Hi all!

I'm a chick who's sick of being taken advantage of by my local mechanics, so I've been doing my own maintenance etc on my 99 Cherokee Sport. I'm hoping that you all will have some advice about my current issue.

Sometimes when I hit certain bumps, the back end skitters out behind me, usually toward the left. It's not all the time, but certain scenarios are worse than others - for instance, a dirt road with chatter bumps is completely no-go, that's just asking for a roll over.

Mechanic took a look and said I need either a new track bar or new ball joints.

Now I know I can't fix this myself but I have no idea if he's just trying to get more money from me so I thought maybe I'd ask you guys if that sounds right. I know you can't diagnose over the computer but I've never heard of a track bar, and other vehicles with bad ball joints behaved differently.



This is my first Jeep and I love it, it's completely stock but I plan to do a few small modifications, if I can find someone to teach me how.

 

how are your rear shocks and leaf springs?
what is your air pressure in your tires? and are they stock size?

 

This link has a good picture to show where all the parts are in the front suspension including the track bar.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/fro...-101-a-157714/

I am fairly new to the Cherokee myself so I don't know if a loose track bar would cause the rear end to kick out or not. But on other trucks I have had similar handling problems if the rear suspension gets too stiff, from something like frozen shocks and such, if it can't move and stay on the ground it will bounce around.

Also check the pressure in the rear tires, if they are over pressured it can cause it to kick out on rough roads, especially if they are over pressure and the front is under. If on smooth highways, under pressure in rear and over in front will cause the back end to swing out in curves.

 

Track bar and ball joints are up front. I don't understand what would cause your rear end to slide out other than tires?

A wobble up front is completely different though.

 

I'm with caged...I'd look at the rear suspension/tires before I'd look at the front.

 

If it was a Grand Cherokee I guess it would have a rear track bar, if so that would make a difference I guess.