pfcperry17

Hi. We have a '93 XJ with a 3" Rough Country lift kit and All-Terrain tires, all the way around. It started developing a vibration around 40-45 mph a couple months ago and we replaced the rear U-Joint (it was bad anyway) and then the vibe's got worse.
Can feel it in the shifter, steering wheel, seat, etc....Everywhere basically.

We need to know ASAP as what can be causing this. It's going to be a daily driver again soon (within a couple weeks) and we cannot drive it as-is. Maybe alignment, faulty u-joint, needs a t-case lowering kit....we don't know....

onew1ckedxj

Axle shaft u-joints?? or maybe the front axle alignment?

Llamacide

Search Death Wobble on here... There are any number of factors that could be causing problem and that search will likely yeild a list of items to check.... Good luck.

pfcperry17

it's not a wobble, just a bad vibration....Are they the same?

TheDale

Wobble creates a vibration.

93gc40

Check all Drive shaft U-joints, 2 in the rear and 3 on the front. 2 more in the front axel. Check tire balance. Check alignment. Could be from incorrect driveline angles. Driveshaft could be out of balance. Could be bad wheel bearings. If it's not causing a change of undies it is NOT Death Wobble.

jronald

A front wheel alignment in its self will not cause a vibration. Never has never will. It CAN wear the tire in such a way as to cause the tire to cause the vibration.

With more than 20 years in the automotive business, and 1000's upon 1000's of alignments sold, I have never fixed a vibration by aligning the front wheels.

A vibration is something out of balance Drive shaft, Tire, Brake Rotor, Fan Blade, Brake Drum, Crank Shaft, Ferris Wheel!

A Alignment is a direction.
In the case of cars:
Are both tires pointed the same direction,
Are both tires leaning in or out at the top
Are both tires the same distance to the center of gravity to the car.

My soap box
Ron

pfcperry17

I was under it checking the driveshafts and u-joints and they are all solid (car is on jack stands, in neutral with e-brake off)....no looseness in the shafts at the joints.

I did notice that the muffler has a hole punched in it (probably happend while wheeling)....Can that cause the vibration? It only happens above 40....Most likely not...Maybe wheel bearings? I don't think we ever replaced them...

jronald

You may need to load the suspension to get something out of align, enough to get the vibe. Jack stands under the suspension, instead of the body. Just a thought.

Ron

path31

You should also check your tie rod ends and track bar for play.

tiwvr1

Definitly get tires balanced. Comical story, had a guy bring a 91 bmw into the shop, The second u hit 45 it was like someone turned on a switch. The steering wheel vibrate furiously, back and forth, to the point u almost couldnt contrl the vehical. He told us "The tires are fine, they were balanced yesterday, I want u to replace the cv driveshaft" SOOOOO... I pulled it in and checked balance, was way off, balanced, and still way off again. I pulled the tire off the rim and..... about a gallon of water in it.

Fixed the problem. Funny thing is, the guy seemed kind of mad about it.

hillbillyjeeper

Check your rear brakes, one of mine was adjusted too tight and caused a bad vibration. Go for a drive and then feel the rear wheels and see if one of them is hot (be careful) ...Also check and make sure your emergency brake isn't sticking

pfcperry17

do you remember around what speed the vibe's started?

MallCrawlXJ

have you checked your tranny and engine mounts?

they could also be worn, causing you to have a bad d-shaft angle.


to help you better diagnose you prob, when does it happen the most? on acceleration or decelleration?

did you re-install all driveshaft parts in the order they came out? if you turned any parts on your d-shaft, it could be out of balance now.

is your pinion and t-case output yoke at the same angle?

i would say if you changed the rear u-joint and it got worse, you have a bad d-shaft/pinion angle.....this tells me you half found the problem.

x3 on alignment not curing vibrations. i am hunter alignment certified.

pfcperry17

no shaft angles seem changed after new u joint....might try seeing if the rear brakes are too tight...I do know we replaced the rear shoes not TOO long ago....I'm still thinking maybe wheel bearings? I was able to move the tire back and forth about 1/2 inch or MORE the other day....It was the front driver side tire....COULD wheel bearings cause this? They may be bad from any mud, dirt, sand, etc....We go 4-wheeling at Prairie City often (well not since this started) and there is always some mud....LOTS of sand and dirt.... lol