On my 98 grand cherokee when the right side hit a small hump or hole in the road the wheel hops like the whole front end is coming out from under the vehicle. I've changed my shocks and checked for something that is worn out but everything looks fine. I've got to get this fixed before it causes a loss of control of the vehicle. Any ideas what may be the problem?
Tire balance, worn tie rod/ball joint? Fix it before you or someone else dies... go ahead and pay the money. __ Steve .
You are describing 'death wobble' although that is normally reserved for solid axle 4wd. You have some loose part in the front end: wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link ends, ball joints, or whatever. Jack up one side, try and to turn the other wheel left and right with the one side fully loaded. You should not have much of any play in the steering assembly. If you can move the wheel more than an 1/8" or so, or hear some clunks, chase it down. Another source is a faulty alignment or tires out of balance.
Stop at any good alignment shop and have them inspect and align things. Be prepared to need some new parts. :
Have your tires balanced. If they are you need a new steering stabilizer (like ßill says) I run the Procomp ES 2000 from 4Wheel Parts.
It might be that one tire has worn more than the other. Measure the tread depth and use the two closest tires for the front.
Approximately 8/29/03 06:57, Roy Jenson uttered for posterity:
The Grand Cherokee is a solid axle 4x4 front and back. And can death wobble. Usually due to the stabilizer, for which there are several nice aftermarket replacements.
The original poster said 2wd. Never seen a Grand Cherokee with
2wd but there used to be a few regular Cherokees with 2wd.L>
Alan,
You badly need to spend about 40 bucks and get a replacement for your steering stabilizer. Your GC being 2wd I'm not sure if it has one (you can also get them as a kit and install it) but believe me it'll make a big difference! The stabilizer's purpose is to absorb the shimmy and shake caused by impacts on the vehicle's shocks and steering system.
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