i thought this problem was all due to my suspension components that were bad along with a bad tire, but its still doing it today after getting new tires put on.

say i am backing out of my driveway, or navigating out of a gas station and i have to make a sharp turn, the passenger tire like skips on the pavement, almost like if you were to have 4wd engaged and make a sharp turn on dry pavement.

The following is new.

ball joints
tie rods
steering damper
Good used tires (stock 225/75/15)

it happens either way, whether the wheel is turned left or right, more predominant while going forward than reverse.

I know this is an all stock XJ, no lockers or anything special done to it. prior to the tierods and damper, it did not do it, that i can remember. replaced the ball jionts so i had the axles out and i didnt notice anything out of whack, and i reseated everything properly when putting them back in. I did not check the Ujoints, which I will do tomorrow, dont know why i didnt when i had them out.

just wondering if it could be a problem with the tranfer case up front or what, or what could be causing it.

any suggestions on where to start or if this may be somewhat normal would be appreciated.

thanks

 

Have u had an ilignment recently?

 

hi, i did not have an alignment at a shop. me and a friend did it in the driveway. following an alignment guide on the net, toeing in 1/16 to an 1/8 more than the rear tires, than recentering the wheel. there isnt much more to it on these.

 

Well, one of your front u's could be frozen and binding. Def check those. Ive never heard of a ball jount causing this. And, it sounds like your knowlegable enough to know weather its stuck in 4wd.
Edit: I would bring it to a front end shop and have them double check the alignment.

 

well i thought that when i first noticed this it was due to bad suspension components up front.

yeah i know its not in 4wd. it however reminds me of being in 4wd and making a sharp turn on dry pavement the way it acts.

now as far as the ujoint being seized, i did have both axles off the truck last week, and they moved around freely, though i didnt check for slop. could something still be seized though they moved around ok while moving the axles around?

 

If they moved freely in both directions while apart they should be fine. My experience with loose and broken u's has been a lot of noise while turning and some pronounced clicking in 4wd. A quick way to check that is just slide under and give them both a good manhandle. No movement equals good u's most of the time.

 

This really sounds like too mutch toe in to me. Though I am by no means a front end expert.

 

the front tires should not be parallel with teh back. reading a few different places and very reputable site i read teh front tires should be a 1/16 to no more than an 1/8 of an inch closer together in the front than the measurement taken at the back tires.

what you do is find a spot and measure on the back tires, then you go to teh front and measure in the same spot. if your back is say 57 inches and your front is 56, you are toed in an inch and need to adjust the fronts by 15/16" keeping the front wheels pointed in just a hair from the back

 

Well I've never tried the driveway alignment thing, but I know uf other guys that have had success. I have to assume your following the same formula as them. That's about all my limited experience can suggest good luck:-)

 

Do you mean the back of your front tires? Or did you actually measure your back tires? Pretty sure that wouldn't work. You need to measure the back of your front tires and then the front of your front tires. Make sure you are not on the lettering or any other raised areas.

 

oh man, i read on several places about the alignment, etched it into my head from one specific place...and yeah now i feel like a jackass... i thought it said to measure your back tires, just went back to the site, and you are right, i need to measure the back of the front tires... oh man... here is a big Homer Simpson moment... DOHHH!

 

It happens to all of us. Re-adjust and try that. You probably are way off on the toe now. (if I remember correctly the front axle is wider then the rear) let me know how it turns out.

 

When you're rechecking things be sure to double check your u-joints and make sure that your wheel hubs are good. If your hubs are bad you won't get a good accurate and concictent measurement each time. As for u-joints if they're bad it could be causing your wheel problem.

 

Had my friend come back over today to redo the alignment.

I found i was toed in 1/2 inch too much, i thought i would be way further off but i was not.

adjusted the toe in to just under 1/8 difference than the back of the fronts, my wheel skipping is alot better. ive only noticed it once or twice, but im thinking that it could be the surface i am on, nice and smooth asphalt. she drives nice and straight down the road, just gotta tweek my steering wheel a little bit more.

now, i checked my u joints with the tires on and in the air and couldnt find any play in them, i mean its probably so very minimal that its probably not any concern.

im happy with the way it is, i mean i know its not going to be a brand new truck, even replacing parts as the whole things got 170k...

 

Glad to hear it.