Jeep Q?

dove'd85 · Jul 29, 2009

alright so we are working on this 96 grand cherokee, 6 cylinder... it shakes vilently when i hit a bump at 30+ it's so bad infact that i have to stop the car almost completely for the shaking to stop

anways bear with me...

after spending way to much time on the phone today at work trying to track down a tie rod end, i figured i would post up here as most of you have more experience with this sorta shtuff then the average joe..

so the rig has 4in OME coils and stock control arms. the tie rod that is bad is the one the connects the track bar/pan hard to the sub frame

according to olympic off road OME doesn't make the trac bar and who ever installed the lift surely peiced it together, so they told me to drive the part up there and they might have one...

well before i drive for 40 minutes wishfully thinking that they will have what i need, i figured i would check here, i am sure this is a common TRE and not as hard to track down as it seams...

thanks in advance i no it's alot to read

xraidedj · Jul 29, 2009

good ol death wobble.......very common.

uke:

zukkev · Jul 29, 2009

I take it this is an adjustable track bar....Post a pic, may help zero in on the brand...Also, check the track bar mount on the subframe....the bolts can and do come loose.:awesomework:

dove'd85 · Jul 29, 2009

xraidedj said:
good ol death wobble.......very common.uke:

according to the owner this is new.. and fawkin crazy, worste death wobble i have yet to encounter

zukkev said:
I take it this is an adjustable track bar....Post a pic, may help zero in on the brand...Also, check the track bar mount on the subframe....the bolts can and do come loose.:awesomework:

everything is tight:awesomework:

ajustable... yes it is adjustable, since you asked:redneck:

the tie rod end was threaded all the way in, i am wondering if we bought a stock trac bar and through that bitch in if it would effect the axles laderal:eeek: location?

i will snap a pic tomorrow i guess... it's black and has a rubber bushing with a metal sleave through the middle of it on the axle side....

Also, check the track bar mount on the subframe....the bolts can and do come loose

on the sub frame side there is a TRE not a bolt, you must be thinking about a heim end. in any case i have tossed up the idea of just throughing a heim in and calling it a day, but i would have to drill the tapper out of the mount on the sub frame

JayH · Jul 29, 2009

dove'd85 said:
on the sub frame side there is a TRE not a bolt, you must be thinking about a heim end. in any case i have tossed up the idea of just throughing a heim in and calling it a day, but i would have to drill the tapper out of the mount on the sub frame

The TRE fits into a bracket which is bolted to the subframe (four bolts I believe,) these are the bolts that get loose. That TRE is probably stock - check NAPA or whatever you use for a parts house.

dove'd85 · Jul 29, 2009

replaced the TRE today and it still has the death wobble just not as horrible...

my next thought was maybe it was the steering stabalizer/dampner... first thought was i am sure it couldn't effect the steering that saverlee if it were bad, considering this is a coil spring set up i am sure that it could... in anycase check it and it was fine...

not sure what else it could be? maybe the geometry is off. as this lift as i no it ws peiced together using stock length control arms...:eeek:

when you turn the steering wheel ither way the steering linkage twist's from one end of the TRE to the other if that makes any sense... i am pretty certain that is not normal?

nevada · Jul 29, 2009

yeh, they twist, thats normal

i had a jeep in the shop the other day, with the same problem. frontend was tight, steering box was good. his camber was a bit low....as in..bent housing. but it wasnt too bad. not sure on the caster, but the arms werent adjustable. he hit a stump....and its been doing it ever since.:eeek:

have you had the tires checked for out of round, and balanced?
a good stablizer would probably take care of it. but it wouldnt FIX anything.

my 4runner does it too. i just keep a good stabilizer on there:redneck:

Bunk1 · Jul 29, 2009

Ball joints.

JOOP · Jul 29, 2009

Check your ball joints, hubs and TRE's. Somewhere you have some play. Also your alignment is probably off.

Oh also check for worn bushings in the upper and lower links. If one is worn pretty bad, enough to make the axle shift a bit, well there goes your alignment.

Death wobble is a bitch because it can be so many different problems causing it. Good luck

Don't forget tire balance....

dove'd85 · Jul 30, 2009

nevada said:
yeh, they twist, thats normal

i had a jeep in the shop the other day, with the same problem. frontend was tight, steering box was good. his camber was a bit low....as in..bent housing. but it wasnt too bad. not sure on the caster, but the arms werent adjustable. he hit a stump....and its been doing it ever since.:eeek:

customer was givin the jeep a while back and it was fine then... tires have been rotated with no effect what so ever, but not check for balance i will give that a shot, this is not a wheeler so i doubt the housing is bent

have you had the tires checked for out of round, and balanced?
a good stablizer would probably take care of it. but it wouldnt FIX anything.

stabalizer is good and i agree they are a mask and not a fix

my 4runner does it too. i just keep a good stabilizer on there:redneck:

Bunk said:
Ball joints.

ball joints are fine

JOOP said:
Check your ball joints, hubs and TRE's. Somewhere you have some play. Also your alignment is probably off.

alignment seams fine. car drivers straight down the rode so i doubt the alignment is off
i will look into the hubs

Oh also check for worn bushings in the upper and lower links. If one is worn pretty bad, enough to make the axle shift a bit, well there goes your alignment.

bushings look fine with that being said. when the car is in park and running as i turn the wheel the housing shifts side to side a good inch but it seams normal to me being is the tires are fairly large for the steering and such(33's)

Death wobble is a bitch because it can be so many different problems causing it. Good luck

Don't forget tire balance....

thanks for all the feedback fellas

zukkev · Jul 30, 2009

dove'd85 said:
(quoted from me--->)Also, check the track bar mount on the subframe....the bolts can and do come loose

on the sub frame side there is a TRE not a bolt, you must be thinking about a heim end. in any case i have tossed up the idea of just throughing a heim in and calling it a day, but i would have to drill the tapper out of the mount on the sub frame

Not where the bar mounts (the tapered hole), I'm talkin' about the bracket that's bolted to the subframe....this bracket is what the track bar is mounted to....

Kapeesh???

Lincolnlock · Jul 30, 2009

Check the tire pressure. (I'm not kidding) Also, check the caster. There is a little bit of adjustment on the axle end of the lower control arm. Make sure these are maxed out to move the axle forward.

dove'd85 · Jul 30, 2009

zukkev said:
Not where the bar mounts (the tapered hole), I'm talkin' about the bracket that's bolted to the subframe....this bracket is what the track bar is mounted to.... Kapeesh???

if it were loose i would have noticed something as obvi as that:awesomework:

all four tires are at 34 psi

crash2 · Jul 30, 2009

If your search for death wabble--here are the typical and common things you see..

1--caster
2--toe
3--loose components

I have yet to see camber cause death wabble but thats typicly associated with a bent housing.

Damnyankee · Jul 30, 2009

i helped a buddy of mine with this same problem.

his TRE's were bad.. event he one that you could swear was good, still bad.

any play whatsoever will cause this.

we changed 1.. made it 90 % better. changed another 1.. 95% better, we changed all of them and it went away.

you couldn't even drive his rig.

zukkev · Jul 30, 2009

dove'd85 said:
if it were loose i would have noticed something as obvi as that:awesomework:

all four tires are at 34 psi

Doesn't have to be OBVIOUSLY loose, just enough to allow the bracket to slide back & forth on the subframe...look for witness marks on the subframe, if nothing else, take a ratchet to the bolts just to make sure......:awesomework:

64FJ40 · Jul 30, 2009

Had it occasionally on my wife's XJ. It did it at stock height on stock tires, but very seldom - only big expansion joints at freeway speed. It got worse with a little lift and some 31s.

The ball joints all 'seemed' fine, but replacing them got rid of 75% of it. The next step was to replace the bushings in the track bar and upper links. But I sold it before I got to that.

MarcW · Aug 2, 2009

My steering stabilizer looked fine too. it was the stabilizer causing my DW in my cherokee when it had coils.

dove'd85 · Aug 2, 2009

as far as i no the alignment is not off in any way, not signs of un even wear on the tires,

car drives down the road straight. no pulling,wandering

replaced the TRE on the pitman arm and it is much better then it was,

but still has the deathwobble when you hit a pot hole at 40+... so for now we are going to call it good and send it on it's way, we told the customer that if he wanted to spend more money on this free rig that we would replace a few other parts...

the control arm bushing have some wear, no tears though just small cracks that usually form in rubber after a few years you no what im sayin