Death steering

[william]

when your jeep goes back and forth when your going straight ? anyone have any tips theres no play in the front end steering shaft has no play could it be the steering shock?

[Mudderoy]

when your jeep goes back and forth when your going straight ? anyone have any tips theres no play in the front end steering shaft has no play could it be the steering shock?

Sounds like classic death wobble. When was the last time you had your tires and wheels balanced?

[4.3LXJ]

Will, can you give us more information about your Jeep first. It is helpful if you fill out the vehicle information in the UserCP. Click on it at the top of the page so we can see what you have.

[editedforsafety]

It's probably a combination of Detroit roads, and out of balance tires.

Is your xj lifted?

[william]

I'm gonna balance the wheels but its more of a back and forth. Not like a wheel out of balance. I'm gonna pull the steerin shock it looks like its stock

[william]

First jeep not sure on anything i just know its a stock 99 cherokee sport. Sorry

[Mountain Goat]

Yes, The steering "shock" could be part of your problem

[4.3LXJ]

OK, thanks Will. What you are describing is classic death wobble. Most of us have experienced it at one time or another. It is a resonance that is set up when the body wants to go one way and the axle goes another. There is a bounce and everything goes back the other, then a bounce and it feeds itself. So since you are stock, there are two things that generally cause this. One is as Tony has said, an out of balance tire, or a tire going bad or bad alignment. The balance, or bump from a bad tire will set up the harmonics. Check those front shocks too, worn shocks can affect it too. The other thing is loose steering components. The thing to do here is to start the rig, and get someone to saw the wheel back and forth and look for stuff that moves at points of attachment that shouldn't. The most common one is the track bar bushing where it attaches to the front axle. Good luck

[william]

They put new tires on like a year ago they didn't drive it much after that cuz it ran like shit. Ill check the tires out and front end feels tight when i shook it to check for loose parts being its all stock I'm gonna pull the steering shock to see if its weak. Front and back shocks have been changed and there good still.

[prerunner1982]

When you replace the front steering stabilizer/shock/dampner it will seem like it fixed the problem, however it just covered it up like a bandaid. It is likely that something in the steering is worn, or a combination of things. Track bar, tie rods, control arm bushings, ball joints, steering box...etc.

[nickyg]

What you have my friend is what we call "Death wobble". The name is a little misleading, it's not really a wobble but more like a violent shake. Anybody who owens a jeep has experianced it at one time or another. If you type death wobble in the serch window you will get more imformation then you can swing a dead cat at. you really need someone to turn the steering wheel while you inspect it. My money is on the track bar.
good luck and let us know what you find.

[dagod16]

I just got new tires and balanced them and it seems the shake is gone but something still does not fell right. Im going to replace the tie rods, stabalizer bars and any bar with a seal or bushing on it . Some of my bushing have cracked and look in bad shape. Im buying a front end kit off ebay and will install it. 150 bucks for the kit Just replace it all at once to do it right

[Brasscatz]

Anybody who owens a jeep has experianced it at one time or another.

I haven't :D lol

[nickyg]

I haven't :D lol

your bragging has just angered the suspension gods. thier wrath will be felt by all.

[william]

Lol well i figure i paid $500 for a 99 cherokee sport with 125000 miles put a head gasket, all freeze plugs, a radiator fixed leaky trans line got roughly 200 in parts and my labor i figure if i spend around a grand on parts and the jeep I'm doin good