Shakin' XJ, need some advice!

I forgot to mention that it does not change with variation in engine speed, and happens when cruzing, seems to get better or vanish when accelerating.

thanks,

carl

You are describing a bad u-joint on a totally illegal (in Canada anyway) Cherokee. It has 2 u-joints on the back driveshaft, 3 on the front driveshaft and one behind each front wheel.

Just a heads up for you. If you get in an accident that is bad enough to have the police come to and they inspect the vehicle, 'You' will be found 'at fault' in the accident because you have mis matched tires on a

No if's, and's, but's or maybe's.

If someone is injured or dies, this can turn an 'accident' into vehicular homicide.

I have been there and was told this by the police that inspected my Cherokee and by my insurance company. Mine passed and the other person was found 'at fault'.

Mike

Carl Saiyed wrote:

Hey Mike, can you dig up something to back up your claim on mis-matched tires? It seems to me that manufacturers wouldn't be able to equip vehicles with space saver spares if this was the case.

: > I forgot to mention that it does not change with variation in engine speed, : > and happens when cruzing, seems to get better or vanish when accelerating. : >

: > thanks, : >

: > carl : >

: > > I switched the Toyo's to the rear and the GY's to the front to attempt to : > > diagnose the problem. The shaking changed, and could then be felt more at : > > the rear of the vehicle. The Toyo's were well worn and did not match the : > > GY's in terms of tread pattern, so I decided to replace them, hoping they : > > were not good and would solve the shaking problem. : > >

: > > I had Les Schwab put two Dean "Grabber" tires on the rear. Same size as : > the : > > GY's (215/75R15) All 4 tires were balanced, and 20 new lug nuts were added : > > as the old ones had lost all thier caps. : > >

: > > Then, with the GY's up front the Deans in the rear, there was a bad : > shaking : > > in the steering wheel as well as the rest of the Jeep at 45+ mph. : > >

: > > I stopped at another Les Schwab about 15 miles from the original, and had : > > the balance on all 4 tires checked. The rears were "out of balance" and : > were : > > re-balanced free of charge. The shaking is still present at 45+mph, is : > > better than after I got the new tires but is WORSE than before I changed : > > anything to begin with. The truck also pulls right when braking now. : > >

: > > The manager at the original Les Schwab (A very nice guy), said that he : > > suspects my driveshaft is the problem, the new tires have nothing to do : > with : > > the brake problem. I don't understand how if it was a suspension problem, : > it : > > would be exaggerated by new tires? Could the old tires have been : > > compensating for this somehow? : > >

: > > The Jeep goes back to the original Les Schwab tomorrow to have the front : > and : > > rear suspension checked out, as well as the drivelines checked out. : > >

: > > Any and all opinions/advice welcomed. : > >

: > >

Interesting, I dug up something a couple years back I thought, hmmm... I will look some more to see if I can find it again..

The 'silly' spare is for emergency use and for sure if you get caught on the highway doing 100+ with one and something happens you will get a ticket. They have a lower speed stamped on them.

I guess the cops and insurance could have been giving me an outline of what 'could' happen if they subjectively decide mis matched tires make it my fault period like they stated.

Calling a 'fault' on an accident doesn't always have any basis in reality.

Both the police and the insurance inspector told me the same thing at different times and places. One of those hidden 'gotcha's' maybe. They both commented about the number of tip overs and crappy tires on 4x4's so maybe it is a subjective thing?

Mike

Cherokee-LTD wrote:

Take a hard look at the tread on the Goodyear MTR that were on the front . Examine the tread near the 'inside' margin and see if there isnt a wavy pattern in just the 'inside' area of tread. If so you have probably a loose track bar or trackbar frame mount, etc. ... or even a worn out steering damper.

Ditto on the mismatched tires on a 4X4, besides being illegal in most places the strain that this mismatch (size) will put on the drive train can be severe resulting in exptreme differential pressure, rapdily worn diff. bearings, etc. It s a good practice to rotate 5 tires to keep them all at the SAME diameter ... and if you ever 'lose' one you will have an exact size spare.

Thanks for the tips. The Toyo's were the ones on the front, thier wear appeared normal. A spin and balance cured the problem. All 4 tires are

Thanks again..

Carl