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Jeep feels "loose" on highway, wanders and sways...

53K views 64 replies 19 participants last post by  canook2u 
#1 ·
Hey Guys, I have a question concerning my 04 Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0, 165,000 miles. It seems loose while driving, especially on the highway and around turns. Specifically, it feels like the rear end sways a lot and it is kind of hard to keep going straight, it just doesn't feel "tight" or stable to me. I think I have kind of gotten used to it, but my GF drove it today on the highway and said she thought she was going to wreck, so maybe its worse than I think. She said the steering felt really loose. What I have changed in the last year or so:

1. New shocks all around (Rancho)
2. Front steering stabilizer
3. Front track bar
4. Rear upper and lower control arms
5. Rear upper arm ball joint

The guy who did most of the work said the rear sway bar bushings looked fine. What else could cause this? Also, this may be related, on some bumps there is a clunking noise in the rear drivers side. I'm not sure what this is, I thought it would go away when I replaced the other parts but it didn't. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Clunk could be your rear sway bar links. I'd check both front and rear while you're at it. It's probably the easiest/quickest job you can do under your jeep.

Is your jeep lifted at all?

I lifted mine 2 inches and my rear upper ball joint went bad, replaced it and went bad again after 2 weeks, put it a KOR rear ball joint spacer, changed the ball joint again (luckily under mopar warranty) and it's been fine ever since.
 
#4 ·
clunking could also be your rear shocks are moving around. grab the shock and try to move it side to side. If it moves at all then that can be a source of the clunking. When I had cheap shocks from my lift the bushings wore out in less than a year and what was happening with mine was the top of the rear shocks were moving while the bushing stayed in place.

For me, replacing the shocks and new anti-sway bar bushings did the trick to stop so much swaying.

x2 on what kind of lift do you have? Are the new control arms you put on adjustable?
 
#7 ·
I would say double check and make sure they really replaced the rear A-arm upper balljoint its kind of a pain to do so just look and it and see if it looks new and all the bolts are tight on the pumpkin there is 3 of them.
Check the rear sway bar for ovaled out holes that go to the uplinks not sure if that would cause your issue but mine were ovaled.
I had the same feeling on my WJ and the things that fixed it were a new A-arm balljoint which you said you have done and adding an addco rear sway bar made it really tight on the highway but its not good for guys that 4x4 a lot as it stiffens up the rear to much.
It sounds like your doing all the right things I would crawl under there and yank on every balljoint tierod swaybar any moving parts and see if you can find anything loose as something is worn just got to find it which can be a pain in the butt tracking it down.

I don't ever trust shops unless the guy was my friend I knew for 20 years so I would check all work they have done and make sure it is done and that its right.
Seems there are a lot of shady shops around hard to find a good honest one.
 
#8 ·
Thanks All. I don't have a lift. The mechanic I use is the most trusted I could have, he was my neighbor at a previous house, a retired mechanic from the electric company. He is great, and charges me so little I sometimes feel bad. I'm really lucky to have him. When my GF was pregnant he did some work on her car and wouldn't charge me, said it was her present. Like I said, he is awesome. I always just hang out and watch/help while he is working on it. He was hesitant when I took the A arm and upper ball joint in and asked him to replace it, but he said "well, lets jump into it and see what happens, hope none of those bolts break off." Also, I have heard of people having problems when replacing shocks, but I had the problem/noise before and after the new shocks were put on, so I'm doubting it is shock related. I will maybe try the Addco sway bar, I have also heard people say this makes a huge difference. I don't do as much off-roading since having the two kids unfortunately, so I suppose it would be ok to stiffen it up.
 
#15 ·
Well that sucks, because I'm pretty sure the lower control arms, upper control arm (A frame), and upper control arm ball joints I put in were all Crown. Another thing, even though I replaced the rear shocks with some Ranchos, I still feel like the rear end doesn't dampen bumps very well at all. I'm not sure why? I mean on lots of bumps, it seems as if I can feel them, almost like there isn't even a shock on there. Any ideas? I mean I do live in WV and pretty much every road I drive on is fairly rough, but it still seems like I shouldn't feel the bumps so much. Thanks everyone.
 
#19 ·
Having the same exact issue, what my problem was after I replaced the ball joint, ( the new one had to be pressed into the bracket) the new one somehow came unpressed from the bracket. So it destroyed the boot on the ball joint. If you get under it and press up on the control arm you will be able to see for sure. If there is popping, that's usually a dead give away for that balljoint. But if you can move it at all by pressing on it. That's the issue. Or if you can see it moving when you push on the side of the jeep. I had to special order the bracket with the ball joint pressed in already, 75 bucks at auto zone

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#27 ·
Thanks, that is a definite upgrade even over expensive Mopar bushings. I believe that the soft rubber A arm bushings and the big soft oval bushings on OEM control arms are major contributors to WJs wandering ways. I read that some company in the UK also made oval poly replacement bushings for WJ LCAs??
 
#21 ·
Well damn, now I'm wandering if I'm going to have to do these over. So do you guys think I need to do it all over? I put crown lower control arms, A arm, and upper ball joint. Wish I did more research. I wonder why Quadratec sells Crown if it is junk, I was under the impression they were a trusted site for Jeep parts? This is disheartening. The ball joint I used came as one piece, I didn't have to press a bushing in, but I guess it still could have came apart. Guess I will just have to get under there and look around. I'm wondering if it was just junk, because it did seem to handle better for a bit. Still don't know about the clunking noise on bumps though, as that has been there before and after the new shocks, control arms, and ball joint. Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input!
 
#22 ·
I think your best bet is to get under there and yank/push on everything, because the clunking is something loose. If you can't find anything loose, have the shop do an alignment check and caster sweep.. but I'm betting on that control arm, It's a good idea to re torque new suspension parts after driving anyways

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#24 ·
Thanks. However, my Jeep doesn't require a rear alignment. I'm pretty sure there is no adjustment in the rear. I'm going to crawl under there when I get a chance and see what I can find. Thanks for your input, and everyone else as well! I'm still fairly new to all this, been trying to learn as much as I can and do as much of my own work as possible, Jeep Forum is awesome for this!
 
#34 ·
I don't think it's really nessisarry to change those parts if they arn't bad. Sure they may ware out faster but that doesn't make them defective. I think the right path would be to just find the problem bushing ir balljoint and fix that. Have you gotten under it yet and looked?

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#35 ·
So I still haven't done anything yet, other than more research online, which just makes me more confused. Some say use the Addco one inch sway bar. Others say that is bad if you off-road at all because it doesn't allow any flex and can actually rip out the bolts if you take it seriously off road. Some say go with poly bushings. Others say they are loud and too stiff, go with rubber OEM type. The poly people say the rubber ones allow too much flex. I'm unsure what to do. Is it an either/or type thing maybe? Such that if you go with all poly bushings it will stiffen it up and therefor you wouldn't need/want the stiffer swaybar? Or get the stiffer swaybar and use rubber bushings as the other option? Thanks for everyone's input! I still haven't got a chance to get under there, which is actually the first step to finding the clunking noise I know. Still need to figure out how to stiffen it up though. Some people say the clunk can be from the sway bar as well, which if it is maybe I will just do the Addco bar and new bushings and sway bar links and just leave the A arm and control arms alone for now since I just changed them. Thanks again everyone!
 
#37 ·
So I still haven't done anything yet, other than more research online, which just makes me more confused. Some say use the Addco one inch sway bar. Others say that is bad if you off-road at all because it doesn't allow any flex and can actually rip out the bolts if you take it seriously off road. Some say go with poly bushings. Others say they are loud and too stiff, go with rubber OEM type. The poly people say the rubber ones allow too much flex. I'm unsure what to do. Is it an either/or type thing maybe?
There is some truth to both sides of the poly bushing or rubber bushing debate. It narrows down to personal preference, poly for performance or big stock rubber for a boat like soft ride and handling. I prefer performance so I have used poly when possible for years. Some of the objections to poly bushings is because many of the early poly bushings were hard as stone so they did not absorb shock and they transmitted noticeably more noise than rubber. Most of the current poly bushing manufactures have tailored the durometer hardness to a compromise of firmer than rubber but not rock hard.

The info you have about sway bars is also mostly true, a 1" rear sway bar is so stiff it will not allow the rear to flex and it is tough on the thin tin frame. I would imagine that even the 7/8" Addco that they recommend for use with a stock front sway bar would also limit flex. So if you drive even mild trails A rear Addco should be disconnected. The problem is even if you install JKS discos you have to crawl under to disconnect the rear bar. In snow or on muddy ground that is a major PITA and it was one of the multiple reasons I removed my rear Addco bar and went back to the OEM bar with poly bushings.
 
#36 ·
Just keep in mind, that while it may help . The main purpose of a sway bar is to prevent the rolling (swaying) back and forth. But shouldn't cause you to go all over the road. I have a 4" lift and I've decided to leave the sway bar alone unless I decide to get quick disconnects for it. I have some minor popping noises on mine. But no crazy swerving anymore. I can't find what it is but I suspect the sway bar is just popping from the added stress of the lift.

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