swanson

Alright, I'm not having a good couple weeks with my Jeep.

Hit a bump going home from work and the front end shook like crazy. Didn't stop shaking till I had almost come to a complete stop. This has never happened to me before while owning this Jeep.

No lift kits, nothing. Completely stock. The only thing that's changed in it is the new rear leaf springs I put in about a week ago. Those leaf springs did raise the back by a good 2 or 3 inches, but they're stock - my old ones were just completely shot.

I parked it in our shop when I got home and got my sister to turn the wheels while I looked at the tie rods. No sloppiness or play there.
Jacked it up and gave the front wheels a good tug, no play in the bearings either. Which leaves me with shocks, sway bar, and springs, and I have no idea how to really tell if somethings wrong there. I took some pictures, maybe someone could give me some ideas as to where I should go.






power steering pump





passenger side





passenger side





passenger side





passenger side





passenger side





passenger side





drivers side





drivers side





drivers side





drivers side





drivers side

I greased the zerks a couple weeks ago when I replaced the leaf springs.

swanson

I should also mention that I have no clue what the bushings or sway bar, or basically any of the steering components should actually look like. The bushings for the sway bar look shot to me, but for all I know, they could be completely fine. As well I checked the ball joints too, there was no play in them.

FruitSnacks

have you checked your track bar? Frame side end seems to be a common problem. I'm not saying it's only that, but it's definitely a possibility. i will also post this:

swanson

I checked all the bolts on everything that connected to anything, everything was tight (as far as I could tell. Don't have a proper torque wrench to check).
I just checked the bolt to where the track bar attaches on the passenger side, it's tight, and doesn't move when you turn the tires.One thing I have noticed is that I can grab the tie rods and twist them back and forth (like rolling around the long axis of the rod, if that makes sense) but I don't know if that's supposed to be like that or not.

As well, I can grab the sway bar and move it back and forth slightly, there's play in the big bushings that attaches to the frame.

Cheddarnut

Tie rod ends could be shot. Pretty cheap fix, you can get them local and most parts stores will loan you a puller to get them out.

swanson

Sometimes when I give the wheel a tight turn to the left (like turning around a corner), I can hear a popping noise from the passenger side. Would shot tie rod ends explain that? It never really happened all that much, I'd only hear it every once in awhile so I never worried about it.

Bustedback

I'm going to go out on a limb and say your track bar is worn at the socket end. The centerline of the stud doesn't match the centerline of the grease fitting.

dans98xj

I'm with Bustedback, looks like the ball and socket on the track bar are shot. I had a similar problem with mine when I bought it. change it out and see how it rides.

swanson

Alright, looking at that it seems off, yeah. I'll take a look at the tie rod ends too. I'll update when I can, I won't be able to work on it till the weekend.

Sidenote, I drove it to work today (45 min drive), and there was no problems, even though I was clenching everytime I hit a bump.

swanson

Just to be sure before I order any parts, the track bar attaches to the frame, not the pittman arm?