Jeep Creep Q&A Column

In your Jeep Creep questions, please list your first and last names, your hometown, and your state/province/country, so that we can publish that information here. If you don’t provide this information, we may not be able to publish your question and answer. Don’t forget to be as complete as possible with the description of your Jeep and its problems, too. No Jeep recalls this month. See all of the posted recalls at www.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm.—Jim Brightly

‘Nother Death Wobble

My ‘91 Cherokee Limited with a 6-inch lift and 33-inch tires has a horrible death wobble. All the joints are good and all are tight. I noticed that the previous owner broke one of the steering box bolts and I can see minor movement when I stand out the door and turn the wheel. It seems like the frame rail flexes. And I noticed the driver’s front tire is kicked in a bit more then the other side. Could this be the reason? Will a professional alignment and replacing that bolt be my repair?
91blackbox
Yucaipa, CA
With that high a lift and relatively oversized tires, you’re putting a strain on your steering assembly even in a parking lot. If you crawl rocks, you’re putting an even higher strain on the components so you need to brace it. You need a cross-frame brace running from the bottom of the gearbox to the opposite side frame rail. Take a look at the websites of 4-Wheel Parts and/or 4-Wheel Hardware and you find the brace you need. Once you have that brace in place, have the Cherokee professionally aligned and your death wobble will be gone!

Full To Part-Time

I have a full-time 4x4 CJ7 and I want to know if putting manual locking hubs will work to disengage the four-wheel drive?
CL Robb
Iowa City, IA
No, just installing hubs on the front axle won’t do it. You’ll have to modify the Quadra-Trac transfer case as well. And I’m not sure if modification kits are still being produced because of its age. You could lock up the T-case, but then you’d have the front driveshaft and front axles spinning all the time with nothing attached to them. It’s been so long since I’ve driven a Quadra-Trac Jeep, I can’t remember for sure, but I think disengaging the front hubs would allow the T-case to act like an open differential and it would just spin without powering the rear end. You’ll probably end up replacing the T-case with a manual unit.

Heart Transplant

I have a ‘91 YJ with a 2.5. I got a ‘90 Cherokee with a 4.0L engine. I am wanting to put the 4.0L in my YJ. What would this take with the ECM and wiring harness?
Chubbs
Kissimmee, FL
You’ll need the entire wiring harness and the computer. Everything should be a plug & play under the dash, though, but you’ll have to route the harness through the firewall. You’ll also probably need a larger radiator with the larger engine, and your exhaust will have to be replaced. In addition, you may have to adapt the Cherokee’s transmission to the YJ’s T-case.

More Death Wobble

I have a stock 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and it also does the death wobble between 50-60 mph. I’ve always thought it was my tires; however, after changing tires, the DW still occurs just as much. I was going to get my tires rebalanced but decided to visually check the suspension components. I couldn’t find anything abnormal. I plan on lifting my Jeep so I don’t want to waste any money on fixing the stock suspension, but it may be a year or so before I can afford a good lift kit. I’m concerned if I keep driving it as is it will cause bigger problems (other than suspension).
Jeff Ocenas
Avondale, AZ
If it’s going to a week or so until you lift your Jeep, you could let the death wobble go. But since you said that it may be a year or so before you lift it, take the Jeep to a good off-road shop that knows 4WD suspension and steering components—such as 4-Wheel Parts, of which there are at least two shops in the Phoenix area—and have the alignment as well as the tires checked. You should also have them check the condition of every steering component. The longer you wait the more potential damage you could do to the steering and suspension components, not to mention that it could even cause an accident.

Tomb Raider

I have a 1998 Jeep Wrangler. It says Tomb Raider on the window and with the Jeep logo. Did Jeep make a 1998 Tomb Raider Edition? The only info I can find is on the 2003 Rubicon Tomb Raider.
Christi Patterson
Pittsboro, IN
I’m afraid someone got busy with bogus decals. Only Rubicons were tagged as Tomb Raiders, very limited edition, and Rubicons weren’t available in 1998