To start off, I have read every thread I can find on this topic and I fully understand that 99% of the time my problem with the wobble at 45-50 mph is tire imbalance. I took the Jeep this morning to discount tire and had them balance them. He said they were way out of balance, I took it for a ride and it was a little better but still shook right on 45. I drove it back and made them balance again because of how much I have read of the importance of them being perfectly balanced. The manager himself did it this time and told me personally that the worst tire was on the back and it was 1/4 oz out of balance. The machine showed no run out no out of round tire. He told me that he could not get it balanced perfectly with the wheels that I have and that’s the best he could do. I’ve done two dry steering test and re torqued the trac bar bolt on frame side. Tie rods have no movement up or down or side to side and I did the test for ball joints I think they’re okay but I’m not 100% certain how to tell if they’re bad. The only thing I may have seen is the drag link connection in the middle seemed like it kind of skips on the bushing when turning aggressively. Is it still the tires causing this even though they said they can’t get them any better? Is it the toe in possibly which I can do myself? I’m so lost and I don’t feel like destroying everything else in my front end by letting it shake every day
Steering wheel wobble
- Thread starter TJ05
- Start date
Is it only felt in the steering wheel or does the whole Jeep vibrate? Does it get worse when turning? Does it go away above a certain speed?
It’s felt in the wheel mostly it’s nothing crazy but enough to drive me nuts. And no it doesn’t get worse when turning and it’s gone at lower speeds and above that 45-50 which is why I thought originally it was tires
I am pretty certain that’s not the problem in this case, it is a brand new Rancho and I have a feeling that a stabilizer would only mask what is my real problem here
xxdabroxx
TJ Addict
How are your shock bushings? I had a slight steering wheel shimmy like you describe go away after replacing shocks once. Never would have guessed it possible until I saw it myself. Seems like the play in the shock bushings allowed the tire to bounce and shake the wheel.
What kind of motion should I look for in the drag link and how big of a pain is it to do? Are parts available at auto parts stores or do you have to buy the whole thing? Also, do you think it’s possible that the wobble could be from the tires being more worn in the center? I lowered psi to 26 to help wear the outside more
xxdabroxx
TJ Addict
Possible, when i went to the 5000x's my shimmy went away. But I also had all new steering and drag link installed prior to the shocks.
You could try rocking the jeep side to side while looking at the shocks to see if there is play. Sound like shocks probably aren't going to be your issue though.
You could try rocking the jeep side to side while looking at the shocks to see if there is play. Sound like shocks probably aren't going to be your issue though.
The original post mentioned something going on with the drag link..if you have anything moving whatsoever you're going to feel it when that vehicle is in motion.
Yes the tires can cause you a lot of grief especially if they are oversized.
Most front end part can be bought over-the-counter at any national chain.
ranger101
TJ Addict
How long did you drive with the tires imbalanced before correcting things? Has it been like that for months? Are the tires new/newer?
I bought the tires off a guy last week and got them balanced yesterday but the wobble is a bit better but not totally gone
What do you mean by any movement whatsoever? I thought those parts like tie rods are supposed to twist but no side to side or straight up and down?
No, but the discount tire manager said after balancing them for the Second Time that the worst tire was in the rear and it was 1/4 of and ounce off. So I don’t know if it’s the tires being worn in the center more, or if throwing on the really wide tires set loose what was really wrong but I didn’t notice before
If the wobble started when you changed the tires it seems like that is mostly likely the cause. Even though the tire isn’t out of round (aka flat spots, bent rims, etc) you can still have something going on with them like a sidewalk deformation, that won’t shop up on a lot of tire balances. You usually see stuff like that on low profile tires however, not beefy off-road ones.
Correct, as long as they don't have play ,they are typically fine . I may have misread it .