Horrible Front End Shake Need Help Asap

[michaelgoesrawr]

After I successfully replaced the RMS, oil pan gasket and starter, the Jeep developed a horrible shake anywhere from 45MPH+. We took it to the shop and all they suggested was a Steering dampener and and alignment. Knowing that wouldn't solve it, I looked into the track bar and found that they TRE had play in it. Thinking that was the cause I ordered a Moog Problem solver stock replacement from Rock Auto and replaced it. 

 

Well, that didn't fix the problem. I rotated the tires thinking one of the front would be unbalanced. It helped a little but didn't solve the problem. Now I can feel the steering go back and forth while I hold the wheel straight and true. 

 

Things I have done:
 

-New track bar. 

-Looked over all the tres and from what I can tell they are all fine. 

-Aired the tires to 34 psi and rotated them from to back. 

-Ball joints are good. No movement when the tires are grabbed at 12 and 6. 

 

Now folks, could bad control arm bushings be the cause of this? When I dropped the oil pan, I had to remove the two Uppers in order to let the axle drop far enough to lower the pan. When I tightened the two uppers, I'm fairly sure the Jeep was still on stands meaning the bushings had to fight the force of the Jeep going to ride height. And on the flip side, the lower bushings had to fight the weight of the axle dropping farther then normal droop. 

 

The steering box has a leak around the pitman arm. Is this just a bad seal or could the box be going bad also attributing to my horrible shake problem? 

 

 

Edit: Jeep information.

 

-1988 Comanche. Base. 4.0 4x4

-Automatic trans(have not looked into which one. Figure its an AW4 with comfort option) with what i'd assume to be an NP 231

-Stock suspension, steering, and everything else under the sun.

[Wrz]

Hey i had this problem when i had my 00 xj, had an alignemnt done, new tre, and steering damper, The cause were my lower control arm bushings

check those out you can purchase them pretty cheap on ebay

[nitroxsteve]

It could be the control arm bushings. Always tighten the control arms with weight on the tires.

[danbyrambler]

After I successfully replaced the RMS, oil pan gasket and starter, the Jeep developed

 

What kinda Jeep? - Lifted? - Stock? - What? -  Sometimes makes a dif ya know - - - Search is a good tool - Tons of info/opinions - - - DW has been beat to death/discussed/cussed O&O a million here & NAXJA - - Search is a good tool - - - Original owner? 2nd - 3rd? - - - any indication of a wreck? - - - Thrust angle is often overlooked & worn CA bushings on one side can be part of DW-same as misaligned axles - - - Lots of good help/expertise here but without knowing what you're/we're dealing with the best you can hope for is the shot in the dark type response  - - - Good luck

:thumbsup:

[michaelgoesrawr]

Sorry guys. Ended up being the TRE's and the steering stabilizer, as well as three out of balanced tires and a need for an overall alignment. I managed to get it pretty close to 1/16" toe out after I replaced the TRE's but I can only do so much with a tape measure. 

 

It could be the control arm bushings. Always tighten the control arms with weight on the tires.

 

Yeah I read about that after I did it. I feel confident that they are not damaged though, because new TREs significantly helped. Any opinions on if it's worth replacing the stock CA bushings or should aftermarket ones be on the list of "to get" parts when time/money allows? 

 

 

After I successfully replaced the RMS, oil pan gasket and starter, the Jeep developed

 

What kinda Jeep? - Lifted? - Stock? - What? -  Sometimes makes a dif ya know - - - Search is a good tool - Tons of info/opinions - - - DW has been beat to death/discussed/cussed O&O a million here & NAXJA - - Search is a good tool - - - Original owner? 2nd - 3rd? - - - any indication of a wreck? - - - Thrust angle is often overlooked & worn CA bushings on one side can be part of DW-same as misaligned axles - - - Lots of good help/expertise here but without knowing what you're/we're dealing with the best you can hope for is the shot in the dark type response  - - - Good luck

:thumbsup:

 

. I guess I should put the Jeep info in my sig. I'm used to the profiles containing the information like on JeepForum. Didn't think about adding it in my post at the time. Yes, I have searched. I'm fairly versed in YJ information and proper forum procedure. However, coils are all new to me and my searches weren't yielding anything different that could help me narrow down the problem. I spend a good 20 minutes on how to check if TRE's were bad and came up with nothing. And everything in regards to DW really only mentioned the track/panhard bar as a major contributor. In terms of the CA bushings, I only had one person, aside from the people in this thread tell me that was the cause of theirs. I appreciate the help none the less and will update the original post with the vehicle information and well as add it to my sig. The Comanche section on JF is pretty dead so I think i'll be here more often learning as much as I can about the trucks. Thanks guys!

[H3RESQ]

SOunds like you got it fixed, but you might as well check the bolts on your steering box and track bar drop bracket. Also, you said your ball joints were good...but did you check for play with the tires jacked up off the ground?

Cheers, Jason

[Eagle]

Sorry guys. Ended up being the TRE's and the steering stabilizer, as well as three out of balanced tires and a need for an overall alignment. I managed to get it pretty close to 1/16" toe out after I replaced the TRE's but I can only do so much with a tape measure. 

 

1/16 is 1/16. But it should be toe-IN, not toe-out.

 

You probably don't want to know how many thousands of miles I've driven on a tape measure toe-in alignment.