You are describing 'death wobble' although that is normally
reserved for solid axle 4wd. You have some loose part in the
front end: wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link ends, ball
joints, or whatever. Jack up one side, try and to turn the other
wheel left and right with the one side fully loaded. You should
not have much of any play in the steering assembly. If you can
move the wheel more than an 1/8" or so, or hear some clunks,
chase it down. Another source is a faulty alignment or tires out
of balance.

Stop at any good alignment shop and have them inspect and align
things. Be prepared to need some new parts. :<(

Do not delay this is a serious safety issue.

alan wrote:
>
> Vehicle discription of earlier post with bad wheel hop. I have a 98
> Grand Cherokee 2 wheel drive 4.0L engine with 68,000 miles. When right
> side tire hits a small hump or hole in the road the front goes
> completely out of control making it hard to keep it in the road.
> Vehicle has to be slowed down to get control of it. Steering wheel
> shake violently and it feels as if the right wheel is hopping. I've
> replaced the front shocks and checked for something lose or worn out
> with vehicle on lift; everything looks fine. Any ideas?

 

Approximately 8/29/03 06:57, Roy Jenson uttered for posterity:

> You are describing 'death wobble' although that is normally
> reserved for solid axle 4wd.

The Grand Cherokee is a solid axle 4x4 front and back. And
can death wobble. Usually due to the stabilizer, for which
there are several nice aftermarket replacements.

> You have some loose part in the
> front end: wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link ends, ball
> joints, or whatever. Jack up one side, try and to turn the other
> wheel left and right with the one side fully loaded. You should
> not have much of any play in the steering assembly. If you can
> move the wheel more than an 1/8" or so, or hear some clunks,
> chase it down. Another source is a faulty alignment or tires out
> of balance.
>
> Stop at any good alignment shop and have them inspect and align
> things. Be prepared to need some new parts. :<(
>
> Do not delay this is a serious safety issue.
>
> alan wrote:
>>
>> Vehicle discription of earlier post with bad wheel hop. I have a 98
>> Grand Cherokee 2 wheel drive 4.0L engine with 68,000 miles. When right
>> side tire hits a small hump or hole in the road the front goes
>> completely out of control making it hard to keep it in the road.
>> Vehicle has to be slowed down to get control of it. Steering wheel
>> shake violently and it feels as if the right wheel is hopping. I've
>> replaced the front shocks and checked for something lose or worn out
>> with vehicle on lift; everything looks fine. Any ideas?

 

Approximately 8/29/03 06:57, Roy Jenson uttered for posterity:

> You are describing 'death wobble' although that is normally
> reserved for solid axle 4wd.

The Grand Cherokee is a solid axle 4x4 front and back. And
can death wobble. Usually due to the stabilizer, for which
there are several nice aftermarket replacements.

> You have some loose part in the
> front end: wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link ends, ball
> joints, or whatever. Jack up one side, try and to turn the other
> wheel left and right with the one side fully loaded. You should
> not have much of any play in the steering assembly. If you can
> move the wheel more than an 1/8" or so, or hear some clunks,
> chase it down. Another source is a faulty alignment or tires out
> of balance.
>
> Stop at any good alignment shop and have them inspect and align
> things. Be prepared to need some new parts. :<(
>
> Do not delay this is a serious safety issue.
>
> alan wrote:
>>
>> Vehicle discription of earlier post with bad wheel hop. I have a 98
>> Grand Cherokee 2 wheel drive 4.0L engine with 68,000 miles. When right
>> side tire hits a small hump or hole in the road the front goes
>> completely out of control making it hard to keep it in the road.
>> Vehicle has to be slowed down to get control of it. Steering wheel
>> shake violently and it feels as if the right wheel is hopping. I've
>> replaced the front shocks and checked for something lose or worn out
>> with vehicle on lift; everything looks fine. Any ideas?

 

The original poster said 2wd. Never seen a Grand Cherokee with
2wd but there used to be a few regular Cherokees with 2wd.

Lon Stowell wrote:
>
> Approximately 8/29/03 06:57, Roy Jenson uttered for posterity:
>
> > You are describing 'death wobble' although that is normally
> > reserved for solid axle 4wd.
>
> The Grand Cherokee is a solid axle 4x4 front and back. And
> can death wobble. Usually due to the stabilizer, for which
> there are several nice aftermarket replacements.
>
> > You have some loose part in the
> > front end: wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link ends, ball
> > joints, or whatever. Jack up one side, try and to turn the other
> > wheel left and right with the one side fully loaded. You should
> > not have much of any play in the steering assembly. If you can
> > move the wheel more than an 1/8" or so, or hear some clunks,
> > chase it down. Another source is a faulty alignment or tires out
> > of balance.
> >
> > Stop at any good alignment shop and have them inspect and align
> > things. Be prepared to need some new parts. :<(
> >
> > Do not delay this is a serious safety issue.
> >
> > alan wrote:
> >>
> >> Vehicle discription of earlier post with bad wheel hop. I have a 98
> >> Grand Cherokee 2 wheel drive 4.0L engine with 68,000 miles. When right
> >> side tire hits a small hump or hole in the road the front goes
> >> completely out of control making it hard to keep it in the road.
> >> Vehicle has to be slowed down to get control of it. Steering wheel
> >> shake violently and it feels as if the right wheel is hopping. I've
> >> replaced the front shocks and checked for something lose or worn out
> >> with vehicle on lift; everything looks fine. Any ideas?

 

The original poster said 2wd. Never seen a Grand Cherokee with
2wd but there used to be a few regular Cherokees with 2wd.

Lon Stowell wrote:
>
> Approximately 8/29/03 06:57, Roy Jenson uttered for posterity:
>
> > You are describing 'death wobble' although that is normally
> > reserved for solid axle 4wd.
>
> The Grand Cherokee is a solid axle 4x4 front and back. And
> can death wobble. Usually due to the stabilizer, for which
> there are several nice aftermarket replacements.
>
> > You have some loose part in the
> > front end: wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link ends, ball
> > joints, or whatever. Jack up one side, try and to turn the other
> > wheel left and right with the one side fully loaded. You should
> > not have much of any play in the steering assembly. If you can
> > move the wheel more than an 1/8" or so, or hear some clunks,
> > chase it down. Another source is a faulty alignment or tires out
> > of balance.
> >
> > Stop at any good alignment shop and have them inspect and align
> > things. Be prepared to need some new parts. :<(
> >
> > Do not delay this is a serious safety issue.
> >
> > alan wrote:
> >>
> >> Vehicle discription of earlier post with bad wheel hop. I have a 98
> >> Grand Cherokee 2 wheel drive 4.0L engine with 68,000 miles. When right
> >> side tire hits a small hump or hole in the road the front goes
> >> completely out of control making it hard to keep it in the road.
> >> Vehicle has to be slowed down to get control of it. Steering wheel
> >> shake violently and it feels as if the right wheel is hopping. I've
> >> replaced the front shocks and checked for something lose or worn out
> >> with vehicle on lift; everything looks fine. Any ideas?