Napalm

My friends, Lenard and I need your help.

Lenard and I went trail riding about a month ago and ever since we came off the trail we've had a little bit of a steering wheel shake around hitting 40mph and slowing down. I feel it in the steering wheel and I can also see it in the front tires, it's a very mild shake, just enough to be annoying. It also pulls to the left around 30mph.

Now, here is where the mystery begins. I have had the front end checked 1 credible auto shop (Pep Boys) and 2 off-road shops in my area. Everyone says the same thing, I need a steering stabilizer. They say everything else is fine! My ball joints, drag link, tie rods, track bar. They said everything was A-ok other than the stabilizer.

So, I put a stabilizer on, and it didn't change a thing. My breaks might need to be serviced as well, but I don't think that's causing this.

So please.... HELP!! It's making me want to pull my hair out, and it's killing my love for ole Lenard! Help guys!

Croce

A steering stab won't cause or fix that issue, best it will do is slightly mask it. You can drive a jeep with one and not have any wheel shimmy or issues.

First thing i would do is remove the trackbar and see if the bolt holes are ovaled/wallowed out. If not, then replace the bolts with 9/16th grade 8 3" bolts as the stock ones are too small and can cause issues with the trackbar moving. torque to 125 ft lbs

Also check out planmans writeup:
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-w...obbles-260145/

Mango881

If it is at a specific speed every time, try getting your tires balanced. That is another common cure.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using JK-Forum

Napalm

Tires have been balanced twice now, it's still doing it. But it is right between 35-40 every single time.

jk_sea

Start from the outside, and work your way in.

Check and correct tire pressures and inspect the tire for any damage.

Check for the presence of wheel weights, and proper wheel balance. Have the wheels balanced to the tire. If you only feel the shimmy up front, rotate the tires front to back and see if that helps.

Also check the condition of the wheel. Is it it bent or cracked? A visual inspection or balancing will usually tell you.

Next, take a look at your brakes. If the rotors are warped, this can cause a shimmy, especially when braking, but sometimes just rolling as well.

Then check the hub and stiffness of all the other components like ball joints, steering rack. Chances are, your wobble is coming from the wheel side and not the frame side, but if it is...

It could also be the axles or driveshafts. A driveshaft can cause vibrations if it's out of balance by damage or mechanical failure.


Good luck!

ShakyJake

New trackbar (or new ends) and new hardware has cured similar woes. Stabilizer only masks the underlying issue.

kjeeper10

Takes 5 minutes to jack up each side and check the ball joints. Lift one side at a time about 3" and shove a 2x4 or shovel under the tire and pry up. Worn joints will be noticeable. Planmans Video shows this. The stock JK ball joints are garbage. Be lucky to get 50k, less with bigger tires.

The steer test will reveal bad TRE's. You'll see them pop up and down and feel a clunk.

The shops recommending a steering stab just proves they are idiots.

dave7200

Increase your caster to 6* and the problem will be gone. You can have slopped out track bar holes and bolts and if you have enough caster it wont shake. When I was new I had the same problem and thankfully came across the right bit of advice that had a link to a video that showed the results of low caster and high caster. they even loosened the track bar bolt and drove it with the caster set high and no shaking. The put the caster back to three and death wobble. Before everyone chimes in and lets me have it for being so sure of this it worked for me and I was all over that front end trying everything and replacing everything. this worked. Had to buy a pro rock to compensate for the added caster but it drives like a dream with 6 inches of lift.

kjeeper10

That's not good advice if lifted and/or running a aftermarket DS.
6* puts a dangerous angle on the driveshaft.
Now if he's stock ... It's doable.

Just want to make that clear.

Rebar-7

^^^^^^^ x2