Jeep Vibration

socaljeeper

Adventurer
I have a 98 Jeep TJ with a 5 speed manual. When I get to about 30mph I experiencing a heavy vibration and then it mellows out at about 45mph. When I take it out of gear when I’m in that range it stops. I am thinking something is wrong with my trans. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to check before I take it into the shop? Thanks for the help.
 

Jeffb79

Observer
There's a number of things it could be.....
1st thing I would think of is your tires are out of balance.

Is the jeep lifted at all? Have you done anything recently to the suspension or drive train? Does it feel unstable when you hit bumps or make long slight turns?
 

socaljeeper

Adventurer
I dont think it is the tires because it stops vibrating as soon as I take it out of gear. I have not done any modifications to the suspension, It has a 4" lift from when i bought it. It does not feel unstable when driving.
 

2500Adventures

Adventurer
Check all your bushings and the like for tears or excessive wear and then make sure everything associated with the lift that is already on the rig is at its proper torque value and not loose causing a vibration in your system. Maybe it could be a little driveshaft wobble that you wouldn't have noticed without the lift but maybe due to the lift the driveshaft is at a sharper angle than normal and thus the vibration is felt more in the system? Just a couple of thoughts....
 

luk4mud

Explorer
All the above advice is good. Assuming you isolate the vibe to the driveshaft, is there a transfer case drop kit installed? If so, it probably means that there is no SYE/ CV driveshaft installed and you now need one. It is about a $500 fix, but you do need to do it. ANY driveline vibrations are not a good thing long term and will cause something to wear out prematurely.

If you already have a SYE/CV installed then another possibility is the u-joints in the drive line. If they have not been replaced in you 98, it's time. You risk a breakdown, so carry a spare.
 

UK4X4

Expedition Leader
Universal joint in rear drive shaft........under load it vibes when not under load it does not.

If you've never changed them do so anyway, they're only 15$ a piece

The centering ball is bit more of a pita to change, but still possible with a bench and standard hand tools.

Check your transfer case rubber mounts too

I had a 98TJ with a 4 " lift and never required a sye some trucks are vibe free and some not
 

maximumrob

Adventurer
Take it to a shop with a lift and have them put a micrometer on everything that turns. This includes the output shaft on the transfer case! Some guys are finding an output shaft that's out of spec as it came from Chrysler. Over on ROF, some guys are trying to put together a class-action lawsuit, but I doubt it will happen.
 

goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
There are numerous things that will cause a vibration in a lifted TJ...but since your vibration goes away when you take it out of gear, I suspect the problem won't be any of the usual suspects.

A few things that will help you narrow it down:

Is the vibration worse under heavy load or light load?

Does the vibration occur every time you go through the speed range, regardless of you accelerating or decelerating?

Does it happen in every gear?

When coasting down a steep hill with jeep in neutral (or clutch pedal pushed in), does it start to vibrate as you increase speed through that range?

When coasting to a stop (again in neutral), does the vibration occur as you decelerate through that speed range?

Are there any other noises associated with the vibration?
 

IslandRidge

IslandCruiser23
Universal joint in rear drive shaft........under load it vibes when not under load it does not.

If you've never changed them do so anyway, they're only 15$ a piece

The centering ball is bit more of a pita to change, but still possible with a bench and standard hand tools.

Check your transfer case rubber mounts too

I had a 98TJ with a 4 " lift and never required a sye some trucks are vibe free and some not

I agree with this... had the exact same symptoms on my sons XJ.. pulled the rear driveshaft only to find that rear u-joint had disintegrated the needle bearing in one of the cups.. replaced the u-joint and no vibration.. his jeep had seen a lot of water.
 

socaljeeper

Adventurer
Thanks for all the feedback. I was checking my driveline line last night in my driveway with a flashlight and everything visually looked ok. I decided to take another look in the day time and noticed I was a missing bolt from my rear u-joint. Im glad it was not anything serious. Thanks again for all the responses.
 

Stouttrout

Adventurer
Did replacing the bolt fix your problem? If not start with the basics, What trans do you have? Auto ot STD? A bad Torque convertor can cause this. Also, start with the simple thing and move up. Check you Trans mount, on the TJ they have a habit of tearing. Move through your Dshaft and if the Joints have never been done, chances are they need to be. So do those. It doe not sound like you are having Death Wobble. But run through your Tie rods ends anyway and have someone steer back and forth in the Jeep while you watch your front end. Look for play in the Track Bar and Tie Rod Ends.

U-joints failing can cause quite a bit of damage, you have them on the front, rear, and in the front axle. If your Jeep is close to or over 100k miles and they have not been done, do them all. One of the Cheapest things you can do to maintain the vehicle and will last another 50k miles or so.

There is also a possibility that you have a bearing out on the rearend. This will cause a vibration when under loads like excellaration. This is way more detailed fix so I would start simple and maintance the stuff good till get to the problem. I find that most of the Jeeps driveline problems that I work on or due to abuse and maintance.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
189,926
Messages
2,922,281
Members
233,083
Latest member
Off Road Vagabond
Top