ok.. I have a shit load of things falling apart on my 97 TJ and now all the sudden my rear is swaying uncontrollably. It is scaring the shit out of me! It is my daily driver.

What do I look for? Rear track bar mounts seem to be fine. Shock mounts are loose on top but bumps dont cause it to start swaying. Deceleration will start it. acceleration will start it.. like the squate is getting amplified all the sudden. Tranny is going out too.. nice loud clunk when I take off and Im leaking ATF out the rear output seal too.

Problem is I'm broke for another few months. Wont have a second car to drive for a while either and their is no public transport to work.

AT WITTS END

George

George, some info on your suspension? Stock, modded, sway bar back there etc?

Originally posted by mike
George, some info on your suspension? Stock, modded, sway bar back there etc?

Sway bar intact with TK sliders locked into drive position.

saggy spring Terra ver. 1 3.5" lift coils with rear spacers to bring the rear back to level cause the sag was so bad.

Terra ver. II control arms upper and lower..

This rocking side to side started like all the sudden.

All tire pressure is equal.

Check your control arm bushings.

Originally posted by onsafari
Check your control arm bushings.

check for what in reference to the controll arm bushings?

Originally posted by onsafari
Check your control arm bushings.

Thats what I was thinking. Probably time for replacement. If their heims or johnny joints the joint will feel loose, if they're rubber or poly bushings they'll be visably damaged. But yep, my bet is either that or the bolts are loose

Im not sure sway is the right word

it is like I have two people using the back of my jeep as a teater-toter from left to right.. like im getting alternating squat from left to right.

could this be due to the transmision slipping causing the rig to squat and un squate as the load is taken off the supsension from the tranny slip then reaplied as it catches. Only prob. with that diagnosis is if the tranny was slipping then I would think my RPMs would rev up durring the slip. They are not reving up. No differnece in engine rpms when this occurs and no clunks from the tranny except at initial start off.

Had one Control arm bolt loose but not enough to create the massive movement Im getting.

its like body roll that Im getting.. side to side

Could it be just a dead shock?

Geo,

Wish I could help you, but I'm having the exact same problem with my 98 TJ. Pretty much the exact same setup too (tera st3 w/ spacers all around). I checked the bushings already, but they all look good. Only thing I've seen that looks questionable are the lower rear control arms themselves. The threaded joint looks loose to me. Might be that the arms are shot. I've been looking into longarms as a result of this. Initially I did find some loose bolts, but even completely tightened up, I still get a little sway.

Robert

Ive probably asked u this before.. do u know a Phil Savage? He too was called Doc. Savage. He owned/ownes a gymnastics training center in Knoxville TN.

Anyway... u say urs was/is rolling side to side too? How would u describe what yours feels like? and when?

Long shot, but is your ARB engaged on the street? I know my Detroit will kick me one way or another when hitting the gas quickly.

The only other things it could be are 1. Your trackbar (Loose, cracked mount, etc.), or 2. your control arms (Worn, loose, cracked mounts, snapped apart (Don't ask, lol) )

Jack up the rear and check to see if tires are out of round or separated (tread bubble or lump).
At what speed does this shimmy come in??
Look at your upper control arm bushings at the frame--seem to be a weak link that causes shimmys. also cracked upper hangars
Disco your track bar and check the ends for looseness and check the mount on the axle for cracks..common on TJ's

Sounds like your shocks are toast....

Originally posted by Welby
Long shot, but is your ARB engaged on the street? I know my Detroit will kick me one way or another when hitting the gas quickly.

The only other things it could be are 1. Your trackbar (Loose, cracked mount, etc.), or 2. your control arms (Worn, loose, cracked mounts, snapped apart (Don't ask, lol) )

No the ARB air tank wont hold air at the moment.. so the rear shouldnt be able to be locked if I understand how they work correctly. the wirring harness is even disconnected from the switches at them moment.

My first instinct would be that your track (AKA Panhard) bar mount is broken. I have seen this on TJs, and it causes the rear end to shift side to side (sounds like your problem).

Another possibility: You said you had a teraflex lift. They have two peice threaded control arms. The threads theoretically *could* wear to the point that they are slipping in and out during acceleration and decelleration, causing the symptoms you describe. If this is the problem it would be very difficult to diagnose with the Jeep on jack stands. You would have to take a control arm off and inspect the threads.

Hey, could you let me know when you figure out the problem? I really want to know if I am right now... Good luck.

Originally posted by GhettoRig
[snip]
Another possibility: You said you had a teraflex lift. They have two peice threaded control arms. The threads theoretically *could* wear to the point that they are slipping in and out during acceleration and decelleration, causing the symptoms you describe. If this is the problem it would be very difficult to diagnose with the Jeep on jack stands. You would have to take a control arm off and inspect the threads.

Hey, could you let me know when you figure out the problem? I really want to know if I am right now... Good luck.

BINGO... U GOT IT... GhetoRig gets the million dollar prize. It will be rewarded in fabulusly sparkling invisibile bills usable anywhere they take invisible money. If I had the $$ for real I would fork it over to ya man... thanks...


So now what.... ahhh Temporary fix... Weld it together? If I do.. no wheeling for a while right? (which may be the case for other reasons anyway)

Weld'n it should solve your immediate problem, and get you back on the road, but off road you will lose a lot of flex. I would call Mepco (er, Teraflex) and ask for a new set of control arms. Thanks for the million bucks, bro, I'll have a brew and pretend it was on you.

Hers is what happens when the TB mount on the axle goes.
First the inboard weld breaks then most folks just drive it for a long while all the time bending it back and forth. After it gets work hardened enough the outboard part will break.
Funny thing is if you look at it everything seems okay and when at rest usually it lays back down so if you don't look really close you won't see the broken weld.

Originally posted by coachgeo


BINGO... U GOT IT... GhetoRig gets the million dollar prize. It will be rewarded in fabulusly sparkling invisibile bills usable anywhere they take invisible money. If I had the $$ for real I would fork it over to ya man... thanks...


So now what.... ahhh Temporary fix... Weld it together? If I do.. no wheeling for a while right? (which may be the case for other reasons anyway)

Tera bushings are really bad about wearing out and I have yet to see a well used first or sec gen Tera arm that held tight threads. He said it was swaying side to side Trackbar should control that plane. The arms will cause some wiggle but shouldn't be side to side enough to notice?
Now of course if he is using a tera adj rea TB then :)

Originally posted by GDGMOJO


Tera bushings are really bad about wearing out and I have yet to see a well used first or sec gen Tera arm that held tight threads. He said it was swaying side to side Trackbar should control that plane. The arms will cause some wiggle but shouldn't be side to side enough to notice?
Now of course if he is using a tera adj rea TB then :)

well... what im guessing was hapening was on accel and decel. the axil would WRAP some on the one side because one botom controll arm would just slide in out causing the rear axil to to move forward and backward on the right side thus steer me in unwanted directions. It was driving odd like I was driving crooked down the road but goin a straight line. It was allways just a feeling in my arse that I couldnt connect with. Now I understand.

Originally posted by coachgeo
Ive probably asked u this before.. do u know a Phil Savage? He too was called Doc. Savage. He owned/ownes a gymnastics training center in Knoxville TN.

Anyway... u say urs was/is rolling side to side too? How would u describe what yours feels like? and when?

Sounds like you got it, same problem I'm seeing. Personally I'd describe the feeling as the rear sway bar being loose, or a bad case of rear steer (actually feels like I still have the EZ locker in the rear). Doesn't feel like the trackbar (had that problem and fixed it years ago).

Nope, don't know a Phil Savage, The Doc Savage is a nick I picked up years ago (it is actually a character from a pulp magazine from the 30's and 40's).

Robert

My '01 Wrangler started doing the same thing about 5 months after I installed a 4.5 RE lift. At first I thought it was the shocks (9000s), but after I changed out with edelbrock gas, the problem was still there. I eventually changed the axle to an 8.8 and swapped the springs for BDS and have not had a problem for over 8 months. I think one of your spring has lost its memory. I can relate how scarry your situation is, I had to drive this thing in traffic daily in Atlanta, and wouldn't let my wife drive.

Originally posted by FlatWilly
[snip]... I can relate how scarry your situation is, I had to drive this thing in traffic daily in Atlanta, and wouldn't let my wife drive.

hellll just driving in Atlanta is scaryyyyy.... Much less with a rig that is wagging its tail.

I use to live in Duluth, worked in Norcross.