is shimmy damper Canadian for stabilizer?

[tjEmily]

i'm looking for a second opinion. . . the other night driving home my steering wheel all of a sudden started shimmying like a mother. thought i had a flat so i coasted to the side of the road. no flat, and no steering components or dead animals in the road either. i headed home, took it easy. on the highway, i resolved to only drive 50 mph. a few minutes after going into 5th, at 50 mph it did it again. the steering wheel started to go side to side real slow at first, just like i was hitting a bump, but got faster and harder. it would not do it again for my mechanic, but he thinks the stabilizer is bad. i know you can drive without a stabilizer, but when that wheel was shaking it was barely steerable. also, i did not hit any bumps or potholes when the jeep did it. am i just a sissy or could there be something more serious going on?

 

[jeepgod]

check the front end for wear. ball joints, tie rods etc.
check tire balance, when "shimmy" is fellt at a specific sped that is usually the cause. maybe you threw a balance weight
look for ice / snow clumps on rims would also cause this
Check tires for clumps then worn parts and tire balance

 

[Rubi04TJ]

What about bump steer? that is what it sounds like to me

 

[xjmark]

is shimmy damper Canadian for stabilizer?

:lol: :lol:

Everyone pretty much covered the things to check. Pay close attention to the steering joints.

 

[skyjackerXJ]

is shimmy damper Canadien for stabilizer?

Je pense, eh?

 

[CrzyFrlssJeep]

Most likely culprit is "worn track bar"

This can only be checked with the front tires on the ground by turning the steering wheel back and forth very quickly while someone looks at the mounting points for looseness.

FWIW...Steering stabilzers only mask problems, it's best to fix whatever is wrong first then reinstall it.

 

[NomadJeep]

Most likely culprit is "worn track bar"

What I was thinking...


let us know if you need someone to look at it for you Emily

 

[Josh]

I 6th the "loose track bar". That was EXACTLY what mine did when the axle end track bar bolt loosened up after a trail run.

 

[KLank]

Another thing it could be is the alignment. I had the same issue and after checking all the above mentioned items it ended up being the alignment.