PiRiNoLsKy

Hi. I recently bought a 2000 cherokee classic. It needed a new track bar, u joints, tie rods, ball joints, a lot of front end components as you can see. I also got the tires balanced, rotated and had the shop do an alignment.

The cherokee is all stock. No lift or anything. My issue is that before I took it in, it drove very decent. I could hear a noise from the u joints being bad and felt a bit of play in the steering, also it pulled right a bit. I drove it that way almost two weeks before I took it in. After they did all the work it drove great until I drove to work the next day. I thought the truck was gonna fall apart. It was very scary and i had to pull over.

I have taken it to the shop for the fourth time today and I will wait to see what they come up with.

Ive told them that this issue started after they did all the work on it and they have been very cool and trying to fix it. But they cannot.

All the threads I have read so far are on lifted cherokees. Mine is not. Hope there are others that have experienced this on their stock jeeps who can shed some light on my problem. Thanks.

NPx

Consider taking it to another shop to have them check the front end in general and the alignment specifically even if you have to pay. Could also be a bad tire so try rotating the tires to see if it makes a difference.
Has your XJ been wrecked? My XJ got jumping out of the road "death wobble" because of a crack in the frame hidden by the driver's side motor mount.

tjwalker

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 the other 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 an all stock 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; 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

ZINGGG

Seems like you have gotten the biggest, most common causes of DW taken care of. I'd concur with taking it to a different shop for another alignment. And also ask them to take a look at your control arm bushings and to verify wheel balance and pressure.

PiRiNoLsKy

As far as I know it hasnt been wrecked. And im going to have the stop rotate the tires and see what that does. I would hate to pay another shop when i already paid this one a butt load of money.

PiRiNoLsKy

Thanks guys, I have read countless threads on the subject but like I said. They all discuss lifted jeeps only. I will keep you guys posted. Im picking the truck up today and gonna test it on the highway..... thanks for the input.

Walter

I had a DW because one of my bolts wasn't on tight enough so just check make sure everything is tight.

no rdplz

Whether the Jeeps is lifted or not, the root cause of DW is the same - something with the steering and/or suspension is not how it should be. It's just more exaggerated on a lifted vehicle due to greater angles and strain on the parts. The list that tjwalker posted is great. Check over all those things as well as making sure that everything is tight and torqued properly (something too tight can cause issues as well).

tjwalker

Absolutely true. You need to rule out the same suspects whether it is lifted or not. No difference really in how you should troubleshoot this problem.

PiRiNoLsKy

Thanks guys. Went to see him and he informed me that the bracket where the lower control arm attaches to the frame was welded on. He suspects it was in a crash. But also suggested i replace the upper and lower control arms. He stated that he will replace them and that I should drive it. If death wobble is still present he will remove the arms and replace with the old ones.

Hopefully this solves it. He says other than that the suspension all looks good. He is baffled too. But at least he is trying to take care of it for me.

Very frustrating.

tjwalker

Control arms are a VERY common cause of death wobble. You may be onto it. Some interesting information in the TSB I'll post below.

Good luck and keep us updated. Yes, death wobble can be very frustrating.
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Chrysler/Jeep Technical Service Bulletin: 0200303
Daimler/Chrysler TSB #02-003-03 out for all 1999-2003 Jeep Cherokees.
TITLE: "Front End Shimmy After Striking A Bump or Pothole
SYMPTOM/CONDITION: The customer may experience a self-sustaining front end shimmy or vibration after the vehicle front suspension has struck a bump or pothole. The occurrence of this condition may be intermittent as it may be dependent upon the size of the bump or pothole that is struck.
REPAIR PROCEDURE: Inspect all front end parts and replace any that exhibit excessive play, including steering damper. Verify alignment is correct. If problem persists, replace the upper and lower front suspension control arms (total of four). Replace each respective axle suspension bushing as each upper control arm is replaced.

blinkbears

Caught the DW on mine while driving it home after buying it going 65 down the highway in wall to wall 3 lane traffic. NOT FUN! Didn't know what was happening, I'd never heard of it lol.

I replaced pretty much everything underneath upfront tie rods, TREs, coil springs, steering stabilizer, ball joints, shocks, etc... Got it aligned after that and I haven't had the DW since.

My main culprits I suspect were a broken passenger side coil spring (can't believe I missed it when I inspected under there lol) and a rusted out steering stabilizer with a hole in it.

FatttyJayy

X-2 on shocks.

My 95 sport with 200,000 had severe DW, violent shake above 55 mph. I replaced all shocks, all 5 (steering stabilizer too). At the same time I adjusted my steering gear box to help with the loose steering wheel, very easy to do, just don't over tighten. This solved my DW for now, but remember every heep has been pounded differently.

PiRiNoLsKy

Thanks so much to everyone. I got the truck back on Tuesday from my mechanic and it turned out to be the upper control arms. He said he replaced the lower ones and drove it. DW still happened. He put the old ones back and replaced the upper ones. He drove it and no more DW. He aligned it again and called me in to test drive it. No more DW! He told me the lower control arms are still in decent shape but he could throw them on if I wanted. I opted to do so and he did.

For my troubles he did all the labor for free and said if I paid him cash for the parts I wouldn't pay him any taxes. All in all it cost me 160 bucks. I will be going back to him for any jobs I can't handle myself. Very good guy. If anyone lives in Chicago, I would be glad to give you their number.

PS: flushed my coolant today in about 30 mins thanks to a tutorial I found here on the Prestone flush and fill kit.

Again thanks to all of you for your input.

tjwalker

Glad we could help. Always good to see somebody resolve their death wobble!!!