grabs when turning

lekraus · 02-01-2002, 09:22 PM

only after the car has been driven for more than 10 miles, if i make a sharp (full) turn in either direction the front wheels seem to "grab" and the car chugs forward until i move the wheels back toward straight. then the problem goes away. any thoughts? thanks

dave74 · 04-14-2002, 03:14 PM

I have the exact same problem to the tee!!!!!! Same exact car year and model!! Have you ever figured out how to fix it, or at least why it is doing it??????? If anyone knows please email me at sean_close@hotmail.com Thanks a million

YJHeD · 11-08-2002, 05:25 PM

I am guessing that both of you have the Quadra-Trac system on your Grand Cherokees. That means that 4WD is engaged all the time. On dry pavement and when turning, the wheels tend to "fight" each other giving you the sensation that they are grabbing or jerking. I have a Grand Cherokee and I almost always feel it when making a U-turn. It's probably normal but if it seems extreme to you you might want to make sure the transfer case and differential are in good repair.

JPHILLIPPE · 12-27-2002, 10:01 AM

Some Transfer Cases and diffs require use of Friction Modifier Check With your Dealer. That can Couse this problem to be worse...

Mainomega · 04-10-2003, 08:32 PM

Hmmm, Im getting almost the same thing but my tires get chewed up after about 4 months. The outside part of the thread wears out while the inside doesn't.

hmm...

Jafo001 · 10-27-2003, 10:13 AM

In researching for a friend with a similar problem, it appears that there is a viscous coupler in the transfer case of the full time 4x4 models (his is a 1994). The symptoms are wheels fighting when you try to pull into a parking space, gear wind up while driving (hearing/feeling vibration build). It gets progressively worse. I've read that this part is around $500 - $800. Jeep quoted $2400 for a rebuilt transfer case (ouch!). Might be worth checking into the coupler.

Mainomega · 10-27-2003, 12:10 PM

You know, I've read a lot of posts and have gotten a lot of suggestions about the VC. I am to busy to take it to the dealership to figure out if thats really causing it but i know it's going to be expensive.

elkepelka · 11-19-2003, 01:48 AM

I don't know if our problem is exactly the same, but we have something similar on our 95 GC... It is significantly more noticable on the driver's side and feels like a flat tire. We've had alignment checked, tires checked, new boots installed, brakes are brand new. It happens only when we are making a sharp turn (like to make a U-turn or to turn into a parking spot) and only after the car has been driven for a while. Very hard to reproduce at auto shop unless the car has been driven around for quite a while. It is also noisy, as I get looks from people when this happens. Front passenger, however, does not feel it like I do. Hearing that it could be something running like $500-800 is not making me happy

nighthawk75 · 12-04-2003, 09:23 AM

I had a the same problem with my Laredo last year. It was grabbing really hard jerking when I tried to pull into parking spaces sharply.

I took it to the mechanic and he could not recreate it to the extent that it was and told me that a little grabbing is normal on the all wheel drive models because the front and back turn differently and cause the jerking feeling.

He suggested that I change the differential fluid and see if that helped. Since I had that done I have noticed a great improvement. It still grabs a little but seems more normal now. It is quiet now and doesn't make the grinding sound it had been before. This was great news for me as the other possibilities were way more expensive to fix.

Fechiko · 07-31-2006, 11:20 PM

first off check and make sure that the tire sizes are the same, or even air pressure. the awd systems are picky about that kinda stuff.

Maui_Dave · 08-02-2006, 05:30 PM

I have the same problem with the gripping tires during turns. Seems to me that it is the VC. I changed the transfer case fluid with synthetic. That didn't make a bit of difference. I checked out the cost for a VC joint for my 98 Limited 4.9 - a little over $400.

I'm going to do it myself, used to be a helicopter mechanic. At least if I screw up I don't have to look for a crash landing site

.

If you decide to do it yourself this link has excellent pictures and a step by step approach to replacing the VC:
http://www.masoncomputing.com/np249/

Also, I got a lot of info from this post....
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=544516

Just scroll down a little until you get to the VC part.

Good Luck
Dave

dksob81 · 08-03-2006, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lekraus

only after the car has been driven for more than 10 miles, if i make a sharp (full) turn in either direction the front wheels seem to "grab" and the car chugs forward until i move the wheels back toward straight. then the problem goes away. any thoughts? thanks

You deffinately have a bad VC.
Sometimes switching to a sythetic fluid in the Transfer Case helps. Sythetic fluids help disipate heat batter the conventional fluids. But as you see from MAUI DAVE it doesn't always help.

esfd455 · 08-03-2006, 03:26 PM

OK I had the same problem with my 1994 JGC Laredo. When turning into parking spots and sharp turns at slow speeds my tires felt like they were going to tear off. I read all the posts on the VC joint in the transfer case and waas about to do the repair when I was told to check the CV Joints on my front end for torn boots. I found the right side boot torn and very dry. I replaced the whole right side axle and my problem went away. I can not pull into spots and turn sharp at slow speeds with no prblems at all. So before you have your $800 repair to your transfer case check your axles in the front for broken boots around your CV Joints. The repair only cost me $100.00 for the new axle and I did it myself for no maint cost. It was very easy to do. For what it is worth that was my two cents worth of info...........

FF/EMT Gary
New York

Maui_Dave · 08-03-2006, 10:29 PM

I just replaced the front left suspension arm bushings and I did check the left boot, but I didn't look at the right side. I will take a look tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up.

By the way where did you get the axle for $100 ?

95Orvis · 08-22-2006, 03:02 PM

Hey guys,

I have a 95 JGC Orvis which had the same issues years ago. 1st time around I took it to the stealer....I mean dealer and after it was in pieces they told me it was going to cost $2k+ to rebuild or give it back in pieces. Gee, not much choice huh? So I had them rebuild it. Stupid me, problem came back 2yrs later. The design of the VC on the QuadraTrac has been notorious for this problem. Round 2 had me hook up with George at TCU (TRANSFER CASES UNLIMITED LONG ISLAND NY ). It cost $1k (including shipping both ways - return old one) for a rebuilt TransferCase ready to install by any ole mechanic or yourself.

Check him out before doing anything if you might be going that road.

Good luck,
Carlos

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