chrisl757

Hi all,
I've been chasing a shimmy in my steering, and while spending a while under the front end, I noticed the angle of this tie rod.

These pics are taken from the driver side wheel well, looking towards the passenger side. The tie rod is the one that hooks up from the pitman arm to the drag link.

It just looks "angled".

any thoughts?

doral330

Ummm the tie rod ends are over by the wheels. Its what connects the tie rod to the wheel. That is the pitman arm and the tie rod. From what I know is that it should rock back and forth. It's on a ball so that when you hit bumps and flex the front axle, it won't break it. If you have a shimmy then check your track bar and the bushings along with your control arms and bushings

caged

what he ^ said.

that looks normal. just keep them greased. back and forth movement (rocking) is normal, side to side or in and out is bad.

mr white

If you're going to correct someone and kind of be a dick about it... you need to at least make sure your terms are correct.
The TRE connects the tie rod to the knuckle, not the wheel. His picture shows the drag link and pitman arm. The drag link end functions the exact same as the tie rod end...

If the ball portion inside the end is worn, it can be loose and cause "shimmy". Check them all OP or just replace them for good measure if there are quite a few miles on them. Or better yet upgrade your steering to something more hoss-status.

TheCK4x4

Yes they are over by the wheels but that's still a "tie rod end" on the pitman arm
But yes they are supposed to be able to move back and forth and x2 on what me white said

Radi

If everything up front is tight, swap the front and rear tires to see if anything changes. Sometimes it's just a bad tire.

chrisl757

Hi all,
I should have said this before: 2001xj, stock, 185K miles.

I've just replaced the sway bar bushings (shot) and the sway bar links (shot). I also rotated the tires front to back.

The ride is smoother generally, but I am still getting what I would call feedback in the steering wheel when I go over a seam in the road, or a pothole.

I spent some time under the front end pulling and pushing to see movement. I also had a friend turn the wheels while I looked underneath (Jeep was not jacked up). I don't see any play in the linkages or tie rods and they feel tight to me, although I would love to have a camera record what's going on when I hit a bump.

This isn't death wobble, but it feels like it might turn into death wobble if I don't pay attention.

About 18 months ago I replaced the upper and lower ball joints on the passenger side. So, I don't know if I messed that up or those failed.

My steering stabilizer is original. I know I could buy a new one to mask the problem, but if I could figure out what is wrong that would make it ride better.

I have new axle ujoints that I could put in. I'm debating just going through and replacing all the bushings/parts to get things back in shape.

I should add that my shocks seem ok, but are pretty old. Leaf springs are flat.

94XjSport94

Flat springs mean time to replace but won't cause your bump. Check your track bar axle end bolt

Muaddib420

I love spamming this picture and its not even mine.

chrisl757

This is getting worse. On the drive home today, I got a pretty consistent vibration in the steering wheel which is a jerky left-right-left-right motion. It is not death wobble, but it feels like something is loose in the front end. I just crawled under the front end again. Tried to move stuff around again, and it all seemed tight. I checked the torque on the axle end of the track bar and it's at least 74lbs which I think is the correct torque. The track bar bushing on the axle end looks pretty good.

Is it possible that U joints could cause this steering vibration?

I do get a slight pop when I make a hard right, so I'm thinking U joints now.

I already have the u joints, but I just need to go get the u joint press tool from autozone to swap them out.

I have a feeling that I've got about a week left before this turns into a major problem.

mike albo

one thing to also check is the frame side mount of the trac bar,I was getting a loud clunk/shifting type feeling when I would turn either way.Turned out all the bolts had loosened up/stretched so I replaced them all,now its nice and tight.

chrisl757

Do you mean the tie rod end on the track bar? I just went under and tried to see the top bolt but it is hard to feel since it is inside the framing piece. I'm assuming (and it feels like) there's a cotter pin up there. The bolt feels snug, but would I need to pull the cotter pin and tighten up?

I'm not sure I understand where you are talking about for the "bolts" because I only see the tie rod end bolt? Is there more than one?

mr white

That nut wouldn't have gotten loose likely. Its more likely your ends are going out.

caged

that pop from a hard turn tells me track bar.

as mentioned, check your frame mount bolts. there are 2 side bolts and 2 from underneath.

this is the mount i'm talking about.

Radi

I'll bet one of your front u-joints is bound up good and tight. Either of them warm after doing some figure-8's?
Might not be the only problem..