low speed vibrations

[SteveTheFolkie]

Going to dig into this tomorrow - but recently (last couple of days) when I'm going forward (and only forward) at slow speed, when I turn the wheel it feels like a wheel is about to fall off - so waddya figure - ball joint?  Wheel bearing?  Tie rod end?

Prepping for an "under the jeep" session tomorrow morning - just looking to short-cut the diagnosis if possible

cheers - and thanks -

Steve

[(Tattoo) Jack]

   Steve, come on... how vague can you be? Give us some info to work on... What's the vehicle, what are the actual happenings (i.e., vehicle lunges or tilts, the steering wheel jerks or...?)  Like a good romance novel, we NEED details.

   A TR End would give ya "slop" or play when ya turn the wheel, an axle U-Joint would give ya some clunking or squeaking and sometimes a little feedback through the steering wheel. Did ya first check the wheel Lug Nuts?

   Now I have serious question for you.... if you don't know what's wrong (and you suspect some part of the Steering system) are you still driving it?   .    I hope not!

[SteveTheFolkie]

Vehicle is a '95 XJ running 30" BFG TA AT's, has about 170K on the clock.  At low speeds (parking lot) with the steering wheel at half lock or better (turning tight) I can feel a vibration through the steering wheel.  It feels like the lug nuts are loose (don't ask) but they're not.  I had her up in the air this morning - and everything seems nice and tight - no slop in the tie rod ends, u-joints are fresh (spring 2011), the steering damper seems to have decided it was time for the seals to go, but I'd imagine that would have more impact at higher speed. 
I even checked to make certain that the steering box hadn't decided to unbolt itself - nope.
I'm going to tear into the rear next - as I was typing this I thought back to a VW Jetta I used to own - felt for all the world like there was something wrong with the front suspension, turned out that a rear wheel had welds that were failing - apparently it telegraphed the vibration through the chassis.
Anyhow - thanks for the advice and in the future I'll put a healthier plate full of info out there to chew on.

cheers

Steve

[SteveTheFolkie]

Had the back end up in the air - no slop - looked at the wheels (stock XJ steel), nothing looks odd.  Jacked the front end up again and noticed a bit of slop side to side (yanking on a wheel) on the drivers side - cast a critical eye at the drivers side tie rod end and noticed that the castellated nut had lost it's cotter pin and backed out bit (I discovered this after blasting the crud away from the TRE) - tightened the nut and secured with a new cotter pin - will take her for a test beat to see if that fixes the problem - if it does I'll continue that ride to the mechanic who did the work last spring and have a conversation with him about the importance of cotter pins!

Cheers

Steve

[(Tattoo) Jack]

    If this is the problem, then from time to time you'll need to have someone move the Steering Wheel back and forth while you hold, or place a finger, on the TRE nut to see if you feel any movement. The TRE stud, or shaft, could've (probably DID) wore the tapered hole in the Steering Knuckle. Most likely not necessitating a replacement of the Knuckle, just a need to keep an eye on it becoming sloppy from time to time. "IF" it is worn really bad (where there is a slight movement when it's really tight), there is a "Sleeve" you can buy (it was about $24 shipped the last time I ordered it) that can be installed (and welded) and you'll be good to go.

    Jack

    PS: I wasn't getting in ur case about ur Vagueness, but there is a "nice" middle ground between NEI and TMI... 

[hillbilly]

check youre wheel u joints.

[SteveTheFolkie]

The vibration is, for the most part, gone - I cranked that BJ down good and hard and safety wired the castelated nut in place (it isn't going anywhere!) - also gave the mechanic who did the U-joints earlier this year a good talking to.  I suspect it'll soon be time for ball joints (just the nature of the remaining vibration) - or maybe just get the wheels re-balanced (just rotated the sneakers front to back a couple weeks ago) - for now I'm going to stay on top of it.
Damn - I gotta get my dues and membership form in !!!!

cheers

Steve

[SteveTheFolkie]

"un-rotated" the tires - remaining vibrations are gone - while pulling the fronts I found some "spoogle" (aka "crap") stuck between the wheel and the hub - all vibrations are now gone - something to consider if you run into an odd vibration after mounting new wheels ..... only about 1/8" thick - but enough to keep the wheel from mounting firmly to the hub .....

cheers

steve