Why is my jeep cherokee shaking at high speeds?
When I drive at high speeds around 70 and up for about 10 minutes the whole car will shake very hard and I have to slow down to keep it from shaking, which is dangerous when I am on the highway. Why is my car doing this? It is 1995 jeep cherokee country by the way.
6 Responses to “Why is my jeep cherokee shaking at high speeds?”
Comment from lovethesun
Time April 24, 2010 at 11:51 pm
is it more of a rattle shaking, or a swaying from side to side? if its the swaying, its normal. jeeps are narower and higher so the wind will sway the jeep, you just have to adjust your driving for it.
if its rattling, the first thing i would check are the tires and work from there.
Comment from strt_stone
Time April 25, 2010 at 12:07 am
first off its a jeep and not ment for the indey 500 so drive slower and keep her undre 60 and dont tru to beat the speed recored in any thing its a jeep and thay dont go fast
Comment from mark o
Time April 25, 2010 at 12:52 am
If you look under the front end of your vehicle you will notice something attached to the steering linkage that looks like a shock absorber. It is called a steering damper. it is probably leaking oil and is blown to yoo-hoo and back. I am a dealership technician and you would not believe how many of these i change to cure the problem you are having
Comment from Hi, I’m Billy
Time April 25, 2010 at 1:17 am
This is called Death Wobble. I had it with my old Cherokee and I’m having it now with my Wrangler. With my XJ it was a matter of making sure my tire pressure was equal, then I eventually needed new tires after it started again. I’m pretty sure the problem is the old tires with my TJ.
There are many things that can cause this. JP Magazine did a piece on this and is probably there on their website. Tires out of balance, bent axle, axle bearings, mismatched tires, steering linkage, etc. It most likely isn’t your steering dampener since that is not what it is for. A properly set up suspension really doesn’t need one in the first place, and if it does fix the wobble you can bet it will come back then that little shock starts to get weak.
Good hunting.
Comment from LRF
Time April 25, 2010 at 1:27 am
Yup, It’s the dreaded Death Wobble. Any number of worn parts and other things can cause this. Tire problems, U-joints, ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, broken sway bar links, bent axle shafts, steering linkage. Good luck, take it to a professional, and still, good luck to your pocket. Steering damper may be worn out also but that is not usually the cause but a result of the actual problem.
Comment from dick car guy
Time April 24, 2010 at 11:37 pm
take it in and get the tires balanced, and have a tire shop do a front end inspection, if you have oversize tires, it could be a out of balance tire, or there could be some play in the front end, and if its tight, and the balancing does not help, you may have to add a steering stabilizer bar, which is similar to a shock on the front axle.