1999 Cherokee Sport Steering Trouble

[r82148v]

My 1999 Cherokee Sport has a funny steering problem and I can't figure it out.
When I go over a bump or pothole at highway speeds, the steering wheel will turn left and right. It depends how hard I hit a bump and what angle. It seems to only happen more when the passenger tire hits something . While going highway speeds ( over 40 mph ) the jeep feels like it's driving on ice. It floats as if the steering is very loose.. Also when I'm pulling left into a parking space I get a quick pop in the floor under my feet.

One more thing.. Driving in a straight line on a smooth surface going highway speed is ok. Once I begin to change lanes and or turn to avoid a bump / pot hole ( for you New Jersey ) the steering wheel will begin to shake..

Could this be from a bad pitman arm and or a bad/loose pitman tierod?
Would a Loose track bar be it.. ?
I had changed the track bar, shocks(KYB) , Steering dampener and had an alignment..

Please can someone shine some light on this? LOL AHHHHHH !

[fredjacksonsan]

How about balancing your tires? You didn't say how many miles are on them. My wife's Wrangler had the same thing happen, cured when we balanced, then replaced the old tires.

[r82148v]

The tires havent been balanced in a while and the tires are sort of worn on the outside edges because of this trouble. I doesnt feel like the tires would be doing this stuff. The Alignment feels as if it constantly changes.

[fredjacksonsan]

Sounds a lot like our Wrangler. The alignment was off also, so we had it aligned and got new tires - the problem is gone.

-edit- You might be able to get away with a tire balancing and rotation, if yours aren't so bad, but definitely also have the alignment checked. The wear - only on the outside edge - might indicate a toe-in condition which might make it handle oddly.

[Saudade]

I agree with Fred. Your tire wear indicates a problem with your alignment. If the wear is excessive you'll need to replace them as well. What kind of tires do you have on it now?

[longfellow]

sounds like you have a unsafe condition happening. If you hear a popping under your feet as u mentioned, something is worn bad in your steering rack support system, tyrod,ballbearing ect.Wheel Bearing going bad on one wheel.

Your tire wear missalignment is being caused I,m assumeing by parts wear
in steering rack or wheel bearing. The popping you hear is what evers wearing out is popping back in. Had same problem and it depended on which way I was turning vehicle when it happened. Turned out to be bad bearings.

Also could be what you already suggested. I would be concerned about this for your own safety.

[r82148v]

Bad Wheel Bearings? The floating steering at highway speeds and pop in the floor by only turning left into a stall could be the cause? I tried testing for bad tierod & balljoints but all seemed tight with no play. From a parked position, if I turn the steering back and forth, quickly, I do get kind of a small knock sound. Would this be cause by a bad pitman arm and or pitman tierod end? Driving on the Highway does feel like I'll loose control if I hit a bump the right way ..

Thank you all for helping me out on this matter !! Seriously

[fredjacksonsan]

Have someone look under the vehicle while you're duplicating the clunking noise. There could be several causes, but sometimes a pair of eyes is the best diagnostic tool.