Jerramie Garlock

Hey guys, i know there have been a ton of posts on this but I am completely lost after browsing them..

I have 93 jeep grand cherokee, full time 4wd, 4.0

While going over 25 mph if you hit a bump the front end starts violently shaking, you can barely hold on to the steering wheel, and if you look out the drivers side window you can see the front drivers tire jumping back and forth about 1/3 of the turn radius of the tire.

Below i have listed what I have checked and replaced.

Replaced
Track bar
Tie rods and ends.
Ball joints
Sway bar links and bushings
Control arms
Half shafts
Drag link
steering damper

Checked

Pitman arm, ** has very little play up and down "less than 1/8" and has no play side to side, could this be an issue??

Had it aligned yesterday, problem is worse if anything>

Checked wheel bearings by shaking wheel while holding top and bottom, no obvious play, is there a better way of checking this??

Steering box bolts are tight, pit man arm bolt is tight, rechecked torque on everything i replaced, adjusted top bolt on steering box to tighten steering up "it was still sloppy after all the other work" and this tightened the steering up perfectly, just have this terrifying wobble now...
Anything else I should be checking?

Jerramie Garlock

Also, vehicle is completely stock. No lifts or upgrades.

Bustedback

The track bar is the most likely culprit, especially if the bushing at the axle end is oil soaked or rotted.

Jerramie Garlock

Shoot, sorry, the track bar has in fact been replaced as well. I missed that on the list!

dave1123

Steering box. Not a very good alignment with that much play in the box.

JY95ZJ

I had this problem a few months back and it turned out to be a tiny leak the power steering line where the rubber line and metal come together. I would inspect the lines as well as the steering box just to be on the safe side. I replaced my line and no more dw.

pimpinr

Check your Front U-Joints..

dave1123

Wait!!! He stated the steering box had 1/8" play up and down! If that's the shaft, that isn't right. If he's talking about the knuckle end of the pitman arm, that's something else entirely. Either way, any play in the steering box is worrisome.

That adjustment screw on top of the box is just to align the worn and sector ball tracks after you take it apart. The ball tracks wear wider near the center of motion but remain close to round near the ends of travel. Messing with that screw only makes the steering bind on sharp turns and in extreme cases, can break parts. These steering boxes are "recirculating ball" where the actual gear teeth are ball bearings.

JMHO, replace the box!

maxxtreme

Hey guys, don´t forget the caster angle, it should be from 0° to 7° positive, my 2 cents.

Jerramie Garlock

Hey guys,

My apologizes for the late reply, All of the hoses to and from power steering box are okay.
pimpinr, I am kind of confused as to your u-joint comment, both front half shafts have been replaced.
Dave1123, the play i felt in the steering box was upon removing the joint from the pitman arm, grasping the pitman arm, and pushing it up wards and pulling down, when doing this it has a slight amount of play, the nut for the pitman arm is tight and torqued to specs.
I do have a new steering box coming in and will update you guys as to how that effects the issue.
Also, maxxtreme, they did not give me a sheet on the alignment specs, i requested one and it is being mailed to me, I will check that when it arrives and see if they possibly made a mistake with it.

dano626

You know.. I had the same issue. Replaced the whole front end basically. Still did it. Had it aligned. Still did it. BOUGHT NEW TIRES...And had them properly balanced. FIXED!!

97grand4.0

"While going over 25 mph if you hit a bump the front end starts violently shaking, you can barely hold on to the steering wheel, and if you look out the drivers side window you can see the front drivers tire jumping back and forth about 1/3 of the turn radius of the tire."

+25Mph?? That is some serious wobble, the classic wobble isn't until 55+ mph,.. I would be looking out of the box. Have someone turn the wheel with it running and look under good with a flashlight, something must be swinging in the breeze pretty good.

Track bar axle side bolt is notorious for wallowing out, replace with new bolt and nut, Grade 10 ..other threads on that....also the stabilizer axle side bolt too..check ball joints with a pry bar under the tire while lifting the tire a couple inches

Jerramie Garlock

Taking it in to get balanced tomorrow.

Yeah, the over 25 thign is surprising, the second you slow down under 25 it goes away. All of the front end components have been replaced, torqued, and double checked. Save for the steering box and wheel bearings, so if the balancing doesn't resolve the issue I will see about replacing the steering box and checking wheel bearings.. I will keep you all updated.

Jerramie Garlock

One more thing, was checking out the rear wheels and noticed the hub assembly moves about 1/4-1/2 inch in and out when pulling/pushing on it, I imagine this means the hubs are bad? this is on both sides of the rear axle.

maxxtreme

I also walked that way once with an XJ i owned