Suspension frustration!

Bill, he says he already replaced that.

What about a front end alignment, Allen?

-- JimG

80' CJ-7 258 CID 35" BFG MT on 15x10 Centerlines D44 Rear, Dana 30 Front. SOA 4.56 Gears, LockRight F&R Dana 300 w/4:1 & Currie twin sticks Warn X8000i w/ dual batteries

it will stop an out of align front from shimming, even with worn out> parts, like tie

Your ball joints and/or tie rods are not nearly as healthy as you like to think.

Your wobble is coming from the steering or front suspension. I would be looking at the steering linkage next since you seem to have new suspension components. Having said that, the suspenison parts (bushings mostly) can be part of your problem. The swaybar bushings are probably not playing a part in your problem because many of us with CJ that have lift kits don't even have a swaybar. The TSLs could be a problem, but if they were a problem, then swapping them around should change the problem. Put the front tires on the back, and vice versa. Or, swap you tires for an hour or two with a buddy that has different tires on a CJ or other model with a 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. You don't really care that the swappee's tires are too big or too small, you only need them on long enough to drive at the problem speed to see if the problem repeats or goes away.

rebalanced)

You have a u-joint in the steering column just in front of the firewall, check that.

Motor/tranny mounts bad can set up a harmonic shake you feel in the steering too.

So can a shot rad fan clutch. When mine went bad I thought I was going to lose a tire or something it shook so bad.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

snipped-for-privacy@columbus.rr.com wrote:

That's the next thing I'm thinking about that is left to be done. Thanks Jim! Allen

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Could be right CRWLR, I mean I don't have play in the wheel, and there is no visible slop in the ball joints but under load and bumps etc...they may do other things. My next step is most likely ball joints/tie rod ends and a good alignment. How difficult is it to replace that stuff anyway? Allen

Most points have already been covered here, but another thought, is the steering box mount loose or cracked anywhere?

It isn't all that hard from a technical stand point, but it can be a real knuckle-buster.

You can test the ball joints by lifting the tire(s) off the ground and grabbing them at the 6:00 and 12:00 position and pushing the top and pulling the bottom, and vice versa. If the tire is loose, the joints are toast. One of the joints (top or bottom) is the weight bearing joint, and this is the one that generally needs to be replaced.

To check the tie rod ends, bind a tire against the curb, then have a helper gently rock the steering wheel from side to side while you watch the linkage move around. If you don't see much play in the linkage, turn the Jeep around and bind the other tire against the curb and try again. One of the frint tires is connected directly to the steering box, the other tire is connected to the first. The tie rods can fail between the steering box and the first tire, or between the two tires. Depending upon which tie rod(s) have failed, the test might not show when one tire is against the curb, but will show when the other tire is against the curb.

This is a good one that I forgot about. You can see this when you have either tire against the curb.

I wouldn't have thought of this. Infact, I came close to telling him to discount this. I think I see where youare coming from on this one, but wouldn't the vibration be at a higher frequency than a steering anomoly?

I would have thought this would be a visible problem that could be seen at idle. I'm thinking of the fan being off center or something along those lines, and the fan would generate a high frequency vibration as well. I tend to forget about what the fan can do because I haven't got a fan clutch. My fan is fixed to the pulley.

It's funny but there is no shake in the wheel at all,..it's all in the body. The wheel is as steady as can be. I don't have a fan clutch and the fan is sturdy (to the water pump...bearings all good). I think I'm going to try and replace the ball joints/tie rods myself (this should be fun....never done it) then take it in for a good alignment. Allen

You have something different than ball joints if the steering wheel is steady. If the front tires are moving as they would in a Death Wobble, then you would definitely feel it in the steering wheel.

It is sounding like you have issues with the drivetrain balancing, or maybe even bent.

Man, when my box was loose... no shimmy... just all over the road (at any speed)! Very scary... and difficult to drive.

-- JimG

80' CJ-7 258 CID 35" BFG MT on 15x10 Centerlines D44 Rear, Dana 30 Front. SOA 4.56 Gears, LockRight F&R Dana 300 w/4:1 & Currie twin sticks Warn X8000i w/ dual batteries

BTW... could explain the "wandering". Easy to check... get a buddy to rack the steering wheel back and forth... watch the box for movement. Typical for CJ's to crack mounts or break loose frame weld nuts.

JimG

If the mounts are shot, change them - you already lifted it, which changed the driveline angles, out of whack mounts make it worse. Did you do a transfer case lowering kit? Did your lift have shims for the rear axle? Jack up one end at a time, spin the driveshaft(s) and see if they wobble. If you had a death wobble, you would feel it in the steering wheel. Tookie - 88YJ,"Money Hungry"

4" lift, 33" TSLs, Lock-Rights PosiLock, 4.10s

That damn fan was a bugger to figure out.

It seriously had me worried I was going to lose a front tire or something. It started to shake at about 55 mph and would stop at 65 mph. It acted like a tie rod end bad. You know, the vibe would go away when taking a corner or changing lanes with pressure one way or the other from the steering wheel to the tires.

A loose tranny or engine mount can knock the driveshaft u-joints 'just' past the vibration point angle, especially if the vehicle has any kind of suspension lift.

Mike

CRWLR wrote:

I sure would be changing those bad motor/tranny mounts before spending money on anything else.

Someone else mentioned you have a lift.

With a lift, a bad engine or tranny mount can knock the driveshaft angle just past the point of vibrating, especially when under load, like in

4th at 40 or 50 mph.

Ball joints and tie rod ends show in the steering wheel if bad 'usually'.

Mike

snipped-for-privacy@columbus.rr.com wrote:

On other vehicles I have always checked lower balljoint condition by jacking the corner under the suspension component (lower arm) so that the weight is normally suspended but the wheel is unweighted, then stick a lever (2x4 will work) under the wheel and pry it up and down looking for slop. I think your

6 and 12 test will better check the upper balljoint which is tyupically not the one that wears out first.

-Fred W

Damn it! I have worn lower ball joints now. They were fine a few minutes ago, before I read your post. Thanks a lot, Bill ...