2008 Jeep Cherokee Vibrations at highway speed

TZEHRBACH

MEMBER
2008 JEEP CHEROKEE
V8
AWD
AUTOMATIC
23,000 MILES

Jeep Grand Cherokee w/ 4" lift. Jeep was perfect for 18K miles, then front end developed gear whine. Dealership replaced entire front axle (3 times, but that's another subject). Since front axle replacement I have vibrations in steering wheel starting at 40mph, getting slightly (but not dramatically) worse by 60 mph.

Have rotated and balanced tires, replaced front driveshaft. Dealership said it was NOT necessary to get an alignment after a front axle replacement, so that has not been performed.

Dealership had problems getting warranty work approved by Chrysler due to lift, so am hesitant to take Jeep back to dealership to have them diagnose and fix the problem.

1 Reply

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

With a four inch lift, all the angles of the drive shafts are changed, and so would alignment angles. You cant even use the same (factory) alignment specs. If the problems started after a change of front axles, then that's where the problem is. Possibly a steering damper, ball joints, or shoks. Are you also running oversized wheels and tires? These will wear all front end parts significantly faster than the stock setup.