[Warlock]

I have a 4" superlift and 35" tires. Everytime I get up around 30 or 40 the steering wheel and the shifter level shakes pretty badly. I know it is not an alignment problem.

 

[BigO]

Sounds like a tire balance problem to me...especially if your shifter is shaking too. Same thing happened on my Ram QC when I put a lift and 35s on it.

 

[Warlock]

had the tires balanced with a road force machine

 

[BigO]

When did you get the lift and tires installed? If recently, you might want to check the track bar bolts to make sure everything is properly torqued.

You could also swap the front wheels with the rear to see if that gets rid of the shaking. That's what I did on my Ram and the steering wheel shaking went away.

 

[WTF_LOL]

sounds like drive shaft vibration. seems there is a very small "sweet spot" for caster adjustment. From what others have said, sounds like you have to adjust for driveline vibration at the expense of light steering. do you know what degree your caster is set at?

advanced search "caster" under PhilD. Somewhere he posted what he settled on for caster and I think it is the same height lift.

 

[mcnaught6]

I have a 4" superlift and 35" tires. Everytime I get up around 30 or 40 the steering wheel and the shifter level shakes pretty badly. I know it is not an alignment problem.

how do you know its not an alignment problem?

 

[igofshn]

how do you know its not an alignment problem?

agreed. I would look at alignment and track bar.

 

[BigO]

If it was alignment, wouldn't it pull to one side rather than shake at a certain speed?

 

[mcnaught6]

If it was alignment, wouldn't it pull to one side rather than shake at a certain speed?

no. it COULD pull, but doesn't have to.

have the wheels re-balanced.

 

[igofshn]

If it was alignment, wouldn't it pull to one side rather than shake at a certain speed?

Not if it was a toe in or out problem.

 

[Warlock]

I have had the wheels balanced twice and it gets better but then the same. I figured it was something with the rear drive shaft as that one looks like it as a severe angle compared to the front. Also I'm about to have the tires rotated so I guess I will just go with another balance and alignment and then move on to the whole caster thing.

 

[mcnaught6]

what angle is your rear pinion, as compared to the rear driveshaft? what kind of driveshaft do you have? do you have a 2-door or 4-door?

usually a vibration from the rear driveshaft will be felt in your seat, and a front driveshaft vibration will be felt in the steering wheel.

do you feel your butt vibrate at the same time that your steering wheel starts to vibrate?

 

[JohnnyD]

From another board:

For those of you who have aftermarket wheels and have a steering wheel shimmy, this may help. A freind of mine mentioned to me today that he has a steering wheel shimmy at 45-50 mph in his JK that he hasn't been able to fix, even after having his wheels/tires balanced 4 times. So, he brings it over and we take a look. After inspecting the front end components, everything checked out so we took off his front wheels. Turns out the tire shop who installed his wheels/tires didn't remove the retaining washers (star washers) on the wheel studs when they installed his aftermarket wheels. I had the same problem on a Silverado I had a few years ago, took me a few trips back for balancing issues before I figured it out. If the back side (mounting surface) of your wheel is flat, and not recessed around the lug hole like the OEM wheels are, the wheel will not seat flush against the rotor when the wheel is mounted causing a slight canter (angle) and give the same symptoms as out of balance wheels. We removed the washers, remounted the wheels, and now it drives like a diferent Jeep. So, if your having balancing/steering issues, take a look behind your aftermarket wheels and see if the washers are installed. Makes a huge difference.
__________________

 

[PhilD]

Could be any number of things. Have you changed anything recently?


1. Loose Bolt - Check the track bar nuts/bolts, followed by the control arms.

2. Pinion/Caster Angle - http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2357

3. Rear Pinion Angle - Easy to fix with adjustable control arms. Measure it as in 2. and see what it is.

4. Lugcentric Rims - If you have after market rims that are lugcentric, you need to make sure that the lug nuts are pretty snug before putting the vehicle on the ground, otherwise the rim may not seat centrally.

 

[Mr. T]

A freind of mine mentioned to me today that he has a steering wheel shimmy at 45-50 mph in his JK that he hasn't been able to fix, even after having his wheels/tires balanced 4 times. So, he brings it over and we take a look. After inspecting the front end components, everything checked out so we took off his front wheels. Turns out the tire shop who installed his wheels/tires didn't remove the retaining washers (star washers) on the wheel studs when they installed his aftermarket wheels.

i am wondering if this is the same issue that i am having. brought it in for balancing twice, and my wheels are good. still get that slight shimmy around that speed. going to pop one of the wheels off on lunch to have a look.

 

[PhilD]

i am wondering if this is the same issue that i am having. brought it in for balancing twice, and my wheels are good. still get that slight shimmy around that speed. going to pop one of the wheels off on lunch to have a look.

Any half decent tire shop should have removed them for you. But it is worth checking. The other thing to check is regarding lugcentric rims as I mentioned above.

When tightening the lug nuts look at the socket compared to the hole in the rim, if it is not dead center then your rim will not be centered. make sure you get them good and snug before putting the wheel back on the ground, otherwise the weight of the vehicle can move it slightly before you torque them up, effectively resulting in an out of round condition.

 

[Mr. T]

Any half decent tire shop should have removed them for you. But it is worth checking. The other thing to check is regarding lugcentric rims as I mentioned above.

When tightening the lug nuts look at the socket compared to the hole in the rim, if it is not dead center then your rim will not be centered. make sure you get them good and snug before putting the wheel back on the ground, otherwise the weight of the vehicle can move it slightly before you torque them up, effectively resulting in an out of round condition.

hmmm... thinking about it, i do have lugcentric wheels. i am willing to bet that this may be the culprit over the washers. the place that did the mounting and balancing is a good place, and i would certainly hope that they know what they are doing. wasn't until i had them rotated that it really came out. not a balance shake, since i had it checked immediately after rotation since it felt odd. i was like .5 oz off on one wheel.

thanks for the advice, something tells me i am going to be retightening and adjusting all of them later on.

 

[Warlock]

Thanks for the info guys. I will have to try all of these as it really is not a big problem. I just hate when i have to drive around town and get the shimmy and the shakes.....

I used to get the death wobble but then got a balance and that totally cured that but i just cant figure this one out at all. Anyone think it has something to do with the driveshafts????

How hard is it to install a rear driveshaft?

 

[Warlock]

Also can feel the vibration in the wheel or should i say shimmy. And its a 2 door.

 

[PhilD]

since i had it checked immediately after rotation since it felt odd. i was like .5 oz off on one wheel.

That was how I first noti9ced it on mine when it happened. I loosened all the lug nuts, and lifted one wheel at a time off the ground and tightened them making sure they were cenetered, snugged them up pretty tight, then torqued them back on the ground and it went away.

Also, check for signs of galling on the lug nuts or in the rim hole sockets, as that is a sign they are not centering correctly.