death wobble
 

Just bought a 87 cherokee laredo 2dr and it has a pretty serious death wobble. It also will drift from side to side while driving. Any ideas?? I have thoughts about the steering stabilizer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a few:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/search...earchid=276355

drifting is usually caused by either trackbar bushings, hub bearings or ball joints.
but it could also be control arm bushings, steering box, or maybe tie rod ends.

check those, it will be one of them for sure. haha

what do you mean by death wobble? cause my 96 used to do a serious shake around 55 where it felt like the whole vehicle was gonna fall apart. like i was hitting a bunch of potholes and it wouldnt stop till the vehicle was about stopped.

my problem was my trac bar bushing the bolt was loose and longgated the whole so i put in a new bushing and new bolt and made sure they were tight and my problems fixed.

thats death wobble... very common

What speed are you driving before it happens? Any noise? id check the tires

This will appear to "fix" the problem... but it will just cover it up. Check your tie rods, ball joints, control arm bushings, track arm bushings, tire alignment and balance.

drifting and wobbling could be casued by tires that are abnormally worn or separated. Have them checked first. they are the cheapest and easiest to replace.

Wiggle your track bar at frame and the axle ends. If it moves at all you have worn bushings and they need replaced. Guarantee this will fix your problem.

Ok guys, Track bar moves front to back slightly at the frame but the thing I really noticed was the tie rod, it rotates at least 1/4" and I don't think thats a good thing. The wobble generally starts at 40 mph and stays until I slam on the brakes. As far as the tie rod goes, should I start with replacing both ends and the bushings? And I will also try the track bar end at the frame. Thank you for your help gents

Is this XJ lifted?

no lift yet but some day probably