Cherokeekid4x4

Sometimes my jeep shakes between 60 and 65, it doesnt shake at 59 or 66 just between 60 and 65. Any ideas on what that could be??

tjwalker

More details. Shakes a little or shakes a LOT?

First thing to do is to rule wheels and tires in or out. I usually swap the fronts to the rears. If that changes or eliminates the vibe, you know what the cause is.

After wheels and tires, get it up on a hoist and start a comprehensive inspection of all front end parts, looking for play. There are a LOT of possible suspects here, so it helps if you are versed in what to look for. If you are not, find somebody or a technician that is.

50-60 seems to be the most common spot for a harmonic vibe on the XJ.

woodward

its called death wobble. could be a number of things. mine was doing it at 55 mph. i got my tires rotated and balanced and it went away temporarily but returned. i have since installed a 3 inch lift on it that replaced the lower control arms with beefier ones with new bushings. rides solid now with no vibrations.

Cherokeekid4x4

Normally it shakes a little because i have mud in the rim most of the time haha. but it shakes a lot between 60 and 65.. My tie rods and tie rod ends are good so are my ball joints and u-joints. What else could it be? besides the tires and wheels

tjwalker

When you say it shakes a lot, does it shake so much that you have to brake to get out of the vibe? And does it feel like you might need a change of underwear after you get out of it? If it does, then it is death wobble. If it is just a solid vibe, that is not death wobble.

Regardless, you MUST start with wheels and tires. Failure to do so can result in the chasing of your tail.

Report back how it goes! I am including my standard cut and paste on death wobble for you to ponder...
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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 the 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

Cherokeekid4x4

Alright thanks for the help!

freegdr

never heard of it at that speed 35 to 45 yes unless you speedos off?

jimbosxj

If your ride is the steering wheel with a vibration that doesn't shake the whole jeep then you have a tire/wheel issue. I have had two XJ's with death wobble not fun one note on that subject do not hit the brake's let off tha gas and let it ride itself out most of the time it will get to a speed and stop. In your case you stated you have mud on your rim's or tire's guess what that;s weight and in itseft will cause an unblanced wheel or wheel's i.e. vibration from rotation

tjwalker

Not uncommon to have death wobble in the 50-60 mph zone; in fact that is where the majority of them I have seen with DW experience it, including my own 99.

N20jeep

This doesn't sound like DW.

DW is enough to scare you

Sounds like a tire balance vibration. 55-60 is normally where that shows

Destination XJ

Clean mud out of wheels, and re balance tires.

wagmobler

Mine shook too. Out of curiosity, i removed front drive shaft and drove it on the highway. It road smooth as a cadillac.
replace cv joint (only fun with beer) and it helped.

also replaced stock rims with better ones and it really helped!

XJdryva

My monster Cherokee DWed all the time at 55 (before I knew how to fix it) but I put some 33s and wagon wheels with some pretty wide offsets and it did it at 25. Strange I know

mygreenxj

i am a mechanic and tire tech. the problem you are having is the dw. but all the alignments in the world wont fix it. i am guessing that you probably have wheel weights on the inside of rim so you cant see them.its called a static balance,you need to get them rebalanced with weights on the inside and outside . also you may be getting some feathering on the tires,if so you should rotate them also.if you lifted it over 3 inces and didnt lower the trans it will cause a driveline vibration.

F1Addict

I'm guessing that it's not Death Wobble since, in my experience, DW isn't something you can just drive through. The only way to make it stop is to slow way down. I know that in my case it made a little poop come out... I could barely hold onto the steering wheel when it got going. It seems like if that were happening to the OP he would have said something more than "just shakes" and if it is Death Wobble as has been described by myself and others then the OP needs to learn how to better express himself