Wheel Shake at Hwy Speeds

[Tiger2k]

I am having problems with wheel shake and wobble at highway speeds. I have had the wheels and tires balanced like 4 differnet times using both methods. Both lug centric and hub centric balancing. At street speeds there is no problem at all. No shake or wobble feeling in the steering wheel. However, as I approach 60 it is quite noticeable and anything above that speed is ridiculous. I have checked the ball joints, A arms, linkages, the whole bit. With nothing noticably loose or otherwise. Is anyone else having any issues like this? Or have any possible solution angles I haven't thought of? Check my sig for vehicle info... Thanks in advance.....

 

[ender00]

tire wobble

are your tires uni-directional?

 

[Tiger2k]

Wheel Shake

Nope. They are Nitto 404 Extreme Force one directional. I've rotated, balanced the whole bit. Maybe I need to have the tires broken down off the rims and rotated, then reinflated and balanced? I don't know...

 

[Marty]

Separated tread? I had that happen to some Michelins on our Honda a couple of years ago. Nothing was visible externally but man, was it noticeable at speed.

 

[RIPGTP1997]

If it's only at highway speeds, check allignment. That's what was wrong with me. After the allignment, it went away and was smooth as silk.

 

[Tiger2k]

Shake

Sweet !! I haven't tried that angle (alignment) yet. Worth a shot.. My Libby does pull just slightly to the right. Even after I adjust air pressure to try and offset it... Thanks for the tips !!

 

[desertkj]

Getting alignment checked fixed mine when it started to shake at about 80. I thought maybe they were onto something with the 88 mph in the Delorean, but no such luck.

 

[GoldBug]

I once remember having an odd shake in the yellow TJ when i borrowed it from my father (before it was gifted to me) and it would shake from like 50-65mph. My dad said he was told the tires were cupping, if i remember the term correctly, but then Jay was never really good about rotating tires. ](*,) He said there wasn't much to do about it other than replacing the tires.

 

[liberator]

rubber or alignment

besides the alignment, take time to swap out each rear wheel w/ the spare to see if it is that particular wheel/tire given that you said you do not feel vibration on the actual steering wheel indicating the front wheels/alignment. If they are uni-directional, that may be an issue.. ie remount and balance.

It is not unheard of to have faulty tires as Firestone had a recall awhile back.

 

[DannyP]

yea i would go for your alignment like RIPGTP1997 said i had that happen the same thing happen to my cherrokee before sence you went to an 18 inch rim and new set of tires it might throw off wheel camper and allignment off.. ball joints??

 

[fasto82]

this happened to a lot of sport compacts when replacing the wheels. on each wheel one lug nut of the five will have a metal washer on it. break off that washer and that should solve the problem. those washers are put on from the factory for shipping reasons is what ive heard. for some reason they cause vibration with some aftermarket wheels. take a look and see if your jeep has that washer on its whedls too.

 

[VTNomad]

Wheel bearing

I'm having this problem too. My mom had the same problem on her Grand Cherokee and it turned out to be a wheel bearing.

 

[Emoto]

Have your driveshaft U-joints looked at. I had the one in the rear go bad and at first I thought I had a wheel balance problem.

 

[mberthia]

I get a vibration in the steering wheel above 60MPH. I have not looked into it yet. I'll have the wheels/tires checked and balanced first. The tires seem to wear OK so I don't think it's an alignment problem. Could the LBJ issues cause this ? I'll definately wait for after the recall to get an alignment check. Wheels and tires are originals.

 

[JeepJeepster]

My entire jeep shakes right now. Ive had it aligned, but Ive never had the tires balanced. It has 21k on it, so Id say its time for them to be balanced. I can look over at the passenger seat going 75mph and its shaking like crazy...

 

[Tiger2k]

Wheel Shake

The funny thing is, this does not happen when the stock wheels and tires are on the Libby. Or at least not noticeable to this extent. The steering wheel moves back and forth in my hands at least 1 to 2 inches both ways. And it isn't an every inch of the way scenario. By that I mean, I could start out and get up to say 60 with no shake and travel a mile, then it starts. I can reduce speed and have it go away droping 5-10 mph or if I speed up the same amount. It sometime sgoes away or becomes less. Sometimes, it just goes away for a few miles and then back again. This is why it has me preplexed. I have rotated the tires from front to back and had them balanced and rebalanced with each move. Still there no matter what I do. I've checked the LBJ's and front suspension with the weight off the front end. I'm lost. Perhaps an alignment? But it doesn't add up. Maybe there is something in the front end or perhaps it's the tires and wheels themselves... Thanks everyone for the tips and possibilities. If anyone figures this out, please let me know....

Tony :-k

 

[Emoto]

Re: Wheel Shake

The funny thing is, this does not happen when the stock wheels and tires are on the Libby. Or at least not noticeable to this extent. The steering wheel moves back and forth in my hands at least 1 to 2 inches both ways. And it isn't an every inch of the way scenario. By that I mean, I could start out and get up to say 60 with no shake and travel a mile, then it starts. I can reduce speed and have it go away droping 5-10 mph or if I speed up the same amount. It sometime sgoes away or becomes less. Sometimes, it just goes away for a few miles and then back again. This is why it has me preplexed. I have rotated the tires from front to back and had them balanced and rebalanced with each move. Still there no matter what I do. I've checked the LBJ's and front suspension with the weight off the front end. I'm lost. Perhaps an alignment? But it doesn't add up. Maybe there is something in the front end or perhaps it's the tires and wheels themselves... Thanks everyone for the tips and possibilities. If anyone figures this out, please let me know....

Tony :-k

Do you have a friend who will let you put the tires/wheels on their truck? If the problem moves with the wheels/tires, you'll have your answer.