Noticed other day after 5 years or so of replacing everything I do got it back. Hit a bump doing about 80 and away she went...yea I know shouldn't be going that fast anyway! Slower speeds don't do it can hit bumps all day long at 60 and no issue and still got to check out the pinion bearing as think thats my source of my slight whining at 65 mph and up. At-least this time shouldn't be dealing with all sorts of rusted and stuck parts guess that will be a blessing. Strange thing me and my youngest looked at the frontend maybe a month ago because noticed a vibration at the time...not death wobble...that stated up at 70mph and found nothing even got alignment checked and tires balanced/rotated and even they said everything looked good. can't wait I get excited trying to find causes and fixing them. Seems like I do remember having to drill out and go with bigger trackbar bolt on frame side during the rebuild guess I'll start there again..Was wanting to just sell the jeep but wife said nope not for a while...sentimental since it was my late sons jeep.

 

That's the fun of the Cherokee... IMO you're starting in the right place...See if the track bar bushing or holes gave it up and work your way out from there...It doesn't take much at 80 to get something shaking...lol... I'm guilty of flying low with mine too even with 33s and 5 inches+ or-...On the highway it's easy to do...

 

Mines all stock height and smooth as a whistle until those high speeds but one of the interstates I drive on if you don't do atleast 75 you will get rear ended...lol

 

Both of my DWs were ball joints, and IMO the only way to really check 'em is yank 'em out. Also consider the stabilizer. While some people like to call the stabilizer a "Band-Aid" (and maybe it is), note that ALL XJs come off the assembly line with these "Band Aids". DW (AKA "harmonic resonance") is a problem with ANY vehicle that runs a straight axle in the front.

 

Thanks for the info probably got 30k since the rebuild and everything has been kept greased I used Moog problem solver ball-joints but I know things ain't made like they used to be so that really means nothing. Think the stabilizer was just a stock rough country one. Guess when I get done regearing the Nova I'll have to start on it...or just keep below 75 mph for a bit.

 

Start with the track bar bolt. That hole wallows out over time, especially if you already had to upsize it. Check it for play first. While you're there, give the steering box a good look for loose bolts or cracks in the frame mount. It's a common weak spot that can sneak up on you. That vibration you felt earlier was likely the early warning sign. Pinion bearing could be a contributor to vibe, but the violent shake is usually a loose track bar or steering box letting everything else get loose. Get it on jack stands and have someone turn the wheel while you look for slop in every joint.

 

Could be several things. Hard to say w/o knowing your vehicle.

Tires: Tires are a common source of issues. They are the main rolling elements on the front axle. I'd probably start buy having your tires road-force balanced ....on a good Hunter balancing machine. Even if you say they're brand new tires, ....Could be an out-of-round tire starts bouncing and bounces uncontrollably at that speed. Or a recently developed bubble or broken chord in the tire surface (bubble). Could be a warped rim?? Could be a spoonful of water in a tire!! Esp if you use those gas station pumps on a humid day (ever see them spit water out of a hose!!!? Was it originally balanced on a Coats machine which can balance a square wheel? Maybe they were great when new but a large wheel-weight fell off? Or a problem developed with the tire??? I've had all these things occur over the yrs.

Road Force Balancing (look it up on Y/T) will tease-out any out-of-roundness or problems with your tires, and issues with the rim. It's like a miracle machine. Very high tech. Great way to get to the bottom of tire issues. It'll even give you a final balance score. Lower is better. A great balance is esp important with larger/heavier tires. And rim-matching (where they rotate the tire on the wheel per the machine's suggestion) can make a BIG difference. I've seen it cut the weights 40% ...sometimes even half on my own wheels (meaning you have a better-running wheel/tire, rather than a wheel with MORE weights). Most techs don't want to do the rim-matching b/c it takes extra time. In fact, you'll probably hear them say, "aaaww ...the machine didn't say it would improve much so I didn't bother". That's code for: I got lazy and didn't do it. If you decide to have them re-balanced, discuss with the shop in advance ...insist on the Rim-matching ....Regardless what the machine advises. So you've crossed everything off and completely ruled out tires altogether!! Make sure the tires are dry inside. I've personally seen the rim-matching really improve the balance score beyond what the machine suggests. Again, watch some Y/T Hunter RFB videos so you know how it works and why, before you show up to the shop. Put some tape on each wheel and give them a marker (so you don't have to hear the tech's excuse: "Sorry, I couldn't find anything to write with."

And Don't drop off your vehicle and come back later. That's a recipe for being screwed. Stand there and watch, make sure they actually do it. Don't blink, surf your phone, or take a call. Tire techs will take every short-cut in the book if you turn your back for 30 seconds. You have to watch every move and be prepared to hit the STOP button and yell across the shop if needed. Again, let them know you want the balance score of EACH tire written on each wheel when they're done with each one. If you get one with a high balance score, that's a red flag (depending on the balance score). Put that wheel on the rear (low score tires in the front). You can't manage what you can't measure ....so get a good balance job so you can cross tires/wheels off the list of things that could be contributing to death wobble. That might be the problem, and a replacement tire might fix everything. Otherwise you might bang your head on the issue and change a bunch of unnecessary parts.

Shocks: Yeah ....it could be bad shocks. Simple but true. A bad shock can cause wheel hop. Less likely if they're new, but worth checking again. A shock may SEEM good, some shocks can develop a free-spot where the vehicle normally sits. I've seen some that can move an inch freely. That can cause wheel hop which can mimic death wobble. I experienced this in my Land Rover last summer. If I stroked the shock it was good. But if I left it sit a few minutes in the position (normal ride-height), then came back and stroked it a little, it moved freely right there at that spot. New shocks fixed it. Might not be your issue, but you'll have to take a comprehensive look at the steering/suspension components again to get to the root of the problem.

Could also be that link (bushing/s) at the top of the front diff. Often not replaced. Look at the link and bushing.

Or ball joints.

Or Steering links like suggested above.

So....several things could contribute to it. One of more of them together could be the issue. Since it's an ongoing issue, I'd want to rule out the most basic and simple things first: Tires & Shocks. Maybe have an alignment shop do an inspection on the rest of the components in case you missed something.

Best of luck. Come back and tell us what it turned out to be.

 

Jeepwalker thanks for the advice. When I redid the front end I even replaced that bushing on the top of diff so hoping all the bushings are still good. Tires, I even moved front to back and didn't change at all. I'm leaning toward either trackbar possibly that bolt going thru frame or possibly one of the joints even though they all have low mileage since the rebuild quality isn't like it used to be. Also wonder if a bad pinion bearing possibly cause it as thinking since I do have a noise coming from somewhere at high speeds and it's not the wheel bearing we even removed them and replaced one of them as I felt a spot on it I didn't like other one felt fine and they both had less than 30k miles. Pinion seal leaks so possible that outer bearing could be shot also.

 

I would probably put all 4 wheels up on jackstands, put it in 4x4 and D, watch the wheels as they spin. Make sure they all spin 'true' and nothing moving up/down or side-to-side on the wheels/tires.

I've gotten brand new wheel bearings which the flange was 'off' by quite a bit (poorly machined). Then it mimic's a bent wheel. Shakes on the road. You wouldn't think a new wheel bearing would be 'off', but it's happened to me. And also, while you are at it, look at the pinion/driveshaft and see what you see. But especially pay attention to the tires running 'true'.

Easy to test & cross those off the list.



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