So, my cousin decided to join me with my Jeep and got a auction ZJ for 800 bucks. Came with a 4.0 like the Cherokees and I believe the same 4 speed auto trans. It has 257,000 miles and is rust free. After owning it for a while he told me about a really bad shake that would occur on fairly big bumps, and he described it just like I had experienced with the stock track bar when I put my lift on. The only thing we could find wrong were the track bar bushings were pretty shot. He replaced the track bar and steering stabilizer, and then continued driving it. After about a week of no problems, the worst shake happened. We were on our way home from school, I was behind him and we were doing a good 60-65 mph on a country road. He hit a bump and immediately all four wheels started wobbling in all directions like i had never seen before. The only way to stop it was to slow it down to under 20. All bushings seemed fine and all bolts were tight. He drove it again and a couple days later it happened again, and again, and again. We weren't sure what the problem was but it was manageable as long as we were careful and took good roads. It started to get worse and we started to think about the cause more and more. We figured the ball joints could be a culprit, but weren't sure what to really do. The reason I am typing this now happened this morning on our way to school. We were going 65-70 on a 4 lane highway. I was pretty far behind him because of some heavy fog we had this morning. All of the sudden I see brake lights appear and slide off onto the shoulder. He had hit a bump and it went into the worst wobble he has had so far. It pulled hard to the right and since he was braking, the second he touched the gravel shoulder it pulled him in and started to spin. Meanwhile i'm on the brakes almost wiping the rear end of his Jeep off of the face of the Earth. We are both lucky to make it out of that completely fine, rigs untouched. Our family is lost on what to do now, so i have come here for some advice from my local Jeep gods. Post any ides, solutions, or anything you want to post honestly, put it below.

Thanks

-DJXJ

 

At 257k, the front-end is probably in dire need of a rebuild. You probably won't be able to solve the problem by finding the magic one thing that is the problem. The good news, is that it doesn't have to be terribly expensive to do.

Ball joints
Wheel bearings (as required)
damper/stabilizer (as required)
Tie rods, drag link, and tack bar
Control Arm Bushings Upper/Lower
Sway bar end links

and the one that everybody likes to ignore and change last after spending a lot of money on other things...but plays an important role in damping bumps so that they don't develop into a full resonating death wobble...

Steering gear

If the tires are worn out, replace them.
If the wheels aren't true, replace them.

 

Just to tack onto what Jordan mentioned - It would be well worth it to climb under the truck and inspect all the bushings.. Control arms, sway-bar-to-frame (front and back), shock mounts, leaf springs if it has them... Most of the bushings are pretty inexpensive parts and just take a little effort and maybe some loaner tools to replace.
The reason everyone leaves the steering gear for last is that it's a major PITA, waaaaay heavier than it appears and extremely expensive to replace.

If you've checked all the items that have been mentioned and you still have wobble, it may be worth it to have a quality shop give it a once over. Things can be bad without it being visibly obvious.

 

What year is it? 93 was the only year they came with AW4's, otherwise it's a 42RE.

Chances are the front end is spanked as mentioned above. Check the rod ends and box for play, check the track bar, check the control arms. Look at the brackets too, there may be a bracket that's about to shear off due to rust.

 

A quick way to tell the transmissions apart, without crawling unerneath to look, is to check the shifter. The 42RE reads P-R-N-D-2-1. The AW4 reads P-R-N-D-3 and 1-2. The AW4 wasnt used very long in the ZJ in 93. Couple months, IIRC.

 

[QUOTE=DJXJ97;3454153]So, my cousin decided to join me with my Jeep and got a auction ZJ for 800 bucks. Came with a 4.0 like the Cherokees and I believe the same 4 speed auto trans. It has 257,000 miles and is rust free. After owning it for a while he told me about a really bad shake that would occur on fairly big bumps, and he described it just like I had experienced with the stock track bar when I put my lift on. The only thing we could find wrong were the track bar bushings were pretty shot. He replaced the track bar and steering stabilizer, and then continued driving it. After about a week of no problems, the worst shake happened. We were on our way home from school, I was behind him and we were doing a good 60-65 mph on a country road. He hit a bump and immediately all four wheels started wobbling in all directions like i had never seen before. The only way to stop it was to slow it down to under 20. All bushings seemed fine and all bolts were tight. He drove it again and a couple days later it happened again, and again, and again. We weren't sure what the problem was but it was manageable as long as we were careful and took good roads. It started to get worse and we started to think about the cause more and more. We figured the ball joints could be a culprit, but weren't sure what to really do. The reason I am typing this now happened this morning on our way to school. We were going 65-70 on a 4 lane highway. I was pretty far behind him because of some heavy fog we had this morning. All of the sudden I see brake lights appear and slide off onto the shoulder.

Why are you going this fast in these conditions??
Should Park this bucket of bolts UNTIL YOU FIX IT !! You're a danger to yourself and others on the road !!
Are you doing inspection properly?? Support ends of axle to check ball joints and bearings. With wheels on the ground move steering wheel back and forth while someone watches underneath. Lastly support from the frame and start wiggleing everything. Lift only enough to get wheels off ground. DO NOT get under it !! Start wiggleing and shaking everything. Use 2x4 or pry bar.
Check bolts on track bar. Tite and holes not wobbled out??
What do front tit's look like?? Maybe try rotate them.

If all else fails take it to a shop will tell you what to replace.

 

Always better than back ****!!!

 

Yeah, should have edited that too
Auto correct is weird sometimes

 

I just did this on my XJ about a month and a half ago.... minus the wheels (they were good)
I did the work myself, pretty easy to do...and parts total was less than 500 for everything new.

 

Quote:Originally Posted by Larry's XJ
What do front tit's look like?? .
Always better than back ****!!! LMAO... nice and classy there... ^^^

 

I couldn't resist. "Class" be damned!

 

Most likely he is going to look for something a bit better instead of putting almost the price he payed for the Jeep into it, when it won't last much longer in other terms anyways. It doesn't run the greatest and shifts pretty rough. For now I and taking an extra 30 min drive in the morning to haul his *** to school lmao. He is probably going to get something in the spring and send this tired old girl off with a bang in a cow pasture so as long as I get to rip that 4.0 around for a little bit I don't mind some extra miles on my XJ. Thanks for lots of the suggestions and im going to try my best to get him to fix it instead of junk it.

 

We will be sure to do this, when it isn't -15* and a -30* wind chill. For now I am just offering the XJ taxi service, obviously the quietest, most comfortable, smoothest ride...... HA I wish. There's nothing like going down the highway when its windy getting blown around like a big sail is strapped to my roof.