Front end vibration... still. :(

Summary: 2002 TJ Sahara, front end vibration coming from the front
passenger side between 60 and 70mph. Smooth ride below and above that
range.

I've replaced: track bar, passenger-side axle u-joint, passenger-side
wheel bearings, passenger-side ball joints (holy crap -- THAT was an
ordeal), sway bar, sway bar links. New springs, new shocks. The tie
rod is solid and not loose. I've had the tires balanced. I've even put
other wheels on there to make sure that wasn't the problem.

And the vibration, while a lot less than before, is still there.

I'm out of moving parts, and almost out of money. Any other
suggestions other than "drive it off a cliff"?

How do you know it is coming from the front passenger side? That is
about impossible to test for when driving.

Due to the solid front axle, the vibration could be coming from either
side or even the driveshaft u-joints.

I had one harmonic front end vibration that I swore was coming from the
passenger side and I went after parts like you did 'except' I tested the
parts before changing most and only changed parts with obvious play. My
Jeep had 295K on it at that time.

Well even after some new parts like the track bar, it got worse to the
point I thought my tire was going to fall off or it almost felt like the
'death wobble' so I stopped and checked my wheels.

When it got this bad, the failed part finally showed up by taking a
piece out of my fan shroud. It was the damn clutch on the radiator fan!

The amount of vibration that came from this failed clutch was amazing!

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Justin M wrote:
>
> Summary: 2002 TJ Sahara, front end vibration coming from the front
> passenger side between 60 and 70mph. Smooth ride below and above that
> range.
>
> I've replaced: track bar, passenger-side axle u-joint, passenger-side
> wheel bearings, passenger-side ball joints (holy crap -- THAT was an
> ordeal), sway bar, sway bar links. New springs, new shocks. The tie
> rod is solid and not loose. I've had the tires balanced. I've even put
> other wheels on there to make sure that wasn't the problem.
>
> And the vibration, while a lot less than before, is still there.
>
> I'm out of moving parts, and almost out of money. Any other
> suggestions other than "drive it off a cliff"?

Just because the tires static balance doesn't mean they're not to blame.

Swap the rears to the front and see if the problem goes away before you
take out a 2nd mortage to pay for other unneeded parts.

> How do you know it is coming from the front passenger side? That is
> about impossible to test for when driving.
>
> Due to the solid front axle, the vibration could be coming from either
> side or even the driveshaft u-joints.

I'm almost positive it's coming from the front passenger side because
that's the side that things keep breaking on. I had the passenger side
sway-bar link self-destruct, and the passenger side shock (Rancho)
literally fall apart. The track bar mounts on the passenger side were
also mangled and had to be replaced. The lower ball-joint on the
passenger side was jammed crooked into the yoke so badly that I had to
drill it out to remove it (drivers side looked nothing like it).

I'm not 100% sure, of course. The vibration is almost definitely
coming from the front, as it does seem to hit the steering (it almost
feels like I'm about to lose control -- and it vibrates up into the
steering wheel)... but in such a short wheel base, it could be coming
from the back .. I guess this is wishful thinking, since (to me), the
front axle is a hell of a lot simpler than the Dana 44 rear.

I've also put the manual transmission in neutral and coasted down a
hill at 65 mph, and the vibration remains, so I'm sure it's not a motor
mount or something related to that. I also have coasted down a hill
with the transfer case in neutral, and once I reached 62-63, it started
a rythmic bouncing until I hit 72-73 and then it smoothes out. If I
drop to around 65, it stops. If I get below 60, then back up to 62-63,
it starts again. (yeah; super unsafe, but I was getting super
frustrated).

Of course, I don't know if putting the transfer case in neutral
actually isolates anything important or not. I suppose I could
completely disconnect the front diff from the transfer case to test the
drive shaft u-joint..

Tonight I'm going to do a tire rotate and move the front to the back,
back to the front, and also swap the brake rotors on the front to see
if it changes the vibration...

After this, I guess I'll be swapping parts on the driver's side
(u-joint, bearings, ball-joints)... if that doesn't work... the inner
axles are just about the only thing left.

If anything, these parts are all nearing the 100k mark, so it's not
hurting anything to replace them, anyway..

Where did you get tires static balanced and why?


"Outatime" > wrote in message
...
> Just because the tires static balance doesn't mean they're not to blame.
>
> Swap the rears to the front and see if the problem goes away before you
> take out a 2nd mortage to pay for other unneeded parts.

billy ray wrote:
> Where did you get tires static balanced and why?
>
>
> "Outatime" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Just because the tires static balance doesn't mean they're not to blame.
>>
>> Swap the rears to the front and see if the problem goes away before you
>> take out a 2nd mortage to pay for other unneeded parts.
>
>
Go have them spin-balanced.
most tire shops static balance them. You know the little air bubble in
the center hub of the tire mounting machine.
If you loose a wheel weight it can cause a shimmy. maybe not noticeable
at all speeds either. Could be only in the 45 to 60 mph range.

Hmmmmmmm I haven't had a tire static balanced in probably 20+ years.


"Pete" > wrote in message
...
> billy ray wrote:
>> Where did you get tires static balanced and why?
>>
>>
>> "Outatime" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Just because the tires static balance doesn't mean they're not to blame.
>>>
>>> Swap the rears to the front and see if the problem goes away before you
>>> take out a 2nd mortage to pay for other unneeded parts.
>>
>>
> Go have them spin-balanced.
> most tire shops static balance them. You know the little air bubble in
> the center hub of the tire mounting machine.
> If you loose a wheel weight it can cause a shimmy. maybe not noticeable at
> all speeds either. Could be only in the 45 to 60 mph range.

I KNOW that you had them balanced, but did you ROTATE them tires too?

Kate
2O|||||||O ^ Rubicon - with no vibes - yet.

"Justin M" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Summary: 2002 TJ Sahara, front end vibration coming from the front
> passenger side between 60 and 70mph. Smooth ride below and above that
> range.
>
> I've replaced: track bar, passenger-side axle u-joint, passenger-side
> wheel bearings, passenger-side ball joints (holy crap -- THAT was an
> ordeal), sway bar, sway bar links. New springs, new shocks. The tie
> rod is solid and not loose. I've had the tires balanced. I've even put
> other wheels on there to make sure that wasn't the problem.
>
> And the vibration, while a lot less than before, is still there.
>
> I'm out of moving parts, and almost out of money. Any other
> suggestions other than "drive it off a cliff"?
>

Kate wrote:
> I KNOW that you had them balanced, but did you ROTATE them tires too?

oh yeah. I've even borrowed the wheels off of a friend's
(non-vibrating) TJ and put them on mine.

I replaced the brake rotors today, as one of them was too warped to be
fixed. No difference.

I'm going to try disconnecting the front drive shaft and see if that
makes a difference.

Doggone! I hope you get it fuggerd out.
I admire your persistance...

Go get em!

Kate

"Justin M" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Kate wrote:
>> I KNOW that you had them balanced, but did you ROTATE them tires too?
>
> oh yeah. I've even borrowed the wheels off of a friend's
> (non-vibrating) TJ and put them on mine.
>
> I replaced the brake rotors today, as one of them was too warped to be
> fixed. No difference.
>
> I'm going to try disconnecting the front drive shaft and see if that
> makes a difference.
>