Ok, I have a 98 cherokee classic xj 4x4 with 4.0, that I have owned for about 6 months.
Last week I experianced, for the first time, the death wobble and have had it twice more since. It seems like after the first time, the steering has not been the same since. So, I am going to start replacing com ponenates, ball joints, bushings, trackbar and whatever else may be needed.
I plan on lifting 4.5 inches, but it will be a while and i just dont think I can wait for the lift to improve my shaky front end.
So My question is, when replacing parts like ball joints, track bar, is there aftermarket parts that I should consider that are better than OEM that will still be able to be used when I do lift.
Are stock balljoints from the local parts house fine to use, or is there a beefier aftermarket balljoint that I should consider.
What other parts should be considered? Do control arms need to be replaced or rebuilt? Thanks for the help in advance......

 

get moog parts there the best

 

Don't forget to check for slop in your steering box. My front end is solid but death wobbles like hell. I can grab my pitman arm and shake it up and down and actually get an audible knock out of it

 

well I spent about an hour up under the jeep this afternoon, looking closely at every thing and I just do not really see any signs of excessive wear on any thing. I did not however check the steering box and pittman arm.
The only thing I see of concern is a torn rubber boot on the track bar where it conects to the frame bracket and it looks like a little flex in that bracket.
I jacked the front up and I did not feel any loosnes in trying to wiggle the tire. It seemd solid.
Ido see some rotation in the tierods but they have to rotate a little right, because they are on a ball joint, and the stabilizer looks to be a little small, maybe because it is OEM?
So how do you know if the track bar is bad? wha t are the process for testing steering componeants

 

That little bit of movement in the tie rods is completely normal so you are fine there. And a torn dust boot won't cause much harm except for maybe some dust, etc. getting on the tie rod end itself. That could be bad in the long run so you eventually want to do that.

To test steering/suspension components, have a buddy or a family member get in and take the steering wheel and turn it all the way to the right and all the way to the left, over and over again while you watch each and every component for any play. That is a great indication of something being loose/warn.

As far as ball joints, I have heard great things about Spicer, Moog and Synergy. All would be an upgrade over stock. When I get around to doing mine, I'll be using Spicer most definitely.

And as far as bushings for control arms, if they are shot and you are eventually planning on lifting your Jeep, I just wouldn't bother with replacing the stock bushings until you can afford to get your lift considering a good lift kit will come with new control arms which will obviously include new bushings. Just my $.02

 

I crawled up under the jeep and had look at the pitman arm and steering box and as far as I could tell there is no movement or slack.
I did the speed bump test and there is no thinking or clacking, it actually feels pretty solid...

 

Check and recheck every component. If everything looks tight, check every component a 3rd time. If everything still looks fine, take it to an alignment shop.

 

If and when you take it in for an alignment don't for get to have your tires rebalanced. I had a wheel weight fall off on one of my older XJ's and it caused a real bad wobble in turn it caused other problem since i didn't take care of the first problem fast enough since I didn't know what was causing it.

 

Also you might consider. ZJ V8 Tierods, they are beefier & bolt right in. The shaft is solid, opposed to hollow like the stock XJ tirerod. You can probably find a good one at your local Junk Yard.