2007 0:27:12 GMT -5
Maybe Unlimited's are not meant to be lifted. Well lets not go and say something we'll regret! HAHA In all seriousness if I couldn't get it fixed on my own with the help of the internet, than I'd take it to a shop. Also, you might try www.rubiconownersforum.com/They got a lot of great guys there and are very knowledgeable? Its late and I dont know how to spell! |
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Post by atcjeeper on Jul 14, 2007 6:22:59 GMT -5
Update, Before I hit the panic button and take it to the dealer I went ahead and had an alignment done yesterday. My toe-in was off by about 3/4". $25 and an hour later the front end shake is gone and my steering wheel is straight again. Well worth the money and time, my butt would have been out there for several hours monkeyin' around hoping I did things right. I'm glad I didnt follow my own advice and look like a jackass in the service dept.  I hope no one else listened to me. Mine never did shake during braking though. I hope you all get that figured out. Eric |
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Post by 04unlimited on Jul 14, 2007 23:51:19 GMT -5
The shake during braking is pretty mild at the moment and very well could be a warped rotor, although that is low on my list because I changed all four rotors when I did the brakes and the problem did not go away, only improved somewhat.
I ended up having a bad proportioning valve that showed tis ugly face by way of the Brake warning light, and I wonder if during the time that the front brakes weren't getting proper pressure from the valve I may not have warped one of the new rotors.
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Post by surfnsnow on Jul 19, 2007 23:15:28 GMT -5
I had the DW for a while and it sucked. Just hitting 55mph would set it off and when I had it down to a driveable state, I had lockers and gears installed and it was back with a vengence. I wound up getting new tires (the old ones were worn pretty good)and that did the trick.
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Post by bossind on Jul 20, 2007 10:23:56 GMT -5
I had a shake as well, turned out to be a bad GS-A tire - they suck! Dealer was of no help either, tires would balance perfectly on a tire balancer but would shake at speed. I eventually narrowed it down to one tire and replaced it.
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I hope no one else listened to me. Mine never did shake during braking though. I hope you all get that figured out. 