bhunter27

I have a 94 grand cherokee, It has a 3 inch lift kit in it{in it when i bought it}At highway speed when i hit a bump the front end starts shaking like crazy, i mean you think the whole front end is gonna come apart.When i slow down it stops. I have replaced the steering stabilizer shock but that didnt fix it. any ideas? It has all terrain tires,they are not new,but still have some tread. help if you can

rawk krawler

Have you had it aligned since the lift?

Check control arm bushings, tie rod ends, and Especially the track bar ends, the lower bushing and bolt have a tendency to get fatigued.

rawk krawler

If that all seems fine, have a friend turn the wheels side to side while you look for play in steering components, make sure all bolts are tight.

rawk krawler

You have death wobble, google search reveals everything I just told you, YouTube videos and all.

bhunter27

thanks ,i did not install the lift kit,And i have'nt had it alligned yet, this just started the other day. Death wobble, the name fits scared the crap out of me the first time

rawk krawler

I had the same for a while, my track bar bolt was ruined, and loose. Was not fun to drive lol

bhunter27

Is it even safe to drive, Or will it damage it further to drive it

rawk krawler

It's not safe at all, but I drove like that for about a month (couldn't find issue).
I highly recommend finding the issue, depending on what it is (it may cause damage, and it makes for unpredictable highway driving)) and that new stabilizer you put on there will die quickly.

Next time this happens, don't just replace the stabilizer, sometimes it will HIDE the issue, but never fixes it.

rawk krawler

Check your wheels too, if one of them is titling away or into the vehicle and the other is not you may have a bad hub bearing.
If it looks wrong to you, just jack up the front and test for play by shaking the wheel vertically and horizontally.

Griffin13

I had this issue less than a month ago. I tried everything to fix it and it ended up being the tires needed to be balanced

rawk krawler

I've never had tires react to a bump on the freeway, they typically just shakes at speeds.

The way he described it, was like mine, it runs alright until it hits a bump and then it's hell until you slow down and speed back up.

dave1123

Death Wobble is a harmonic syncronis vibration that self-amplifies once it starts. If there is any looseness in the steering or suspension, or a slight tire imbalance can send it into convulsions. All it takes is a trigger, like a bump.

My 97 ZJ was fine below 60 mph. I found that was because of a 2 oz. tire imbalance.

bhunter27

yes, iv'e noticed around 60 is the speed it happens most,How involved is it to change the track bar and tie rod ends. I am not a mechanic but i can do most things, are there any special tools required? i dont want to get into it and have it half torn apart and then need some special tool and then taking it someplace any way

Imaginos

If i recall correctly the most specialized tool for that job is a torque wrench. However before you do anything go through the whole diagnostic on the problem, you don't change out parts to diagnose, you figure out the the cause and then replace what is broken.

If you cant to that, it will end up in the long run being cheaper to pay someone who knows figure out the cause

Fester2572

If you know your tyres are balanced and all ok then get a friend to do small turns left and right ( engine turned off ) while you look for anything loose . If it all seems ok , make sure the wheel alignment doesn't have any toe-in. Just measuring between the front and back edge of the tyres will do for now. You want a little bit of toe-out if you can't stop the shake. Don't get too carried away or it will be all over the road. But it will stop the shake. I used an extendible tent pole placed between the tyres. Not a permanent fix , you will still have to find the reason but you can drive it without scaring yourself half to death.