We installed a 3" suspension lift consisting of new 3" rear leaf springs and new 3" lift front coil springs, the lift came with new shocks too. His jeep is an 89 Cherokee Pioneer with almost 200K miles but still running like a champ. This was the 4th xj I have lifted so I have the process down good. The total lift time was 3 hours 45 minutes which was the fastest I have done one yet. I couldn't believe it... He never sprayed any of the bolts down yet we did not break off a single one, including the shock bolts which almost always break. He got real lucky!!! We removed the rear sway bar and installed new front sway bar ends and a new track-bar too. It is riding much better and even corrected the horrible death wobble he had before the lift. Well he is pretty darn happy with the results and can't wait to get his new tires on tomorrow. Hopefully next weekend we will have it on the trails testing out our handy work.

My 99 has the wobble also. It's real noticable at around 50-60 mph. I've heard it is normal in the Cherokee. I've had it to two dealerships and can not find the problem. I've replace the wheel bearings, rotors, steering stabilizer bar, ball joints, u-joints, drive shaft and four brand new tires. Along with having the wheels balanced with two different sets of new tires mounted and put on for a test drive. They even exchanged axles with another Jeep. What's up with the certified Jeep mechanics not being able to determine what it is or Chrysler for that matter. I only have 155k miles on it. Maybe I need a lift also, what's the cost?

The track bar is typically the problem when you have death wobble. 90% of the time that is the problem and the other 10% of the time it is the steering stabilizer. I am surprised the stealership did not know this. The track-bar is famous for this problem and the Cherokees are notorious for the death wobble. Sometimes you can just tighten the track bar and it will fix it but usually you have to replace it.
I know these Cherokees inside and out so if you need any help let me know.
Here is a website that you can find about anything you want to know about the Cherokees and the problems they have.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/index.php

Thanks for the info. I'll make the recommendation to have another mechanic to replace it. The last dealership (well known) I had it to kept it for a week (their expense) and tried to figure it out, but failed.

It is only a $60 part and takes about a half hour to replace.

harley...Ok, now I had the Trac Bar replaced by a Jeep dealership and guess what, I still have the freaking wobble, no change. It's not extreme but I can feel it and I wanted it fixed. The only parts I've not replaced that I believe could possibly be the problem are the shocks, I replaced them about a year ago. Maybe I should just accept that it's not going to handle like new even if all the parts have been replaced. I just find it hard to believe my Jeep is the only one these mechanics can't get the problem corrected and have no idea what is the cause.

Man that is a tough one. I can't see the shocks causing that problem at all. Do you have another set of wheels and tires that you can throw on there and see if the problem is still there? Usually wobbles at 50-60mph are related to either the wheels or tires.

Dealership did put on different wheels and tires from another Jeep, same, same. I even had the tire store replace all four tires with a differnt brand (second set of brand new tires).

I'm stumped then because you have already replaced EVERYTHING that I could possibly think would cause this problem. My next step would be to sit the entire jeep up on jack stands, lock it into 4x4 and put it into drive and watch to see if you can see anything that does not look right.
When you replaced the steering stabilizer did you replace the ends that the stabilizer mounts to or just the stabilizer itself?
I would sit it up on the jack stands and check for loose stuff ans well as putting it into gear and looking for anything that could be bent before I invested another cent into it.

Is your jeep lifted at all? Are the bolts holding your transfer case tightly secured? The bolts that hold your transfer case are just about under the drivers door along the uni-body rail.
Another thing could be that you have a bent shaft off of your transfer case.
Get it on jack stands!!!

It's not lifted ever been off road or wrecked. I didn't do any of the work myself, it's always been do by the certified mechanics. I'm ready to put it on jacks along with a brick on the throttle then giving it a good push towards a cliff. I wonder if I can submit a claim to my insurance company and tell them it just got away from me. It's drivable, just aggravating that I have to put up with this annoyance and that these knuckleheads can't determine what's causing it.

And the only thing that's going to cost me in the future for this vehicle is insurance, gas and oil. And when the wheels finally fall off I'll call the wrecker service and tell them to take it straight to the junkyard.

Call me first!!! I can always use another jeep.

Harley, did your buddy ever get bigger tires yet? Since I live in Lawrence County, you'll probably see mine driving around one of these days.



1996 Jeep Cherokee Sport
4.0L H.O. engine
AW4 automatic transmission
AMC (Dana) 30 front differential
Chrysler 8.25" rear differential
NP231 transfer case
Advanced Adapters HD slip yoke eliminator
Tom Wood custom double cardan driveshaft
Rubicon Express 3.5" Super-Flex lift kit (netted 5")
Rubicon Express .75" coil spacers
Old Man Emu nitrogen-charged shocks
Rubicon Express adjustable track bar
Torq Flo 10,000# transmission cooler
31-tooth factory speedometer gear
32X11.50X15 BF Goodrich Radial T/A KO tires
Cragar 15X8 Soft 8 wheels with 4" backspacing

I'm going to add 4.56 gears and selectable lockers one of these days.

Hey M4,

Yeah he got some tires finally.
That is a tough looking XJ you have there. Did you do the lift yourself?Man I love cherokees they are my favorite SUV and will go just about anywhere. My first Cherokee was a 96 and had the D35 in the rear. I only lifted it 2" and ran 30's on it. It was a nice XJ and I wish I had it back. Later I got a 98 xj and a lifted it 3.5" which I thought looked great and was very nice on the trails. I sold it to my best friend. Now I have the 98 TJ and i just lifted it 2" and put 31" KO's on it. I love the TJ but I do miss the space that I had in the XJ and being able to easily fit two deer in the back of the it Being able to remove the top on the TJ is pretty darn nice though and helps make of for the lack of space.
I'm getting ready to buy 94 XJ two-door which is my favorite body style. It has a rod knocking so I'm practically stealing it. Since it won't be a daily driver I have BIG lift plans for it as my weekend hunting/fishing machine. I plan to camouflage it, run 33's with black soft 8's and a full rack on top. It should be pretty sweet when I'm finished.


1996 XJ



1998 XJ

Thanks. It's my daily driver, so I can't treat it too rough until I have something else to drive.

I had the lift installed by Checkered Racing in Bedford back in early February. They quoted me $200 labor, and I figured for that price, they could have all they wanted of it. They had a nice big work area and the right tools for the job. Even after soaking all bolts with PB Blaster for a week ahead of time, they still broke the majority of them off. I'd say that they had at least 12 hours in it.

A friend and I installed the slip yoke eliminator, driveshaft, and axle shims ourselves a week later. It rides great, with no vibration or wobble, and tracks perfectly down the highway.

I'd say from looking at the pictures, you are definitely are an XJ fan.

Yeah that is a pretty good price for having the lift installed. It usually takes me a around 2-4 hours to lift one as long as all goes well. The shock bolts are notorious for breaking and if they do it can add some time to the install.
The slip yoke really helps eliminate the vibes and is a must have past about 3" lift. The adjustable trac bar is also a nice thing to have to get your wheels back in line.