94 grand Cherokee has some "slop" in front end, any ideas?

Question

I have a 94 Grand Cherokee Laredeo, Staight 6, command track, newly rebuilt tranny, 165K. The problem is the jeep has a little slop in the front end pretty much through all driving speeds. The rims and tires are great and balanced. I recently replaced the front flexible brake lines because the abs light is on most of the time and the pads, rotors, and callipers look to be very good. While braking it sounds like the rear brakes need to be replaced too. I did notice that the front shocks seem to have a little play from side to side, so thay should be replaced, but could that be the problem? Everything else except the front drivers side upper ball joint looks to be original. What should I look into first, and what are the most common causes of steering problems in these grand cherokees? Best one will get the 10 points. Thanks for looking.

Yeah, I reported that jiffy lube Dusche to Yahoo. You are exactly right, If he knew anything about jeeps, he would know that it is a straight rear axle with the only "cv" joints or correction-universal joints located at the front axle and the front and rear drive shafts. And by the way, chrysler vehicles (after about 100K especially the Neon) are known for the flexible brake lines collapsing together when the brake pedal is depressed and let off causing the brakes to hang and thus making the abs light activate, because of the difference in wheel speed. This dumb a** is just a waste of space and needs to be taken off of Yahoo Answers! What a stupid sh!t.

Answer 1

tie rod ends and the rest of the ball joints . i also think they had problems with where the steering box bolted to the frame, they tended to crack. also are your tire pressures correct if it is lower than 35psi when cold you can get a sloppy feel to your front end as well as worn shocks could give that feel too.
you are partially correct in replacing the hoses to the brake lines, the could have been collapsing due to the age and milage. if the previouse replier read he would have noticed you said front end slop not general shimmy... then again what do you expect from a jiffy lube flunkie. you also dont have rear cv joints the rear stabilizer would cause issues on the rear not front and the rest has nothing to do with the front end shimmy either
the track bar or steering stabilizer will cause a violent shake known as a death wobble when hitting a pothole or bump to hard . not during general driving. You also don't check ball joints on a jeep like that by wiggleig the tire like described. you need a large pair of channel locks and have one jaw on the top and one on the bottom and squeeze. mine never moved in the way the other guy described but when i replaced them the joint part fell out of the socket part on a couple of them.. Im telling you these things i know from experiance not just he told me or whatever i did attend a automotive tech center plus had futher training by the shop supervisor which not ony taught me how to check things but why we check them that way.. meaning like i said with the ball joints you will never get movement the way the other guy said to check them.

Answer 2

Ok, by "slop" I am assuming that we are talking about the truck wondering down the road. Do the easy things first. With the vehicle on the ground and a helper THAT YOU TRUST!!
Unlock the steering wheel. DO NOT START the engine. One person in the drivers seat and you on the ground under the front of the truck.
Have your assistand rock the steering wheel back and forth. I said ROCK NOT TURN!! With two fingers touch the various tie rod ends at their connections. There should be VERY little to NO movement horizontally. Check all steering connections, tie rods and the track bar. The mount for the track bar is bolted to the frame on the drivers side. Make sure that mount is tight. It should not move during the steering rocking.
I think you will find loose steering joints.
Now, look at the four control arms. They have approximately 2" rubber bushings on each end. If you see the rubber extruding out, they should be replaced. You may find that the complete arm is less expensive or equil to the cost of the two bushings and MUCH easier to replace as a unit.
Do not forget the track bar bushing on top of the axle. Now, jack the truck up...and place jack stands under the axle...safety first. Put one hand on top of one tire and the other on the bottom. Rock the tire back and forth perpendicular to the ground. It should not move in the ball joints. It bothers me that someone only replaced ONE joint as you said.
As for the steering box..Maybe, but unllikely. During the rocking test, the shaft should not be moving sideways as it comes out of the box, nor should it go up and down.
On your shocks..no, worn bushings will not cause the slop you are describing.
THis is how I would approach this.
Good Luck,

Answer 3

i would say from working in a front end shop that its sounds like one of two things is going bad. first one would be check the front stabilizer shock that is attached to the front of the tie rods. if that is worn out that could cause a sway because it isn't helping the tie rods return. the other thing i would look into replacing would be the steering gear box and pit man arm that is attached to the steering gear box. i just replaced those on my jeep wrangler with has the same straight 6 as your Cherokee has the same suspension set up. that is what has fixed my problem. hope this helps.

Answer 4

I'll agree with david, usually a CV will "click" or "pop"..this is usally more noticable when making a turn while under motion, like in a parking lot, the harder the turn the more noticable the noise. Your CV(constant volicity) joints are what makes your front wheels drive when you are in 4 wheel drive, driving on dry roads in 4WD will certainly damage them prematurely. Try running in 2 wheel drive and if its the CV joints, this noise shouldnt be as noticable because you will not have any power to them.

Answer 5

Sounds like a worn out steering box.Usually the worm gear will wear after many miles.You can replace it if you want.Also,check the frame in that area for stree cracks.Make sure that the front end is 100% first though.Good Luck

Answer 6

Your shock absorbers will have nothing to do with 'steering slop" on your Grand Cherokee. Their only function is to keep 'wheel bounce' under control.

At 165,000 miles, you probably have some wear in the assorted joints which are located in the steering linkage to the wheels. Even with proper lubrication, you're going to get normal wear and tear on these joints after this much mileage.

Answer 7

Bug and tar remover can remove a lot of slop from a paint job. I once had a bunch of tar all over the side of my car, I used the remover by Turtle Wax and it not only left it clean, but shiney too! Remember, a clean car is a healthy car!

Answer 8

the steering gear box may be out of adjustment or it may be wornout. check obvious stuff first, ball joints, tie rod ends, and track bar.

Answer 9

front differential cross trackbar.