Hello,
I just bought an '87 XJ Laredo 4x4. It has a steering problem at highway speeds. It steers just fine in town or at speeds 45 and under. If I go faster, it will steer ok until I hit a bump/seam in the road, then it shakes violently until I get it back to 45mph. The guy I bought it from said he was told it was the steering stabilizer along with tires being out of ballance. How do I fix this?

I have heard of the "death wobble", is this what they are talking about?

 

Just about anything loose in the suspension can get it started, the trackbar is a common culprit. Check the ends for slop.
Is your XJ lifted or stock?

 

It's got stock suspension/steering. It does have 226k miles on it so I'm sure something is worn out. My intent was for it to be a budget "beater with a heater" kind of truck. I don't want to put a whole lot of money into it if I can help it. What would be the most likely part(s) that need replaced?

 

The worn out one(s).

Check the ends of the track bar first. That seems to be a frequent problem.
Also give the tie rod ends a good shake.

You may find this thread helpful:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/di...-wobble-55021/

 

Spend the money to repair it right or sell it, better than losing control & heading into oncoming traffic.

 

Awesome, Thanks!

 

Ok,
I got the track bar and the linkage that has the right tierod end apart of it replaced last week. Drove it to work the other day and it only shook a little once. The steering wheel still shakes some at highway speeds.

Then today, just for kicks, I put on a new steering stabilizer. The steering is improved, but I noticed the steering wheel still shakes a little at around 60 mph, but goes away if I slow down to 55 or speed up to 65-70. I'm okay with the way it drives as it is, but just curious as to why it only does it at 60?

 

tire balanced last was?

 

Duh! I must be tired. I can't belive I didn't think of that!

I have no idea when the tires were balanced. It would make sense that it would be the tires. I've also heard that worn/bad shocks will do it too.

 

TJWalker wrote this up and it's quite thorough. Just so ya know, the last one I worked on was fixed by rotating the tires front to rear.

　
　
　
My understanding of "death wobble" is this. Somewhere in the vehicle, one or more components is worn beyond tolerances, and when oscillation initiates from a suspension "traumatic" event (hitting a bump or a pothole) or also when a vibration reaches a certain point and harmonic at a certain speed, it causes theother components to react. This is called the "multiplier effect", where one component affects one or more other components as the event travels through the front end of the vehicle.

Death wobble is not uncommon with the XJ. It is even more common with a lifted XJ. Finding the worn component or components is not always easy. It can sometimes be downright difficult. Sometimes it’s obvious. other times everything appears to be okay when you perform an inspection on a hoist, but getting the vehicle up in the air and going over everything with a fine tough comb is always a good first step. It is very helpful if you know exactly how to perform a comprehensive inspection of every single front end part, looking for abnormal wear and or play in that hardware. If you do not know how to do this type of inspection, pay an experienced professional to do it. Be sure to ask them if they are familiar with "death wobble", as not all technicians are versed in this…..

Check out the below link if you would like some extensive reading on "death wobble" causes and cures. From my research, Kevin (the author of this tutorial) is possibly the best in the business with tracking down root cause of death wobble. He does offer hardware for sale that can help resolve death wobble, but even if you don’t buy any parts from him, you can still get some excellent ideas on what to look at in resolving your death wobble.

http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/how-to-...-death-wobble/

Possible causes of death wobble are listed below. Isolating death wobble is a process of elimination and the root cause is not always obvious and it can often be caused by a combination of things! From my personal experience, I would first concentrate on the track bar and the control arms and associated bushings.
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-Front tires out of balance (try swapping fronts to rear and see if symptoms change)
-Tire pressure. Don’t laugh. It’s not a root cause but can exaggerate the problem. Experiment with lower tire pressure to see if it helps
-Improper lug nut torque on wheels
-Front alignment out of spec
-Loose track bar
-Worn track bar bushings
-Worn track bar (check for play!!)
-Bad control arms and associated bushings
-Worn/damaged steering stabilizer (not generally a cause in and by itself)
-Worn/damaged shocks
-Worn/damaged tie rod end
-Bad U Joint
-Bad ball joint
-Loose frame mount
-Steering box loose
-Bad front hub assembly
　
　

Tom Walker

 

My 98 had terrible death wobble...... I replaced the ball joints, trac bar, hub assemblies u joints and its much better now. I think that's why someone got rid of her..... It scared me the first time time it did it. Found out it was called "death wobble" and I thought what a name. I think that once my bushings get replaced and when I rotate my tires she should be good...... Until the next problem lol.