1995 Cherokee - Bad Front End Wobble

I had one that drove me nuts. I thought I was going to lose a tire it shook so bad. I finally figured out it was the clutch on the rad fan gone bad. Maybe see if you can flop your fan around.

Another sneaky one is the track bar. This runs from the passenger side axle to the drivers side frame and has bushings on the axle side and a tie rod end on the frame side.

Mike

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

Andy wrote:

Thanks Mike,

I will check that....

Thanks Bill,

I jacked up the front end and shook the wheels. I get no play at all in the wheels.

I will check it again making closer note of run out...

Andy, Assuming you don't have a bent rim, check your tires for a shifted belt. Jack up the front and find a lateral groove that goes all the way around the tire for reference. Prop a stick on brick pointing towards your reference and turn the tire. If your point of reference deviates one way or the other while turning the tire this could be the cause of the wobble.

-Brian

Wheel bearings make a sound, kinda like a U-joint, but only once per wheel rev (instead of 3.55 per rev). Front wheel bearings will even out when you apply the brake. The dead giveaway is grease escaping behind the wheel flange (pull the rotor to look). Just went through one of these myself... $180 for the part (ouch!)... nice looking part, though, and easy to replace; borrow the 36mm socket from AutoZone to get the hub off.

I take it there's no noise... is the wobble speed dependant? Is it worse at fast or slow speeds? Do you have steel or alloy wheels? You could have a separated tire or a bent rim... this should have shown up durning rebalance/rotate.

Have someone turn the steering, both lock-to-lock and just slightly side-to-side, and look carefully at the steering linkage, etc. Watch for parts doing things that their neighbors are not. Good luck! __ Steve .