4 Wheel Drive/SUVs/Front-end Shakes

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Expert: - 5/26/2004


Question
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4WD (18.5k miles) that has been giving me "shaking" problems for the past couple months. When going at speeds over 40 mph and then stepping on the brakes to slow down, my steering wheel column would shake.  Twice now I have also had this happen while braking on a winding piece of freeway or when changing lanes at freeway speeds -- only, on these 2 occasions, the whole front end shook violently & I had to let the car coast to about 20 mph before it stopped shaking.  I had the brake pads and rotors replaced last week, only to have another one of these freeway incidents occur yesterday. (not sure if this info helps, but the first time I had my tires rotated was about 8 months ago at 13k miles and I haven't had them rotated since.) Any ideas?  

Answer
Jen,

I would suspect bad shock absorbers, or a bad steering stabilizer.  Visually check them for oil leaks, dents or bent shafts.  Another possibility is that the tires may be in need of balancing, or you have an out of round tire, bent rim or axle.  This is a fairly low mileage vehicle and shouldn't have any major suspension problems.  If you can't find anything obvious, take the Jeep to a reputable alignment shop, and have them check it over.

  Carl  

4 Wheel Drive/SUVs

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Carl Brandt

Expertise

Will discuss suspensions, lifts, lockers along with tire suggestions. Trail ratings and possible requirements needed for specific type of trails. Safety equipment and what you should carry with you. Certified off-road instructor. I am not a mechanic, and 4-Wheeling is a hobby, so if I can't answer a technical question it is due to my mechanical knowledge being related to vehicles that I have owned, or have worked on. I do not have manuals on all vehicles.

Experience

40 plus years of 4 wheeling in a variety of vehicles. At the present time, my major off-road rig is a 94 Jeep Wrangler with a spring over and a 1 1/2" suspension lift. This gives me a total lift of 7" or so. I have lockers front and rear. I have removed the track bars, and sway bar for maximum articulation. I am running a stock 2.5 ltr 4 cylinder with a Jacobs ignition along with a cold air high flow filter. It has 4.56:1 gears with a Dodge NV4500 transmission along with a 3.8:1 Atlas II transfer case. This gives me a final ratio of 105:1 in low gear/low range. Other vehicles I own, are a 96 Ford F-250 with a 6" lift, posi rear end, 36" Hummer tires, 5 speed with a fuel injected 460 ci engine, an 87 Samurai with an 8" lift, Ford 9" rear end with a spool, Chevy Dana 44 front end with an electric locker, 5.88 gears, 16% reduction in high range and a 6.5:1 low range with 35" Baja Claws, and a stock 2003 Grand Cherokee Overland. Trails I have run are the Rubicon (10 times), Dusey Ershim, Fordyce Creek trail, McGrew trail, several trails in Moab, Utah along with local monthly runs.

Organizations
Lost Coast 4x4's Cal 4-Wheel Corva UFWDA Blue Ribbon Coalition

Education/Credentials
Certified off-road instructor - Certificates in engineering/electronics

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