So this Jeep just loves to throw thing at me when I treat it to new parts.

I had play in my n/s upper ball joint so replaced both upper and lower. Last night I'm out driving at around 60 get some vibration, hit a bump in the road and violent shuddering through the steering.

I have found that there is play at the output of my steering box but can't spot anything else. My new joints have no feelable play so I'd rule them out. Steering damper was also new less than 9 months ago.

Is the play at the box output adjustable or am I looking at a recon box to sort that out?

Thanks.

 

After changing the ball joints , did you check the toe ? because it will change with the new parts .

 

I agree. Get the toe in checked. But before going to the alignment shop. have someone saw the steering wheel back and forth and look for movement at all joints. You probably have something else that needs to be replaced too

 

I have not checked toe and will do on Monday. Am I correct in saying that the toe settings should be 0°?

 

No, they should be slightly toed in about 1/16 - 1/8"

 

FSM says 0*, I give it a slight toe-in

It has been conveyed to me the most common cause of death wobble is worn trackbar end/bush/bolt hole

the trackbar stabilises the whole suspension to the centre

I note the trackbar front bolt hole can be wallowed out, allowing movement, this is only apparent on close inspection

the bush can also be replaced

 

New track bar has been ordered. A bit of push and pulling with a lever has found that the ball joint is knackered on it. It can move up/down/left/right. I also found that my passenger side wheel was slightly unbalanced which has been rebalanced. When it arrives I'll get it fitted and that hopefully is case closed. Thanks for the input and I'll report back on the results.

 

I replaced the control arm and now i think i need to replace the ball joints.

 

Replacement track control arm fitted and I've killed the death wobble.

I seem to be able to 'feel' the road more now, probably due to having less play in the steering system.

 

Luckily when my track bar failed I was hearing a pop/click from the front suspension when turning the wheel. I had someone turn the wheel while I was under looking and sure enough that upper track bar mount bushing was popping in the mounting bracket. When i replaced mine the steering felt almost like a new vehicle! Nearly all the steering play was gone. Glad you got it sorted!

 

It has returned. This time with a pry bar I have up/down movement in all 4 steering track ball joint of varying levels.

Just out of curiosity, how much would the following cost in the USA?
52005739
52005740
52005741
52006592

 

About $50 each if you want OEM. You can check rockauto.com for them and other options.

 

Looking at RockAuto and the Mevotech Supreme for each item, I paid about the same for the 3 track rod end joints but about 4 times as much for the track arm. £125 is the cheapest you can get here.