Hi! While driving through the blizzard, I had the front end hopping pretty good on my 2000xj w/ 3" lift and 31's. Now, when I get it up to 50-60mph, i get awful play in the front end...the steering wheel is going back and forth so rapidly its shaking my arms. Nothing at lower speeds. If I engagde 4-hi on the highway while its shaking, it gets noticeably worse...as if one tire is trying to rip away from the axle.

Could I have messed up the toe while being heavy on the skinny pedal in the snow? I have an open diff D30. What should I check on the front or should I do something else? Never had death wobble issues in the 5+ years Ive owned the jeep...so im a rookie with this

I have good mechanical skills and a full shop for whatever thats worth

 

Check for snow/ice/mud impacted on the back side of the wheels.

Good picture. Dramatic.

 

This^

While I haven't experienced it on my XJ yet I did with a Chrysler Sebring after an ice/snow event a couple years ago. It was fine diving in town but once I hit 55 mph it felt like the front end was coming apart. I pulled over right away and looked for missing/loose lug nuts and was shaking the wheels to try find was was loose. Took it to my brothers, put it in the garage and jacked it up. There was a large chunk of ice and snow trapped between the rotor and wheel. You couldn't see it through the rim because of the small openings and it blended in to the background. At low speed it could fall to the bottom, but right at 55 it would start to spin with the wheel and throw out the balance.

I just let it thaw out and never had a problem after that. Now I always look for chunks of snow and ice after a heavy snow fall or winter off roading.

 

Yes, that's possible. A lot of other problems are possible, like throwing off a wheel weight.

But, like folks said, check the easy stuff first.

 

Losing a wheel weight wouldn't cause the steering wheel to shake out of his hands.

Although, if he spun his tires real hard & fast it can cause one or more to separate.

A guy in my area revved his engine so hard "rocking" the car to get unstuck he caught the engine on fire. Burned the car to the ground. 7"-8" snow. No biggie, but a lot for us.

 

Losing a wheel weight can throw his tire off balance and cause DW.

 

Not unless he threw one that weighed 3 pounds or so.

 

Um, okay.


/walks away, shaking head/

 

i put a jet heater in front of my jeep for an hour, drove it, and the issue was resolved!

I dont think a single (or multiple) wheel weight would have been capable of causing vibes/thrashing to the extent i experienced. It did get me thinking about investing in a solid tie rod though...

thanks for the advice errybody! Was realllllly scary driving it like that...

 

The chunk of ice and snow I found on the Sebring probably weighed a pound. When it started the front end shaking you would have swore the whole front end was trying to separate from the rest of the car. Very unnerving when you are approaching highway speeds. I am sure the added weight of the larger tires found on our jeeps would multiply the forces and make it even worse.

Glad you got it figured out.

 

Been there, done that with the ice/snow stuck up inside a wheel. It's very noticeable, and once you've experienced it, you'll know exactly what it is if it ever happens again, regardless of the car/truck in question.

 

I'm wondering if that was my problem too, never had any death wobble symptoms before. But after the snow storm and having it in 4wd for a while it would shake above 60-65 mph even though it was back in 2wd. After driving for a while and engaging/disengaging 4wd at speed it went away.

 

Probably was. You can get a pound or two of snow in a wheel off balance and things can get really interesting.