Suspension woes
 

I have been hearing a few different things while driving around.
First, not everytime but sometime when I hit a bump in the road i get a
nice thud from the front and rear when it hits the bump. Second,
whenever I let off the clutch in firlst i get a nice pop from the rear
end. The same pop can be heard from the front end when i drive off the
low curb from my driveway. Third, the right front has been dipping
alot when i make a left turn. Lastly i have been getting alot of bump
steer, "death wobble" between 40 and 50mph. I have 92K on the stock TJ
and wondering if this is the shocks/steering stableizer going out,
bushings on the control arms, sway bar, the springs, or is my
suspension just shot?

Re: Suspension woes
 

Death Wobble is almost always caused by something being loose, worn out, or
out of balance.

Start out by having someone turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while
you examine every linkage point, ball joint, tie rod, steering stabilizer,
etc for improper or excess movement.

Sometimes it is caused by multiple worn components that, in themselves,
would not cause a problem.

DW is worsened (and perhaps caused) by improperly balanced tires and I have
heard of a case where DW existed in a Jeep (with balanced tires) that went
away when that set was swapped with another Jeep's tires that later came
back when the first set was reinstalled.

Perhaps that first set was balanced but defective in some other way
internally or had a bent rim. Back in the day this would be seen when spin
balancing but modern equipment is governmentally mandated to hide the tire
from view preventing diagnosis.

You may want to experiment by swapping the tires front to back. (not back to
front then criss-cross)

"oasisorbital" <jgcotner@samford.edu> wrote in message
news:1154627370.115662.217560@m79g2000cwm.googlegr oups.com...
>I have been hearing a few different things while driving around.
> First, not everytime but sometime when I hit a bump in the road i get a
> nice thud from the front and rear when it hits the bump. Second,
> whenever I let off the clutch in firlst i get a nice pop from the rear
> end. The same pop can be heard from the front end when i drive off the
> low curb from my driveway. Third, the right front has been dipping
> alot when i make a left turn. Lastly i have been getting alot of bump
> steer, "death wobble" between 40 and 50mph. I have 92K on the stock TJ
> and wondering if this is the shocks/steering stableizer going out,
> bushings on the control arms, sway bar, the springs, or is my
> suspension just shot?
>

Re: Suspension woes
 

Death Wobble is almost always caused by something being loose, worn out, or
out of balance.

Start out by having someone turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while
you examine every linkage point, ball joint, tie rod, steering stabilizer,
etc for improper or excess movement.

Sometimes it is caused by multiple worn components that, in themselves,
would not cause a problem.

DW is worsened (and perhaps caused) by improperly balanced tires and I have
heard of a case where DW existed in a Jeep (with balanced tires) that went
away when that set was swapped with another Jeep's tires that later came
back when the first set was reinstalled.

Perhaps that first set was balanced but defective in some other way
internally or had a bent rim. Back in the day this would be seen when spin
balancing but modern equipment is governmentally mandated to hide the tire
from view preventing diagnosis.

You may want to experiment by swapping the tires front to back. (not back to
front then criss-cross)

"oasisorbital" <jgcotner@samford.edu> wrote in message
news:1154627370.115662.217560@m79g2000cwm.googlegr oups.com...
>I have been hearing a few different things while driving around.
> First, not everytime but sometime when I hit a bump in the road i get a
> nice thud from the front and rear when it hits the bump. Second,
> whenever I let off the clutch in firlst i get a nice pop from the rear
> end. The same pop can be heard from the front end when i drive off the
> low curb from my driveway. Third, the right front has been dipping
> alot when i make a left turn. Lastly i have been getting alot of bump
> steer, "death wobble" between 40 and 50mph. I have 92K on the stock TJ
> and wondering if this is the shocks/steering stableizer going out,
> bushings on the control arms, sway bar, the springs, or is my
> suspension just shot?
>

Re: Suspension woes
 

Death Wobble is almost always caused by something being loose, worn out, or
out of balance.

Start out by having someone turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while
you examine every linkage point, ball joint, tie rod, steering stabilizer,
etc for improper or excess movement.

Sometimes it is caused by multiple worn components that, in themselves,
would not cause a problem.

DW is worsened (and perhaps caused) by improperly balanced tires and I have
heard of a case where DW existed in a Jeep (with balanced tires) that went
away when that set was swapped with another Jeep's tires that later came
back when the first set was reinstalled.

Perhaps that first set was balanced but defective in some other way
internally or had a bent rim. Back in the day this would be seen when spin
balancing but modern equipment is governmentally mandated to hide the tire
from view preventing diagnosis.

You may want to experiment by swapping the tires front to back. (not back to
front then criss-cross)

"oasisorbital" <jgcotner@samford.edu> wrote in message
news:1154627370.115662.217560@m79g2000cwm.googlegr oups.com...
>I have been hearing a few different things while driving around.
> First, not everytime but sometime when I hit a bump in the road i get a
> nice thud from the front and rear when it hits the bump. Second,
> whenever I let off the clutch in firlst i get a nice pop from the rear
> end. The same pop can be heard from the front end when i drive off the
> low curb from my driveway. Third, the right front has been dipping
> alot when i make a left turn. Lastly i have been getting alot of bump
> steer, "death wobble" between 40 and 50mph. I have 92K on the stock TJ
> and wondering if this is the shocks/steering stableizer going out,
> bushings on the control arms, sway bar, the springs, or is my
> suspension just shot?
>

Re: Suspension woes
 

Death Wobble is almost always caused by something being loose, worn out, or
out of balance.

Start out by having someone turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while
you examine every linkage point, ball joint, tie rod, steering stabilizer,
etc for improper or excess movement.

Sometimes it is caused by multiple worn components that, in themselves,
would not cause a problem.

DW is worsened (and perhaps caused) by improperly balanced tires and I have
heard of a case where DW existed in a Jeep (with balanced tires) that went
away when that set was swapped with another Jeep's tires that later came
back when the first set was reinstalled.

Perhaps that first set was balanced but defective in some other way
internally or had a bent rim. Back in the day this would be seen when spin
balancing but modern equipment is governmentally mandated to hide the tire
from view preventing diagnosis.

You may want to experiment by swapping the tires front to back. (not back to
front then criss-cross)

"oasisorbital" <jgcotner@samford.edu> wrote in message
news:1154627370.115662.217560@m79g2000cwm.googlegr oups.com...
>I have been hearing a few different things while driving around.
> First, not everytime but sometime when I hit a bump in the road i get a
> nice thud from the front and rear when it hits the bump. Second,
> whenever I let off the clutch in firlst i get a nice pop from the rear
> end. The same pop can be heard from the front end when i drive off the
> low curb from my driveway. Third, the right front has been dipping
> alot when i make a left turn. Lastly i have been getting alot of bump
> steer, "death wobble" between 40 and 50mph. I have 92K on the stock TJ
> and wondering if this is the shocks/steering stableizer going out,
> bushings on the control arms, sway bar, the springs, or is my
> suspension just shot?
>