NewToJeeps Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Ok i have a new problem i can't seem to figure out. When i get out on open road and the transmission runs through the gears (4 speed auto) the truck starts to violently shake when it goes into 3rd or drive and it continues through overdrive as well. Basically any speed over 45 MPH. It seems to only do this after it shifts into drive (marked 3rd on the shifter). I can't figure out why it would do that. At first i thought maybe i left the power button pressed rather than putting it back in the comfort position but it was set as it should be. This thing is shaking hard enough that you would think something was about to fly apart. As far as i know its not death wobble either. It feels more like the transmission. i changed the trans fluid and filter and it didnt help. I didn't see anything unplugged either but i may be missing something. The U-joints were fine and i didnt feel any slack in the rear end. Could it be a vacuum leak ? or something simple like that. Any ideas would be helpful. I'm also looking for a good diagram for the vacuum hoses if anyone knows where to find them besides the hanes manual or the chiltons book. Its a 4.0L auto 2 wheel drive. Eliminator edition if that helps any. Still not sure which trans i think someone said AX-5 or something to that effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Trans is the AW-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkgibbs27 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 does the shaking stop if you let off the gas pedal? my old 86 had a bad shaking. the shaking stopped after i had changed all the spark plugs and wires. don't think it was the spark plugs, they were all good. but the coil wire was pretty corroded inside at one end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Proper wheel balance is required at speeds at and above 45mph. Start with a tire re-balance and include a good wheel alignment. This will likely correct or point out your bigger problem. if a part is bad or going in the front end a good shop will see it and not be able to align until its corrected/replaced. CW PS... Please do a search on any jeep forum. Include the words/phrases, DW or DEATH WOBBLE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithe1811 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 i fixed mine simply by replacing the rear shocks, i think mine is the only one that was that easy though....... Erik :beerhead: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 i fixed mine simply by replacing the rear shocks, i think mine is the only one that was that easy though....... Erik :beerhead: Dude, No disrespect meant, I hate to be the one to tell you, If this is actually true you are the only person in existance who had DW caused by worn out shocks... No matter what anone tells you shocks, good bad or non existant CANNOT cause death wobbles. At the very least, yours was minor and the new shocks are meerly masking a continung condition. The same is true of spark plugs abd wires...I am not saying you didnt get a shudder or very rough running engine from these items. What I am saying is they cannot possibly cause, effect or have any thing to do with Death Wobbles. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Nobody fully understands death wobble, but CW is right -- bad shocks cannot cause it. And REAR shocks don't even enter into consideration if the problem is "death wobble," which ends up with the front wheels oscillating so violently that you literally can't steer the vehicle, and have to pull over and slow down to 20 MPH to get it stopped. If you aren't peeing in your drawers and seeing your life flash in front of you, it probably isn't "death wobble." Assuming that it is, what's happening is that one front wheel starts to shake, and then due to harmonics the shake gets transferred to the other front wheel. After that, the shake in each wheel reinforces the shake in the opposite wheel, with the result that the amplitude of the shaking is constantly increasing. The usual cause is either wheel balance, or an out-of-round tire/rim. Those are really the only things that can start the process (well, a badly warped rotor on one side is a remote possibility, as well). However, once one wheel starts shaking, things like sloppy track bar bushings or worn-out shocks can allow the harmonic transfer to the opposite wheel more easily than if everything was in good condition. If you are just rolling down a fairly smooth road and the shake sets in at 45 MPH (or 50, is more usual in my experience) without hitting any bumps or potholes -- get your tires balanced. If it still happens, take the tires back and make the shop re-do it. The bigger the tire, the more critical tire balance becomes. There are a LOT of shops out there that have a fancy machine, but they hire some doofus at minimum wage to run it, and the usual attitude is "That's close enough." "Close enough" usually isn't close enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithe1811 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 i fixed mine simply by replacing the rear shocks, i think mine is the only one that was that easy though....... Erik :beerhead: Dude, No disrespect meant, I hate to be the one to tell you, If this is actually true you are the only person in existance who had DW caused by worn out shocks... No matter what anone tells you shocks, good bad or non existant CANNOT cause death wobbles. At the very least, yours was minor and the new shocks are meerly masking a continung condition. The same is true of spark plugs abd wires...I am not saying you didnt get a shudder or very rough running engine from these items. What I am saying is they cannot possibly cause, effect or have any thing to do with Death Wobbles. CW well, there is no way that i would be able to make any kind of argument here because i can honestly say that my auto knowledge is pretty limited right now. I'm sure the possibility exists that i somehow just masked an underlying problem, however the fact still remains that i had violent DW at 45, and when i replaced rear shocks, i didnt have DW anymore. if you have another explanation as to what it could be, i would be happy to here it so i can fix whatever else it may be and prevent future DW :beerhead: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 Ok thanks guys. I have determined that it isnt death wobble the only reason i even said it to begin with is simply because the phrase "its DEATH WOBBLE !!!! junk it !! came from my step dads mouth. Having heard that little bit info i thought i might save some time by saying i don't think its death wobble. After all i never seen my life flash before my eyes however i remember a phrase something like WTF!?!?! now comming from my mouth. Today i worked on it a little bit. It's been tuned up and has been for a bit. I put a different set of tires on it today and that didnt help. I balanced them on an old water bubble type balance machine so later ill get it done right but they are pretty close. I checked air pressure and all that good stuff. I finally took it to a transmission shop to have them look it over and drive it but that plan failed miserably and ended with the jeep on the side of the road with the bottom blown out of the radiator. If anyone needs to know a good 3 row copper radiator goes for $109.00 @ a local parts house.... Today was just not my day...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdesigns Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Ok thanks guys. I have determined that it isnt death wobble the only reason i even said it to begin with is simply because the phrase "its DEATH WOBBLE !!!! junk it !! came from my step dads mouth. Having heard that little bit info i thought i might save some time by saying i don't think its death wobble. After all i never seen my life flash before my eyes however i remember a phrase something like WTF!?!?! now comming from my mouth. Today i worked on it a little bit. It's been tuned up and has been for a bit. I put a different set of tires on it today and that didnt help. I balanced them on an old water bubble type balance machine so later ill get it done right but they are pretty close. I checked air pressure and all that good stuff. I finally took it to a transmission shop to have them look it over and drive it but that plan failed miserably and ended with the jeep on the side of the road with the bottom blown out of the radiator. If anyone needs to know a good 3 row copper radiator goes for $109.00 @ a local parts house.... Today was just not my day...... Thats a pretty d@m good price for a 3 row isnt it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 Its cheaper than any other one i have bought. I was expecting to get to the parts store and lay out a couple hundred for it if not more. The last one i bought was for a 1976 firebird with a 454 in it and it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $400. The firebirds was about twice the size of a Comanche though lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Yeah, I needed a radiator for my Suburban a few years back. $399. Then again, that radiator is bigger than my entire Comanche bumper to bumper. Okay, maybe not. It has a cracked tank, but that what lifetime warrantee is for. Back on topic, I had a similar problem on my Geo, that turned out to be a missing cylinder. New plugs wires, distributor cap and rotor fixed it. Actually, just the distributor cap fixed it, but I usually replace all that stuff at the same time. It's also possible it is a bad U joint in the drive line, or a bent (or out of balance if it lost a weight) driveshaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdesigns Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 There was a thread not long ago about 3 rows,,, I think Blitz may have started it or something.. Did that 3 row have a rad cap or was it closed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkgibbs27 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 brand new radiator for my 86 would have cost me like 130$ i think it was. paid 86$ for one from the junk yard instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 If the new wheel set did not improve the vibes, it's most likely driveline related. I ASSuME you have jacked up each front wheel and checked for vertical and/or horizontal slop (wheel bearings, or bad tierod ends or other slop in the steering). If this is all okay, and I know you said the u-joints were okay, but the best way to check the joints is to pull the driveshaft and check for binding and/or slop on both u-joints. If your rig still has the originals, replace them with good quality Spicer greasable u-joints. This can only help your situation. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Sounds like you need to get it back to the transmission shop. I'd take a close look at the torque convertor. I had one that was wore out & it would shudder BADLY when I put too much load on it. I had to drive it like there was an egg on the gas pedal. Any hard acceleration & it let go. Finally the vains shattered completely & there it sat. Unfortunately by this time the trans was full of shrapnel as well. Good thing turbo 350's are a dime-a-dozen :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 i checked the front end parts all of them seemed to be new-ish. I didnt replace them but they are still nice and clean and have fresh grease around them and it looked clean when i put the grease gun to it as well. Everything is nice and tight and doesnt have any slop. The U-joints could use replaceing just for the sake of knowing they are new but they seem to be in good shape. The radiator i bought had the filler neck and its the brass sided one rather than the plastic sides that love to crack. I did have the option of buying the one without the neck but it was 2 row and had the plastic ends. it was $97.00 i think but don't quote me on it cause I'm not 100% sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 yeah i have an 1989 Geo Tracker that did that to me a few years ago. That thing is a HUGE headache lol. But the jeep has a new tune up on it. I replaced all that shortly after i bought it. It runs pretty decent but it has a rough idle. i havent got around to looking into that little problem yet though lol if i could get the rest of the major problems to go away id get to that one lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 hmmm i have 3 turbo 350 and a 400 here... will they fit easily ? what else will fit in there ? and what motors will fit the original trans ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdesigns Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 yeah i have an 1989 Geo Tracker that did that to me a few years ago. That thing is a HUGE headache lol. But the jeep has a new tune up on it. I replaced all that shortly after i bought it. It runs pretty decent but it has a rough idle. i havent got around to looking into that little problem yet though lol if i could get the rest of the major problems to go away id get to that one lol. I was really close to buying Steph a Tracker,, it was cheep enough, but the tranny was slipping.. I talked to a old guy thats been doing trannys a while and he told me if I bought it he wouldn't ever talk to me again!! lol I took his advice and bought her a Honda... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 man the tracker is a tough little off road car. It will go about anywhere as long as its not deep mud. But honestly if i had kids i wouldn't put them in a tracker. If you was to get hit by a bicycle it would be a total loss...and the biker would ride away unhurt. and another reason is kids tend to break things and its very costly to fix lol trust me i have broke alot on it :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Just for laughs -- jack it up, remove the inspection cover from the bottom of the bell housing where it mates up to the block, and check the four bolts that hold the torque converter to the flex plate. Those bolts sometimes back out and cause symptoms that tend to defy diagnosis. The bolts are accessible through that inspection cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 not a bad idea. ill check the bolts tomorrow. i need to find a oil leak in the general area any ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewToJeeps Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 I finally made it to the transmission shop. Had it up on the rack and let the pro's look it over. They had it there looking at it for about an hour and then ran out about a quarter tank of MY gas lol. The good news is they couldn't find anything at all wrong with the transmission and i got free fluid out of the deal. The bad news is they found my leaky rear main seal. The guy that does the mechanic work there took a look at it as well and he found an ignition timing problem. He said it was just a hair out of time and suggested maybe a tooth off on the distributor. I heard that the timing wasn't adjustable so i didnt believe him till i got it home and re-checked for myself. It was off and how it was running has me clueless. I put it all back in time as i have always done it by finding TDC on the compression stroke and then pointing the rotor button to the #1 cylinder. That didnt work and neither did the way the haynes book said to do it. I have it where the book said to put it and it idles smooth and sounds great. much better than it did to start with. But now when i give it a little gas it misses out and runs like crap. Anyone have any ideas ? thanks again. About one more problem and I'm going to pile the Geo in the bed of the truck and junk them both lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicofuentes0224 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 For the love of gawd man. Don't junk em. And if ya do give it to me. :D The mechanic told ya it's an ignition/timing problem. I think we just spent like 6 months W/ Tkgibbs on this same problem. Check your battery cables (especially the ground and add another), wires, plugs, distributer cap,and coil. Let us know how it goes :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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