OK - the vehicle is a 2004 TJ Sport, 4 wheel discs, limited slip Dana
44 Rear, aluminum wheels. 30,100 miles, I've had it since new. Great car in every way. I don't offroad it yet, I just drive it in snow and adverse weather conditions.Recently, though, if I drive along and hit a particular type of bump, usually a manhole cover sunk down into the asphault, and with one wheel, usually the driver's side front, a wobble starts in that wheel, travels up the steering column and into the steering wheel and won't let go until it either dies out on its own, or maybe I change the position of the steering wheel and it damps out, or I brake and slow down. It persists for 2 to 6 seconds, and is quite startling. Not something the vehicle has done in the past, ever. It does seem to be getting worse over the last three weeks. It does not do it at all much of the time.
A quick look under doesn't show anything obviously loose or leaking, and pulling at the tire and wheels and steering while they are on the ground doesn't seem to show any obvious play.
The car is under extended warranty.
My questions are:
(1) This sure sounds an awful lot like the usual death wobble, but at
30,000 miles? Is this normal Jeep steering behavior for this mileage? I've done regular maintenance at the hard use interval, including lubing the front suspension and steering every 4000 miles, so it shouldn't be neglect... The tires are due for balance and rotate, and I've never had it aligned. But it's driven on-road.(2)Any suggestions on what to look at and wiggle and test to locate where the problem is and what to replace? I'd like if possible to be able to pinpoint enough of a problem to get a dealer to actually fix it, if possible. I'm thinking it has to be the stabilizer shock, I'm thinking get the wheels off the ground and move them, looking for play in the tie rod ends and for resistance in the stabilizer shock. Any specifics on what to look at to pinpoint the error would be much appreciated.
This news group, by the way has been fantastic to read over the last year and a half. I've learned a tremendous amount - like my fan switch stopped working at low, and I don't need to mention that as an issue because I already know that they burn out regularly in one setting... That'll be fixed on this trip in as well.