Hi guys, I have a 200 Jeep XJ with 145k on it. I recently went off the road when I hit a slick patch of ice, and ended up the ditch. No major damage, just a cracked steering box. I have been driving the jeep for 2 months since it has gotten back on the road, and I have started to get some bad vibrations. The vibrations seem to come from the passenger side, front tire. I only get the vibrations when I am driving very slow (5-20 mph) and when I am slowing down to a stop. It is so bad that it rattles interior plastic and makes a rough shuddering noise. I am starting to think that my front passenger hub may be bad since it took most of the beating in the accident. I replaced both front hubs in Feb 2017 with Timkens, and the brakes were done in November of 2017. I have checked the ball joints and they seem tight, and I am assuming it is either the brake caliper or the hub. Am I way off track here? Not sure if it matters or not, but trans mount and motor mounts were also replaced in Feb of 2017. Steering seems tight, nothing loose. Whats your opinion?

 

Probably should add that I replaced both LCA's, and it seems like driver side tie rod end may have some slight play in it

 

if you haven't done an alignment since the accident, i would definitely do that. also i think you are on the right track with the hub unit. since it's a timkin, you may be able to get it replaced under warranty.
your track bar would have taken a hard hit also. be sure to check both ends.
if there is any play in the TRE, i would change that out too, before you do an alignment, of course.

worst cast scenario, you may have bent an axle tube. that will take some precise measuring to tell if it's just slightly bent.

hitting a ditch can affect many areas in the front end, steering, suspension, frame and hard components.

good luck, hope it's not hard to find.

 

Thanks fr the advice! I did have it aligned since the accident. I replaced both ends of the drag link before the alignment, as they had gone bad from the weight of the steering box. Track bar ends seem tight as well. Really hoping its just a bad hub.

 

 

Is it only happening when braking now, or still when at low speeds?

How are the upper control arms and bushings? Shock mounts?

I'd do a careful inspection for cracks in the mounting points for the control arms.

Have you tried moving the tire (swap it for the rear drivers, for example) to eliminate the wheel/tire?

 

 

Anything is possible, but would be shocked if it were sway bar related. If the bushings are ok (and by this I mean not loose, the pinching at the top is common over-torquing) at this point I'd leave the sway bar links alone until/unless you ever replace them.

My gut feeling (in order of highest suspicion) is issues with the control arms (upper bushings bad or cracked mount), cracked track bar mount, warped rotor or bent axle tube. You'll know more once you do the requisite noggin' poking.

 

Those are great places to start, I appreciate it! Sway bar links are just pinched in, so I don't think those are the problem. If the upper control arms are as bad as the lowers, I imagine they will need to be replaced anyway. I was doing some reading, and it sounds like my plan is to buy the Rusty's fixed upper control arms, and then buy the replacement axle bushing and press them in. First step is some nogging pokin in the mentioned areas, and then to swap out the tire and see where that puts me at. I forgot to mention that I am on 31 inch Cooper mudders, along with a 3 inch lift. I would expect some vibration/road noise, but no where near what I am dealing with now. I will try and grab some photos tonight and post them up, as I know you guys have better eyes for issues than I do.

 

I've heard that UCA bushing is a PITA to get at. If your lowers were real bad it would definitely stand to reason the uppers were not far behind. It could be that the running into the ditch just exacerbated an issue that was already coming down the pike.