highway vibration

[JGC2000]

So I see that several people have experienced some similar problems to myself. My story goes as follows. Four months ago, I had both front and rear differentials rebuilt (lost oil in both at the same time?). The 'trusted' Chrysler dealer did the work. Recently, I started to hear noise (hammering) like I did four months ago. So, I take a peak and find oil splatter around the drive shaft seal. After further inspection, there's little to no oil in the diff. I take the Jeep back to the same dealer and they replace the seal and top up my oil, under warranty, and claim that there is no damage to the diff. Fine. As soon as I get my Jeep on the highway that same night, it starts to vibrate like an SOB. I immediately turn around and head back to the dealer. Unfortunately by this point, Service is closed. The next day, they tell me that the only thing they can find wrong is the tires. Apparently they are all messed up and causing vibration. They even went through the process of balancing the tires, and of course this made no difference in the vibration. All to say, it's my word against theirs that my Jeep must have been vibrating when I first brought it in...which it wasn't. I only mentioned the diff problem. What could they have done while changing the seal?

[Bob D.]

Could be the driveshaft...

[dksob81]

Bob, is right they might have misaligned the driveshaft (didn't mark it when they removed it to rebuild the diff) and now you are getting driveshaft vidration.

[xj31]

a bad pinion bearing or loose pinion nut could cause this,especially if the seal keeps leaking,but on the other hand a driveshaft that is out of balance could cause problems too.Make sure your u-joints are good.

[JGC2000]

Thanks for the opinions. The saga unfortunately continues. I left the Jeep at the dealer for three days while I was out of town, figuring that'll give them enough time to get this right. The service manager, this time, calls me to say that they once again put the vehicle on the hoist and found that the tires were wobbly. I'm no expert, but I figure that tires spinning under no load are going to wobble. Anyway, I asked him if they actually took the vehicle out for a test drive. "Nope. So how can you be so sure that the tire vibration is what I'm experiencing?" Geeze, does the customer have to do all the work around here?! He agreed to take the vehicle out and called me back two hours later to say, sorry sir, we now see what is wrong. They took the drive shaft off and took it for a drive, no vibration. What he tells me next is the kicker...they found rust where the drive shaft bolts on, which must have been causing the inbalance and vibration. Guess what? I just picked up my Jeep, and while a slight improvement, it's STILL vibrating at highway speed...and real bad too! I'm sure that the differential has sustained damage after losing oil, yet, they won't believe that to be true. Let's see how they respond to my idea of having another Chrysler dealership find the problem. To be continued!

Originally Posted by xj31

a bad pinion bearing or loose pinion nut could cause this,especially if the seal keeps leaking,but on the other hand a driveshaft that is out of balance could cause problems too.Make sure your u-joints are good.

[fooledbychrysler]

My 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited has a front-end vibration problem.

The problem was evident the first time I drove at highway speed (above 55 MPH).

I drove the vehicle at the dealership but, driving around the block at less

than 40 MPH did not show the problem. The salesman delivered the vehicle to me

with 145 miles on it (it had 29 at the dealer). I called the salesman

the next day and he said he did not notice the vibration. My first reaction at

reaching 60 MPH was to grab the steering wheel tightly and reduce speed because

the vibration was so violent. There was sufficient vibration to cause images in

the rearview mirror to be blurred out. I felt the vibration in my feet and through

the seat and could even hear a roar. I believe the problem existed when the vehicle

left the factory and they knew it. Also, the salesman must have known about it but

delivered it anyway. In the six months since I bought the vehicle, it has been in

the shop five times for a total of eight full days. I would have taken it in more

but they said they had tried everything that Chrysler Engineering would permit

and I would have to wait for a fix. They said they had no time frame estimate

for a fix.

Chrysler's position is that they are working on it and will fix the problem.

I was told to be patient but they couldn't tell me how long I should be patient.

Apparently six months is not patient enough. When asked about the possibility

of an exchange or a buy-back, Chrysler representatives said they would not

consider it except through the Lemon Law process. What kind of Customer Service

is that?

Some people reading this may already know about Chrysler's version of customer

service, but I was surprised to learn about it. For those that didn't know, I hope

this helps them avoid the situation, maybe by not taking a chance on Chrysler.

[dksob81]

How bad is the vibration? Does it feel like the front end is going to fall apart, in which we refer to as 'DEATH WOBBLE'. DW is known to jeeps, well mainly ZJ's, I have not seen too many complaints on WJ, and certainly not on WK's, because they have IFS (independant Front Suspension).

[ns driver]

sounds to me like you may now have a damaged universal joint. they may have jamed it up when they put it together with rust in the yoke. have them check the cups for broken needle bearings. If you are still loosing rearend grease make sure the breather on the housing is clear and free. the oil needs expansion room and with the breather plugged it will blow out the seal.