harmonic vibration after hitting bumps

[RBrandon]

I have a '98 grand cherokee with 250+ k miles on it. I know I need to replace all of my bearings, ball joints, etc... but I am having to budget my repairs and there is a safty issue I feel I should fix first: When I hit a rough patch of road, especially if it only catches 1 wheel, then the front end will start to vibrate until I let up or nudge the brakes a little. Twice it has got to the point where it felt like the wheels were about to (as they say in aviation) depart from the pattern. I have been told that there are several culprits but I need to know which ones to hit first. I moved from Texas to Alabama and my commute to work is all back country roads now and they are very rough in spots. Because if this I have noticed over the past few weeks that there is always some degree of vibration. (tires are good) I am mechanically inclined, but between moving out of state and starting a new job, houshold, etc. I am just now catching up on vehicle maintenance. I would appreciate help with the steering issue, however since I have limited experience there. Thank you.

[legalfee]

This is what's called the 'Death Wobble' and is a very common problem with Grand Cherokees. You can do an archive search on death wobble and find a lot of posts about it. Some guys have replaced almost every front end part trying to fix it but most say an aftermarket heavy duty steering stabilizer will fix (or mask according to who you ask) the problem. Good luck. SJ

[dksob81]

legalfee is right, unforatuantely there is never 1 specific cause of DEATH WOBBLE, there have been so many different causes in the past and one of the for sure way to get rid of it, like legalfee said, getting a HEAVY DUTY steering stabilizer (Old Man Emu brand has the best) alot of people say using a HD Stabilizer just mask the real problem, but after dealing with death wobble for a few months and replacing damn near ever part on the front end of my ZJ, the OLD MAN EMU HD Stabilizer was the final fix, it's been about 7 months or so since I replaced my stabilizer and I have not had any hint of DW since.

To start in your search for the fix of your DW problem, I would start with a front end alignment and have the tires balanced.

[RBrandon]

Thanks. I had briefly read a archived post on the 'death wobble' and figured this was going to be my problem. I was pricing tie rod ends tonight, but realistically, everything probably should be replaced. Its good to know about the stabilizer needing to be heavy duty though. I would have missed that as I am trying to stay on budget. Thanks again for the suggestions. I've managed to keep my engine running good for litterally over 250,000 miles and I would hate to ruin my run by wobbling smack into an evergreen. Of course with my luck these storms roaring through the south will park a tree on it tonight. We will call it plan B for ridding the jeep of the death wobble. Point of order: why is it called the death wobble? I think I know, but I want to hear it from others.