Help, Vibration at 55 mph...

Bent Rim maybe?

Gary B. wrote:

A rear universal joint can cause this too.

Earle

I had one that drove me nuts in my 88. I did the same as you, checked everything.

Finally my fan shroud exploded.....

The clutch on my rad fan had given up the ghost.

Strangest damn vibration too. The whole drivetrain was shaking.

Mike

"Gary B." wrote:

I had exactly the same type of problem with a 2000 wrangler. Replaced tires, re balanced twice , u-joints , rear drive shaft, nothing worked. Turned out a be a bent rear output shaft in the transfer case. Hope this helps.

JD

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On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 19:20:52 GMT, the following appeared in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, posted by "Gary B." :

Everyone else had good suggestions, but you might also want to check the driveshaft (driveshaft*s* if you don't have lockout hubs). If it's gotten bent or lost one of the welded-on balancing weights it could cause the problem.

Hope you find it; this sort of thing can drive you nuts.

I got the strangest shimmy, real bad at 65, bad enough I was worried about losing a tie rod end or wheel bearing, all from that stupid fan clutch. I think it was pulsing the steering pump via the belt.

Mike

"L.W.(ßill) Hughes III" wrote:

(ßill) said "or sound like the three speed thing your wife has hidden in the closet."

Talk about a vivid imagination... LOL

-- JimG

The biggest problem is the shocks are shot. You can not tell unless you remove them from the jeep. Also the tires are out of round enough to get the vibration started. I had the exact same problem.

Good luck, Dave

I had this on my TJ, where balancing did not help. I rotated the tires, front to back, and it went away. That might be a cheap short-term answer. Also on the Sienna the wifey bent a rim just a bit that caused a shudder over 65, put it on the back until I got a new rim and that mitigated the effect greatly. Tomes

Do you have a narrow cupping pattern on the inside margin/surface of your front tires???

If yes, Pull the bolts that attach the trac bar and inspect for deformation of the attachment bolts and the frame portion of the system. . The Right side uses a bolt whose threads will 'gall' into the frame attachment (Original vehicles came with a totally threaded bolt ... instead of a proper shoulder bolt/). The Left side attaches to a secondary frame mount and the attachment can 'egg' (deform). With both sides of the attachments deformed the play slop can 'add up'.

Do this test: key in ignition to unlock steering column, engine off, rotate the steering wheel back and forth while looking at a far distant object over the hood. If the far distance object is moving when you oscilate the steering wheel ..... probably excessive slop in the trac bar (or its attachments) - the relative soft tires will add a bit of side to side play when you oscilate. If you perceive more than just tire movement when you oscilate the steering wheel, have an assistant oscilate the steering wheel while you crawl under the vehicle and check/feel every connection of the trac bar .... *and its frame attachments*.

Been there..... drove me nuts until I found the problem *on the frame attachments* - galling of the bolt/frame and egg shaped hole on the subframe attachment. Acted JUST LIKE DEATH WOBBLE!!!!!!!

Hope this helps.

;-)