have a 2005 jeep liberty that while normal braking the steering wheel stays steady but while decending a hill or when i apply the brakes while coming down a mt. i get a shake in the steering wheel and the steering wheel keeps shaking until i apply hard pressure on the brake to come to a complet stop or i release the brakes. i had the front ball joints replaced last year under a recall.
could this be from wheel balancing, something with the brakes or the ball joints or something other? it is not a violent shake but enough tat you can feel it.
* This post was
edited 06/06/08 05:20pm by tonkatoys *
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, loudly proclaiming---WOW WHAT A
RIDE!!!
The rotors are warped. Should be a fairly inexpensive fix if you do it youself. Living in the mountains/hills, you may want to go with a good set of slotted rotors.
You might also replace the steering dampener. The OEM units that Jeep installed are not much to begin with, and when they get a little worn they really don't do much. I replaced the one on the Rubicon with a Monroe unit. It made a world of difference!
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, Std. cab, LB, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 273,000 Miles
'99 Monaco McKenzie 32' triple slide
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
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Sounds like brake rotors to me. Most rotor warpage is caused when tires are replaced/rotated, and they guy gets too trigger happy with his air impact gun. Try turning the rotors, then ask them to hand torque the lug nuts.
PapawFor2 wrote: Sounds like brake rotors to me. Most rotor warpage is caused when tires are replaced/rotated, and they guy gets too trigger happy with his air impact gun. Try turning the rotors, then ask them to hand torque the lug nuts.
Interesting observation. GM attributed their warped rotor problem to this for some time and even required using torque sticks when rotating tires. They have backed off now but I would agree it can be a contributing factor.
I would take it out on flat ground and do a hard stop from sixty. If you experience a pulsation, have the rotors examined and check the runout. If it only happens when descending and not on flat ground, Mowermech may have something with the steering dampener.
here is what it does, on flat ground the steering wheel stays smooth, decinding a hill the steering wheel pulsates and the harder i apply the brakes the less the steering wheel pulsates.
and yes i had new front tires put on last sept.
tonkatoys wrote: what does the steering damper do if its not to complex, just curious? thanks
The steering damper (or dampener) helps stop minor front wheel shake from becoming major front wheel shake. It is basicly nothing more than a hydraulic shock absorber attached between the frame and the steering linkage.
If you just had new tires installed, that could be a contributing factor. I had no shake in my Rubicon until the tires were rotated, then I encountered shake just like you have. I replaced the steering damper, and the shake went away.
I once had an AMC Eagle SX/4 that started to shake and shimmy when descending hills. I replaced the steering dampener, and no more problem. As I previously stated, get the Monroe heavy duty unit, do not get the Original Equipment type unit. It should be less than $40, and takes half an hour or less to change.
From the way you describe the problem, I don't think the brake rotors have anything to do with it, especially when hard braking stops the shake!
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