JEEPERZ MJ

[MJ'87]

LOOKIN GOOD

[JEEPERZ]

I'm back to the drawing board with DEATH WOBBLE!!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :headpop:

 

i went wheeling today at azusa in san gabriel canyon and had a blast,

 

now that is stuck,

this cherokee sucked water in the motor, it was dead in the water

 

 

 

but when it was time to head home i got on the road and wholly ship!! all hell broke loose. Anything over 35 and it was on with the smallest bump. Azusa is roughly 45 miles from my house. wouldnt be bad if i lived in the country and had some good views, but to get to my house from there, i have to go through downtown L.A. sucked, it took me about 3 hours and 3 cans of mace :chillin:

 

when i got home i jacked it up and really had a good look at things. i have replaced almost everything in the front end that can move (joints, ect.) the only thing i havnt changed are the u-joints and wheel bearings in the front end, so that narrowed it down a bit. i took the tires off and grabbed the axle and gave it a shake and sure enough. there are no needle bearings left in the passenger side. this is good and bad. the bad is, i have never messed with axles before, so i have alot of learning to do. the good. this was probley the problem with death wobble to begin with and i just missed it. At least i changed alot of stuff to new in the process.

[JEEPERZ]

started working on the axle u-joints this morning. i went yesterday to get the u-joints. went once and they couldnt find them in the computer, so i picked up a 35mm axle socket (wrong) went back, returned it for a 36mm (right one) and asked this new guy for the u-joints. he found them in the computer, so i took 3 of them, one extra for the trail. this morning came around, i started into it and found they gave me the wrong joints. its wierd because i even looked at the part number on their computer and it matched the ones he gave me. not really his fault. ill just take the old ones in tomorrow. but i did however pull both axles and the shift acuator in preperation for when i get the new ones.

 

pulling the unit bearings out i discovered i should just replace those as well. $$$ the passenger side unit bearing is super smooth, but the drivers side is a little rough, almost clicks as you turn it like a safe dial. one thing i am concerned about is when i pulled the axles out, I'm not sure if i was suppose to mark how i took them out, so i can put them in the same way. anyone know?? maybe ill just post it in tech. ive searched it and nothin.

one other project I'm going to do while I'm at it is eliminating the vacuum switch actuator on the axle. I'm going to use washers to shim the fork over to keep it there. then I'm going to try to get rid of the disc (motor) i think thats what its called. MJEFF87 gave me this idea, and i like it. no more vacuum problems!!! ill post pictures of that when I'm done.

 

drivers side

passenger side

stuffed paper towel in there to keep the dust out until the morning

[CWLONGSHOT]

don't worry about the front axle indexing.. There is none!! ;)

 

Good job on the pix and write ups!!

 

CW

[JEEPERZ]

well today was interesting needless to say. i took back the wrong u-joints and spent the rest of the morning hunting down the right ones. i got them in ok with no problems. they were really tight at first after i had installed them but tapped on the yoke with a hammer and it set them perfectly(read that in a post, it worked!!!) then i also found new unit bearings for $175.00 each (ouch) but they were the wrong type, so i took em back and got my money. the computer said they were for a 90 mj, but they didnt work. i think i need the ones from 89. ill be checking that out. it sure would have been nice to throw them in while it was all apart though. i did get rid of the disco and permenently got rid of the vacuum system for 4wd by shimming over the fork with washers. i also got rid of the disco motor thing by plugging the hole with a 3/8 x 3 bolt (the fork also fits perfectly on the bolt. here is a picture of the stuff i used to do it.

here is the bolt plugging the hole with a rubber bushing/washer and a o-ring

here is inside, i used a piece of tube 3/8 ID x 5/8 OD between the bolt head and the lock nut so the bolt wouldnt move around.

 

the guy at the hardware store was really cool and patient. i test drove the mj after i was done to see if the death wobble was gone. it was still there, just like a pimple on your @$$ that won't go away. i drove it right to the alignment place, ill let them have their way with it for a few. then we'll see. i guess ill have to get those wheel bearings sooner than i had hoped, also need to get the ball joints done. when i go over a harder bump i can hear something kinda knock or rattle. sounds like the tire is loose or something. could this be the ball joints. when i had everything apart i tried to wobble the knuckle to see if the ball joint were loose, but they seem tight. i don't know, but i will figure it out!!! :brows:

[jeepthing9]

One thing I would check before you replace everything is the track bar.

You stated you can hear something move. Have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth and look at all the joints of the track bar, drag link, and tie rod. Chances are if it was gone when you put the track bar in, it loosened up while you were wheeling.

 

Good luck,

 

Nate

[JEEPERZ]

One thing I would check before you replace everything is the track bar.

You stated you can hear something move. Have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth and look at all the joints of the track bar, drag link, and tie rod. Chances are if it was gone when you put the track bar in, it loosened up while you were wheeling.

 

Good luck,

 

Nate

 

thanks nate, i have already replaced the TREs, the trackbar, all bushings in the front, except one that i ended up replacing yesterday. i checked to see if anything loosened up. so here is where I'm at now.

 

yesterday morning i was certain my ball joints were bad. so i took everything apart in the front end preparing to do them. when i undid the tie-rod from the knuckle i heard a CLANK, the bushing for the steering stabilizer was completely gone. certain this was the problem, i put the axles back in and bolted every thing up. i went a got a rancho 5000 stabilizer and put it on. i was certain this was the problem. took it for a drive and the noise is still there.

 

not sure if i mentioned it, but the death wobble is gone right now after the alignment. but, i can tell its there still lurking in the back ground waiting to rear its ugly head. i say this because when i hit a bump, not even a hard bump i hear a clanking sound and it wobbles ever so slightly. so i know with another day of wheeling, it will be back. so now to the noise, i got under the truck yesterday for hours on end trying to figure it out. finally i have seen the light. i grabbed the brake caliper on the passenger side and gave it a tug and sure enough, the caliper can be moved with my hand and makes that noise. i had the caliper off earlier in the morning so i know its tight, but checked to make sure. looking in the chilton book, it looks like i may be missing the rattle clip??? there is quit a bit of movement in it. i gave up on that for a bit and started working on the caster angle with my control arms. when i had it aligned, they said my caster was off between each side. when i put my control arms on origanaly i made sure the bottom control arms were the same leangth and the top control arms were the same leangth to achieve the proper castor angle. i installed the lowers first, then the upper drivers side. to get the passenger side bolt in, i had to really push on the axle to get the bolt in. (with a bottle jack) yesterday, i took the bolt out of the passenger side and took all the tension out of the axle, adjusted the control arm so it fit without wrenching on the axle, and now my castor angle is the same. but my upper control arms are not the same leangth now. seems pretty wierd. so i figure, and i may be wrong, that caster is more important that the actual leangth of the upper control arms. so I'm still fine tuning that a bit today.

so during the work yesterday, i started hearing another clanking sound while i would turn the steering wheel. its coming from the drivers side. i think its the ball joint, i should have just done them while i had everything apart. ill check it out better today.

[JEEPERZ]

well the sound was a loose track bar.!!!!! i went over the ball joint over and over. couldnt find anything wrong with them. so i just kept on it and sure enough. the hd bracket was moving just slightly, grabbed a wrench and tightend right up. that helped oodles with the wobble i was having as well. check, then recheck everything!! so i have the brake rattle still. i can tell whats wrong, but just don't feel like fixing it right now. ill have to get a new steering knuckle which means ball joints. ill get to it, ill just be nice to drive for awhile.

[JEEPERZ]

the past few days working on the truck have been a bit unnerving. ive spent tons of time, but don't feel like I'm getting much done. so there actually is no brake noise. i took the brakes apart many times, used shims, anti rattle clips, new brakes and caliper only to find out it wasnt the brakes at all. i found out by taking the caliper off and zip tying it underneath the truck wrapped in a towel with a socket between the calipers so i would still have my left brake, and drove down the alley. the noise was still there. i should've done that first i guess. so i think at this point my noise is coming from the rear axle. i found yesteday the bearings are shot on the drivers side. that project will have to wait a little bit. so over the holiday i also worked on the control arms. i found that when i brake the lower control arm would move and make a knocking sound (different from what i thought was brake noise) so taking the control arms off. i found the bolt was a little bit small for the bushing. went and got new grade 8 bolts for all control arms. i found that 7/16" (i think thats what the were) fit the bushing alot better and would fit through the frame holes just barely. not sure why rustys don't tell you not to use stock bolts. i also discovered the axle track bar mount hole is oval. i need to figure that out yet. the track bar when torqued to spec moves the bolt back and fourth when i turn the steering wheel. so i didnt quit get as much done over the vacation as i had hoped, but its getting there, very slowly but very surely. i don't think I'm going to do the rear axle wheel bearings. i think ill take it in. i should just dump the d35 with something else. so many projects, so little time. :D