2005 Jeep Liberty Sport vibration

[john43028]

Hi, just got back from the jeep dealer they installed the tow hitch
for the N46 recall! Happy about that.

Our regular mechanic is out of commission for a while, need
some advice. Did not want to ask the dealership or as
someone mentioned stealership.
I feel a vibration in the steering wheel when i let off the gas at about 50
mph. I do not notice any vibration letting of the gas at lower
speeds nor do i notice any vibration at any speed while
accelerating. I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on this?
(We have owned the 05 liberty a little over a week now)
Appreciate all your help and you offers to help me spent
$$$$ on my jeep! cheers, JB

 

[jharrisliberty]

Check the boot on your front drive shaft at the transfer case. If the rubber is torn it will be coming from that. The other option I can think of is the steering rack bushing could be going out causing the vibration. It would be the bolt on the driver side and you would see rubber sticking out from the bolt head.

 

[dude1116]

I would place money on one or both of your rear driveshaft U-Joints actually. Mine did the same thing when one of my joints was seized. Best way to check is to remove the shaft and see if you can move the flanges freely. They should move nice and smoothly with no resistance and there should be no play on the caps.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Seems U joint ish to me since it has to do with acceleration. When mine went bad, I got a really noticeable creaking sound driving at low speeds, specifically reverse.

 

[tommudd]

If still stock rear u-joints they will basically just rust up. run down 36 for 8-10 miles then get under and feel the u-joints if bad ( rusted tight) they will be really hot. Then also check to see if they feel loose.
Intermediate shaft can also at times give you vibrations , most times talking off but one I had here working on did it slowing down.
But whats been mentioned start there
but rereading since its in the steering wheel only........

 

[john43028]

THANKS, I'll check it out. If it turns out to be the U joints what would
be a reasonable amount to pay for repairs? I rarely use a dealer but would
you suggest one? My mechanics shop burnt to the ground so he is out of
commission for a while. I'll ask around locally to see who else does good work.JB

I'll do some checking myself re the above suggestions first. Thanks for
the tips

 

[HoosierJeeper]

The steering wheel thing is weird. U joints usually shake the whole thing.

Try moving the front tires to the rear and bring the rear ones up. Could be an out of balance tire, and actually now that I think about it, I did chase a slight steering wheel shake up front that sounded and behaved like unbalanced tires that turned out to be a bad intermediate shaft.

 

[john43028]

Great idea re tire rotation. We are going to take it to our tire guy next week.
I'll let everyone know the outcome.

 

[Apex]

Sounds like a CV or U joint to me as well. You could always remove the front propeller shaft, if the vibration is gone then it's one of those two CVs. (just don't use 4WD with the prop shaft removed). This shaft is constantly turning so you can shift on the fly to 4WD.

But if you're not hearing any mechanical noises like "sleigh bell" sounds or metal on metal, and since the vibration happens upon deceleration, I'd focus more on your main driveshafts U-joints. Sounds like centrifugal force may be keeping that driveshaft stable and as soon as you cut the power it immediately has play in it.

No lift in it I'm assuming, how many miles are on the '05?

 

[john43028]

Thanks Apex. The 05 has 130k miles, no lift. We are going to have the
tires rotated next week. I really respect the owner of the tire shop he
is a real straight shooter. I'll print out this thread and bring it with me.
I appreciate everyone who replied. I'll let you know the resolution to
this problem.It'll be next week sometime. JB

 

[tommudd]

The boot on the rear CV on the front driveshaft is usually good for about 75-80,000 miles here in Ohio . Other areas are more than likely the same or about that so thats a real possibility with the miles on yours. I had to do the one on the 03 when I got it with 78,000 miles, spent its life in Wellston, Oh. The 05 I replaced at 83,000 miles and it spent its whole life till we got it in Newcomerstown ( Ohio )
I remember a M&G we had years ago and started checking those, 13 KJs there that day, most were in the 75-100,000 mile range then and 7 had bad rear boots and CVs were dry or getting that way.

 

[john43028]

Thanks for the heads up Tom. I have never had the steering wheel shake
alone, usually the whole car vibrates. We had what we thought was the
death wobble on our 99 XJ, turned out to be a tire issue only. A set
of 4 new tires solved it
Ohio is ******* our cars for sure.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Can you find a spot with walls/buildings on both sides and drive around that with the windows down to listen? When my CV boot went bad on the driveshaft, it sounded like rubbing the rim of a glass and the walls amplified it.

 

[Apex]

Awesome, good luck. Depending on how the previous owner/s treated it, may be up for some TLC.