Help with a Jeep. Terrible vibration/shake at ~60mph

[SlowSpyder]

Hi guys,

I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler, 4.0 6 cyl. and 5 sp. manual. It has developed a strange problem. When I am driving at highish speeds the Jeep will start shaking, almost violetly. This is not a wheel balance issue, this is a much harder shaking and vibrating.

Some of the symptoms: If I drive 50mph or under I have no issues, it drive smooth and straight. At about 55mph after I go over a bump I'll feel a sligh wobble that goes away after a second or two. If I increase my speed to ~60mph sometimes it'll drive ok for short periods, other times it'll really start to shake. If it is driving ok at 60mph and I hit a bump it will start shaking hard. When it starts the vibrating and shaking, if I lower my speed back down to 55mph it goes away.

And one more oddity. When it was really cold out it didn't seem to do it at all. When it got down to single digits, I'm not sure if something contracted from the cold a bit or if it's just a coincidence. But it seemed to make a difference.

Anyway, I am fairly decent and working on my engine, but I'm not too familiar with the 4wd setup. I'm not sure what would cause this, I don't get any noticable wheel bearing noise, everything seems tight, when I get under it I don't see any obvious issues. Any help is appreciated.

 

[dug777]

It doesn't sounds like it, but have you checked for a bubble in a tyre? A friend's vehicle once had a strange vibration/shudder issue (not all the time, but mainly at speed), and when we popped each tyre up (so it was just off a level piece of ground with a plank of wood on it from memory) and rotated it, there was a small but obvious bubble in one of his rear tyres. Replaced the tyre and all was fine again.

In any event if you popped the wheels up and had a good shake of each one you might be able to tell if there was any unusual flex in any of them I suppose?

 

[radioouman]

You have the death wobble. Last time I looked this, there were a number of things that it could be. Struts, alignment, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. I don't know if there is a definitive solution to this problem.

 

[ShawnD1]

You have the death wobble

This. My friend's Jeep Cherokee does the same thing.

Here is a laundry list of things to check:
http://kevinsoffroad.com/techarticles/deathwobble.html

 

[dug777]

Ouch. That sounds like a nightmare, hopefully it's not as bad as that link makes it out to be!

 

[SlowSpyder]

Well, it looks like I have some work to do. Thanks for the link and ideas guys. I'm fairly new to the 4x4 world, this is good to know.

 

[Sluggo]

Videos make it look pretty scary.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwiv23dLhMY

 

[SlowSpyder]

Videos make it look pretty scary.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwiv23dLhMY

I'll watch that when I get home.

But I can tell you, the shaking feels almost violent, like the whole thing is going to fall a part.

 

[exdeath]

Drive shaft vibe can cause that kind of violent vibration. Bad tires or wheel balance problems will give you a choppy ride, but its usually drive shaft vibe that makes it feel like the car is going to explode.

 

[Throckmorton]

Drive shaft vibe can cause that kind of violent vibration. Bad tires or wheel balance problems will give you a choppy ride, but its usually drive shaft vibe that makes it feel like the car is going to explode.

In this case it's probably death wobble. Very common problem with Jeeps. Mine does it too. Never heard of a driveshaft vibe though. Plus the driveshaft would vibrate at all speeds

 

[Bignate603]

Yeah, I had an old Cherokee that did it. It's one of those oddities that shows up on jeeps every once and a while as they age.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I'm going to give this fix a go:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/diagnosing-death-wobble-fixing-non-dw-shimmies-wobbles-1052221/

I'll jack it up, remove the bolts, and see how the bushngs look in the track arm. I'm pretty new to the 4wd and truck suspension world, so this is all new to me. Any precautions that should be taken? It doesn't look especially difficult... but like I said, this is new territory to me. I'm a bit more at home with independent suspension.

 

[herm0016]

classic death wobble. tie rod ends/steering linkages, track arms, ball joints....etc

 

[allanon1965]

yup, classic, if all the frontend parts are good, and the tires are balanced...replace the factory wimpy steering stabilizer with a heavy duty rancho or similar large shaft steeriing stabilizer...I do several of these every year around here...I use the rancho 5500 ...

 

[AMCRambler]

Driveshaft u-joints? Easy enough to rebuild them. Get some snap ring pliers. They're invaluable.

 

[5150MyU]

Steering stabiliser shock-as allanon1965 said.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Something like this ok?

http://www.quadratec.com/products/16028_001.htm

This is a stock Jeep, it will never be lifted, so I don't need anything super high end. I just want to be able to drive on the expressway again.

I was also thinking I'd buy a track bar, it's not too pricey, so I'd like to eliminate that as a problem.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/56013_04.htm

And just to understand the swap out procedure, I jack up the vehicle (and place it on stands obviously) and simply remove the nuts/bolts and replace? I assume I may need to pop the jack under the axle to lift it a bit when the Jeep is up to get the track bar on? Any hang ups or surprises I should look for or expect?

Thanks again for the help on this everyone.

 

[Throckmorton]

Did you look at all the bushings and joints already?

 

[SlowSpyder]

Did you look at all the bushings and joints already?

Not yet, I hope to this weekend.

 

[Throckmorton]

I can't imagine any reason you'd need a whole new track bar, unless the current one is bent or something.

 

[5150MyU]

Just buy the cheapest available (you admitt you don't offroad) CHECK the track bar-you do know how to RIGHT.
Put a shock on it and be done with it.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Just buy the cheapest available (you admitt you don't offroad) CHECK the track bar-you do know how to RIGHT.
Put a shock on it and be done with it.

I do actually take it off road to get to some fishing spots. But is is mostly trail stuff light off-roading.

I don't know of any procedure to check the track bar, no. I was just going to pop it off and check the bushings. Is there anything I should know?

 

[5150MyU]

With the vehicle on the ground and not running have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth (not even a quarter turn each way) and it doesn't have to be aggressive.
Have a look at the track bar and other tie rod while they do this.If it's bad chances are you'll see it.
If that checks out ok, still jack it up and check by hand (wiggle,push,pull,tug) checking for any looseness.

 

[5150MyU]

That DEATH WOBBLE can lead to premature part failure of other stuff-so keep that in mind.