2006 LJ Auto - Vibration at 50 MPH

[Sharp Minded]

The LJ is stock, with the exception of ProComp 16x8 wheels with 4” backspace and Pirelli Scorpion AT+ 245/75/R16 tires with a E load rating. I’m mentioning the load rating to provide as much info as possible for troubleshooting, but would prefer not to make this thread a comparison of other ratings, unless the E rating is the cause of the problem.

I’ve had this setup on for over 2 years and it rode very well, but it recently developed a steering wheel vibration at 50-55MPH. The vibration goes away at 60 MPH. I thought it seemed textbook and I lost a wheel weight.

I’ve had tires rotated and balanced 3 times at 2 different places, but the vibration is still there, ALMOST to the point of a death wobble.

I have rotated the regularly, including twice in the past few weeks. There is plenty of tread left on them, and no major cupping or scalloping, but I do see some possible irregular wear on the inside and outside edge as shown in the picture. The PSI is always in the 28-30 range.

I don’t want to replace the tires if it’s something else, and if I do replace them, may move up to 33’s on different wheels with a lift.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[AndyG]

Ideas-in no order

Selectively work in the spare to isolate the bad tire- if it is the same size

CentraMatic wheel balancers

Balance Beads

Dry Test the steering to check for play at all connections - have someone slowly turn the wheel from 10 to 2 o’clock while you inspect every connection out front- do it not running and running- pay close attention as it changes direction

Never depend on shaking things by hand or with a prybar or it takes much more force than that most of the time to reveal a bad connection. Especially watch the track bar at both ends.

Start there and let us know.

All the best
Andy

 

[Sharp Minded]

Ideas-in no order

Selectively work in the spare to isolate the bad tire- if it is the same size

CentraMatic wheel balancers

Balance Beads

Dry Test the steering to check for play at all connections - have someone slowly turn the wheel from 10 to 2 o’clock while you inspect every connection out front- do it not running and running- pay close attention as it changes direction

Never depend on shaking things by hand or with a prybar or it takes much more force than that most of the time to reveal a bad connection. Especially watch the track bar at both ends.

Start there and let us know.

All the best
Andy

Great info! I appreciate the reply!

I did rotate the tires a few times, and the vibration is still there with multiple combinations of front/rear/spare (all same size).

I'll look into the beads and balancers. I've heard of the beads, but never had a chance to try them. I will look into the balancers.

I dry tested the steering and don't see anything moving, but it looks like all suspension parts are the original OEM from 2006. I'm thinking this may be a good opportunity to move up to 33x12.50x15 tires and a 4" lift, since a good kit would replace all of the parts and "connections" in question.

 

[AndyG]

Great info! I appreciate the reply!

I did rotate the tires a few times, and the vibration is still there with multiple combinations of front/rear/spare (all same size).

I'll look into the beads and balancers. I've heard of the beads, but never had a chance to try them. I will look into the balancers.

I dry tested the steering and don't see anything moving, but it looks like all suspension parts are the original OEM from 2006. I'm thinking this may be a good opportunity to move up to 33x12.50x15 tires and a 4" lift, since a good kit would replace all of the parts and "connections" in question.

Also could be a failing steel belt, a bad unit bearing

Bigger tires are even harder to balance and may require a regear-

Be persistent - you will get it.

 

[Sharp Minded]

Also could be a failing steel belt, a bad unit bearing

Bigger tires are even harder to balance and may require a regear-

Be persistent - you will get it.

I also thought it could be a bad belt, especially for this particular tire, but that would mean that more than 1 tire/belt failed. It's possible, but not probable.

I tried mounting a friends 33" mud terrain tires to see if the vibration was still there. It seemed like it was better, but hard to tell with the mud terrain treads if the vibration was completely gone.

10-4 on the regear. It looks like if I do go with 33's, I should regear to 5.13.

 

[Tob]

Is it a shimmy, where the steering wheel wiggles back and forth? Or could it be a driveline vibration from one of the driveshafts?

 

[Sharp Minded]

Definitely shimmy with steering wheel wiggling back and forth.

 

[AndyG]

It’s not really likely but it never hurts to raise the tires and check the hub unit bearings for slop.

 

[Vtx531]

The wear on the tire in your image looks pretty bad. Could be an illusion but it looks like if I was to run my hand from bottom of pic to top, the tread edges would catch and be rough. Like they stick up more on that side and would run smooth on my hand top to bottom.Could be caused by a toe issue. Are just the front tires like that?

Are they all like that or just that one? Could be an issue with a wheel being bent or out of round too. To take it to an extreme - you could balance a square but it wouldn't ride smooth and bouncing/hopping would wear the tire odd.

If they are on steel wheels then a good balance job is dumb luck due to lack of a consistent way to center the assembly on the balancing machine.

 

[JMT]

Definitely shimmy with steering wheel wiggling back and forth.

Your description sounds like uneven tire wear. You’ve had them balanced several times and it’s no better. Your change with a friends tires was inconclusive. You’ve rotated them in multiple orientations. Because it’s a shimmy I suspect bad tires.

 

[Sharp Minded]

Your description sounds like uneven tire wear. You’ve had them balanced several times and it’s no better. Your change with a friends tires was inconclusive. You’ve rotated them in multiple orientations. Because it’s a shimmy I suspect bad tires.

I appreciate the help and it wouldn't surprise me if the tires were bad.

The wear on the tire in your image looks pretty bad. Could be an illusion but it looks like if I was to run my hand from bottom of pic to top, the tread edges would catch and be rough. Like they stick up more on that side and would run smooth on my hand top to bottom.Could be caused by a toe issue. Are just the front tires like that?

Are they all like that or just that one? Could be an issue with a wheel being bent or out of round too. To take it to an extreme - you could balance a square but it wouldn't ride smooth and bouncing/hopping would wear the tire odd.

If they are on steel wheels then a good balance job is dumb luck due to lack of a consistent way to center the assembly on the balancing machine.

All 5 tires are like that. Although this may go unsolved, the helpful info from everyone helped push me to move up to 33" tires on 15" wheels.

I need to find an affordable lift kit now.

 

[Danarch]

Thanks for the post. The LJ I got has a shimmy around 40mph, had tires rotated and balanced, still there but around 45mph. Outside of that no issues. Doesn’t matter rpm, it is speed dependent. The tires are about 6 years old, but appear to be in good shape, even the tire shop said they looked pretty good. Not 100% sure it’s the tires yet or not.

 

[Vtx531]

Thanks for the post. The LJ I got has a shimmy around 40mph, had tires rotated and balanced, still there but around 45mph. Outside of that no issues. Doesn’t matter rpm, it is speed dependent. The tires are about 6 years old, but appear to be in good shape, even the tire shop said they looked pretty good. Not 100% sure it’s the tires yet or not.

Is your profile pic current?

Low-cost "Made in China" rolled, welded, stamped steel rims. What could go wrong...

There is no consistent way to center them on a cone balancing machine. I bet you could have a tire shop balance one of those wheels, remove it from the machine, put it back on the machine and rebalance five times and each time it would tell you a different weight.

That would be best case scenario...assuming they are actually round to begin with. Can't tell the tire but if you add cheap tires into the mix...or cheap ball joints, ujoints, brake discs, wheel hubs, steering components, etc...

 

[Danarch]

Yes the profile picture is current and they are steel. The PO didn“t have the right size spare so that was one of the fist things I picked up. The tire shop said they were a quality steel rim, doesn’t mean they aren’t a cheep import. The tires are Goodyear Wrangler, so a decent tire, I prefer BF Goodrich KM3, love those tires. Have them on two JK’s.

Thanks for the information.