Help - Bad Shimmy, Running Warm

[Rundel]

I have an 88 4wd long bed stock suspension, since getting it a couple of weeks ago, I have done the rear brakes, track-bar, recharged the air and replaced old ugly wheels and tires with a set of steels of a wrangler.

Today when going down the road four times in five miles it began to shimmy so bad as to be nearly uncontrollable. I pushed the clutch in and hit the brakes gradually to slow it down from highway speed to around 25 mph at which point it stopped shaking so bad.

 

Also, the previous owner hard wired a by-pass toggle switch to the electric fan. Despite running it, the temp guage still goes over the 210 mark when the a/c runs.

 

On the plus side of things, it is almost rust free!!!

 

So help me out here, what do I need to check on the front end/suspension etc to figure out what causes the shimmy and what do I need to do to help make it run cooler???

[JOMJ87]

Death wobble. :eek: You need to look at all the front linkage and check to see whats bad i.e. TRE and any joints. very common for alot of people. One way to check is climb under the front and have someone wiggle the steering wheel back and forth and you look to see if anything seems loose like the steering is moving but the tires sit there and the joints wobble back and forth.

 

Cole

[beaterjeep]

:agree: My 88 had the same problem until I took it to a shop about a year ago. Although the shop I took mine to was run by an imbecile and screwed me over and about 3 months ago it started again. Come to find out the guy only replaced two parts that weren't even part of the problem. Take it to a reputable shop in your area, or if you have the expertise, do it yourself, and make sure it's done right.

[Oizarod115]

:yeah that: :agree: My 88 had the same problem until I took it to a shop about a year ago. Although the shop I took mine to was run by an imbecile and screwed me over and about 3 months ago it started again. Come to find out the guy only replaced two parts that weren't even part of the problem. Take it to a reputable shop in your area, or if you have the expertise, do it yourself, and make sure it's done right.

what did yours end up being? just for new things to check on mine :oops:

 

as for the temp, check for cracks in the coolant resovior tank, also check the pressure cap as both are prone to failure, and low pressure will cause "extra"heating, i say extra cuase mine never overheated but did get extrasuperhot (255-260 tops)

 

main thing with the cooling system is to tell us WHEN it overheats...

sitting at a stop overheating points to fanclutch

highway overheating points to waterpump, or radiator

cracked bottles/ caps just overhead period i beleive.

 

(all of this is super easy to replace and alot of its cheap too)

 

EDIT: oh yeah, the thermostats are prone to failure as well, but i can't really tell you how to test that cause I'm not sure myself :roll:

[beaterjeep]

To tell you the truth, I still don't have a clue as to what mine is from. All I know is that when I took it back to another shop, they told me the only things that were replaced were the tracbar and the inner tie rod ends, NOTHING ELSE. The guy that originally "fixed" it charged me over $800 for it, and is now out of business and in court proceedings because he was an ASE certified mechanic working out of his garage. Yay me, as I'm the one that took him there.

[Rundel]

It has a new tracbar and the mechanic I trust said everything else seemed real tight. I have a new coolant tank but I've not checked the pressure cap as suggested.

 

I appreciate all the advise so far. I'm also curious about what other parts others have had to replace to cure the death wobble.

 

TIA

[Pete M]

Could be a combination of mildly worn parts too. Search for "death wobble" and you should find a couple of old posts that list all the possible culprits.

[JOMJ87]

how are your tires and alignment cou;d be this to.

 

Cole

[randimal]

I agree. Start by checking the tires. Then the alignment. Those are the simplest and are often the cause. You may even want to try rotating your front tires to the back.

[Rundel]

The MJ is back at the local shop, the balance will be checked and the easy alignment will be checked (toe in) My local guy has had experience with solid front axle trucks and has seen the death wobble before due to alignment issues.

 

I let the forum know what I find out.

[Rundel]

The mechanic called today, the alignment is way off, everything else appears to be mechanically ok. I will schedule an appointment

[ekulrenlig]

I had this problem on my comanche when I would hit small bumbs at high speeds. Replaced the track bar - helped a little but not completely. Had tires rotated and balanced - helped some, but still not completely. Had tie rod ends replaced, put in a used steering box and realigned steering wheel - this has seemed to clear the problem up.

[Rundel]

I had the alignment, still have the death wobble. Had the tires balanced and rotated, no help - maybe worse.

 

The alignment guy suggested tightening up the steering box. He also noticed a sway bar bushing was worn out. He also suggested, based on past experience, replacing the steering damper with a heavy duty upgrade.

 

So for those of you who have been there, done that, what do I do now?

 

AS for the heating issue, I remembered the previous owner used this truck like an ATV to go through field and check cattle and horses. I used my air compressor and a needle blow gun and blasted a large quantity of grass, grass seeds and dirt from the radiator. It now seems to be running within normal parameters.

[JOMJ87]

don't get a heavy duty stabilizer it just hides the real issue. I would try the sway bar stuff and see what that does. About the box...Does it return to center well? if not it may help if it does then it is prob OK.

 

Cole

[attaboybob]

I once had a vide issue, it drove me nuts.

I found out it was my front Transfer case yoke.

it was loose. so I tightened it and the rear TC yoke

and all was fine.

 

You may want to try to take off the front DS first.

Drive it and see if you still have vibes.

It could even be your rear DS.

so there is your weekend project.

 

...BOB

[Oizarod115]

I once had a vide issue, it drove me nuts.

I found out it was my front Transfer case yoke.

it was loose. so I tightened it and the rear TC yoke

and all was fine.

 

You may want to try to take off the front DS first.

Drive it and see if you still have vibes.

It could even be your rear DS.

so there is your weekend project.

 

...BOB

 

i think he's talking serious DW not just vibes.

 

another thing that can cause DW is worn out Control arm bushings.

 

but i wouldnt think the swaybar has anything to do with your wobble,

cause my brother runs without his 24/7 with lots of interstate driving too.

(i told him its not safe, boy won't listen.)

[JOMJ87]

He will when he hit a big dip in the road and the coils sling him in the ditch and YES it will do that I know first hand and it won't happen agian cause know i carry spare pins for my Disco's. :eek:

 

Cole

[Rundel]

As for the running warm, I solved this by blasting the radiator free of six years accumulated fescue and other grass seeds that impeded the air flow.

 

As for the wobble, I have cured the majority of the shakes and not incurred the DW by simple cross rotating the front tires. This was a used set of wheels and tires off of a Wrangler. The tire people want you to believe that modern radials can be criss-crossed but apparently there was an issue of belts attempting to reform or separate.

 

I still will plan on replacing the bushings in the front end. Other that Quadratec, can anyone suggest other sources for these items.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. These forums are a lot of help especially to us new guys.

[Hot Rod Jeep]

As for the wobble, I have cured the majority of the shakes and not incurred the DW by simple cross rotating the front tires. This was a used set of wheels and tires off of a Wrangler. The tire people want you to believe that modern radials can be criss-crossed but apparently there was an issue of belts attempting to reform or separate.

 

Not trying to argue with you but the shop I worked at always advised against crossing tires like that. We only did it if they absolutly wanted it, it was usually old ppl anyways. 8)

[Rundel]

You're not arguing, you're agreeing! The tires and wheels weren't marked for rotation and I'm willing to bet that when I bolted them on the firest time, it was in reverse to the past running direction.

 

While there still is a bit of vibration, I now have actually been able to pass a vehicle and not had to worry about having the vehicle turn into a 4 wheeled paint shaker!

[Oizarod115]

You're not arguing, you're agreeing! The tires and wheels weren't marked for rotation and I'm willing to bet that when I bolted them on the firest time, it was in reverse to the past running direction.

 

While there still is a bit of vibration, I now have actually been able to pass a vehicle and not had to worry about having the vehicle turn into a 4 wheeled paint shaker!

mine doesnt shake paint... but it does throw mud/debris in all directions at times. and gives me brains a good jumbling.