ls1ashley

I know this has come up before but I'm not convinced it's ever actually been solved. My dealer wants to put new tires on ("dry rot") and do an alignment. I'm 100% sure that won't fix this! I'm going to attach a video. Let me know if anyone has any ideas. This happens at around 55-60 mph. Generally if the road isn't dead solid perfect.

What you don't really see through the video is that the entire vehicle is rattling. So much so that passengers ask what's going on. It looks much more subtle on the video than in real life.

To be clear, the car seems smooth at all other speeds.

achatgrau

Tires not being balanced seems like a good place to start. What tires do you have now? How old are they? Balancing can be tough to achieve if they're not road-force balancing them (and some tires are more difficult than others). Whole vehicle shake sounds extreme, but still feels like where I would start.

shiann

Everyone will normally suggest tires, road force balance, alignment, front driveshaft, and replace the steering damper. (in almost that order)

I've tried everything and still have some really gnarly cabin shaking kind of 'vibrations' over pretty rough roads. But It's not speed dependent (not necessarily - faster does make it worse) as I've had the G up to 100mph and it's smooth as long as the roads are smooth.

So a few questions:
1. When was the last time you had your tires balanced?
2. How old are the tires?
3. How old are the shocks?
4. How old is the steering damper?
5. How many miles on your G?
6. Still on OE rubber bushings?
7. Any clunking in the steering system?
8. Has this vibration started more recently with no other changes to the suspension?
9. Does this only happen when on throttle or coasting? or both?
10. Any other drivetrain noises? (Clicking, humming, rubbing, squeaks, etc)

ls1ashley

To answer your questions:

1. When was the last time you had your tires balanced? - I had the dealership do an alignment a few months ago.
2. How old are the tires? - Unknown, but there's not much wear on them.
3. How old are the shocks? - Assume stock. (2017)
4. How old is the steering damper? - Assume stock (2017)
5. How many miles on your G? 35,000
6. Still on OE rubber bushings? I assume stock (2017)
7. Any clunking in the steering system? I don't think so, just the whole thing gets shaky at speed. I do notice that it's slow to engage power steering when I'm backing out of a parking spot and going from reverse to drive.
8. Has this vibration started more recently with no other changes to the suspension? No changes since purchasing the vehicle last year.
9. Does this only happen when on throttle or coasting? or both? It is much worse on-throttle. When it's happening I usually back off try to crawl up to speed.
10. Any other drivetrain noises? (Clicking, humming, rubbing, squeaks, etc) No.


I would say that if I do go over bumpy terrain, like bad, bad road, or even the 'splits' in the road seems, there is a lot of vibration. I think that it's mostly a G being a G but I'm not entirely sure. With that experience the sensation is short lived compared to the video where I showed it occurring for 5-10 seconds, enough time to video it.

places

The G wobble of death. Very common, I've had tires balanced, alignment done and, steering wheel centered and I still get it at similar speeds. usually 60-70 for me. If I hit 75 I usually escape it. Sometimes if the tires warm up it seems to go away. Part of the experience.

shiann

A few more questions.

What tires are on your G?
Is it your Daily Driver? How often do you drive it?
Video showed snowy roads. What part of the country are you in? Does the vibration change from season to season?
Parked in a garage? Heated or no?
Does the vibration go away after driving some short distance?
Does it happen only when accelerating through the 55-60 mph range? What about coasting down from a higher speed through the 60-55 speed?
What are your tires inflated to?

It could be your tires are cold and flat spotting (due to being 'older'). Also tire type can make this more or less severe. If you park in a warm-ish garage, then drive out to the cold, it may take longer for your tires to get up to temperature and become more round. This will be more pronounced if they are a little low in tire pressure. Since you have a 2017, it should have the 20" wheels, which means less sidewall, which would make the tires even more a culprit.

Easiest thing to try at first is to swap the front tires to the rear and see if the vibration is the same (on the same length of road). I know not possible to duplicate the driving conditions (weather), but similar would be a good control. Your issues with slow to "engage" power steering, this would be only from a dead stop to steering movement correct? This could point to needing to replace the steering stabilizer. but may also point to something in the steering system. The steering shaft and drag link ball joints tend to fail regularly, but your G has so few miles I'd be surprised if that was it.

It's a tough thing since there are so many different variables. I get the same thing from time to time and I've also added eccentric radius arm bushings to increase caster like 3 degrees or so at the OE height. Still get it.

polarbexar

Balancing tires and alignments are two different things. The tires can all the tread in the world but if they are too old they won't work well.

DABRONX

First have your tires checked or a bad pattern that could be why they want to change. Have a road force balance done not a regular balance.

Had a similar issue and tried everything to get rid of it. Look at your tires to see if they are feathered.

My issue was compounded when the vehicle was cold.

My steering stabilizer although it showed zero signs of leaking and had very stiff pressure and was bad. If the stabilizer was compressed manually off the vehicle it was stiff. Issue was if you let off the pressure the stabilizer would kick back a 1/2 to 1". This caused a wander and shake at the exact speeds you describe. I had brought to dealers, independents, tire shop, etc. I don't blame them as it would be impossible to detect unless stabilizer was removed and tested.


Do not use any of the aftermarket stabilizers they do not bolt in and are not needed. New replacement (from Pelican) was installed and it was 90% better. Installed brand new tires which had become feathered and now it rides like day one.

Neither of my G Wagons ever had this shake of death when new and if it does now it is either aftermarket suspension related or an issue with your truck. Do not buy that this is normal or common it isn't if it was I would have never bough the trucks.