I discovered that the "death wobble" that I have been experiencing on my 1996 Grand Cherokee was NOT due to problems in the front end, but instead the overdrive. When I am driving at highway speed and the rpms are at or below 1500 the Jeep kicks into overdrive and shakes. However when the OD is turned off or the engine speeds up to higher rpms, the shaking stops. Any ideas as to why this may be?? I have not experienced any major transmission issues so far.

 

Hi maybe it's a stupid question, but are you sure that the shaking is related to the overdrive on-off status, and not simply to the rpm of the engine?

 

I've narrowed down the problem to either the front driveshaft or the torque converter. The death wobble is still there, but it isn't very severe. The sever shaking occurs between 50 and 60 mph. Immediately stopping when OD is turned off. My front driveshaft is a little loose, but this seems common from what I've read. The torque converter on these Jeeps seems to have a common problem where it will start to lock up at the speeds mentioned. Either way, the shudder isn't something that should be there.

 

So it's not death wobble then.

 

I would suspect the front driveshaft. It shouldn't be "a little loose". All the O/D does is change the trans output shaft speed to be higher then the engine. Check your transmission mount. The loose front driveshaft may be causing the t/case to "bounce".