What's that? Is that when the steering wheel shakes back and forth slightly?

 

Yep,
you let go of the wheel and it shimmys just a little bit.

 

A very little amount is ok. Mine was so bad that you could see the whole axle shifting back and forth under the jeep. What you're probably feeling is just the track bar flexing under load.

 

When mine was loose, you could see it kick. After tightening it, you can feel it move a tiny bit, almost as though the bushing is flexing. It has no vices now, with the small amount of give. It doesn't have any "knock" to it.

Hope this helps.

Paul

 

You're probably right about it being a tire balance issue.

Last time I had my tires rotated they didn't balance them as well and I've had that shimmy back and forth (usually when I'm in the 35-45 MPH range.

 

if your track bar is tight (assuming you used a torque wrench) my next guess is a tire(s) out of balance.

i still don't think it sounds like a bad steering stabilizer. bad stabilizers usually don't cause a shimmy. they cause stiff steering and cause the steering to pull in the direction that you turn and doesn't return to center at all. (at least that has been my experience)

 

i had a broken track bar mount repaired last week where the track bar mounts to the axle, factory welds had been breaking slowly for awhile and finally
i would check that for sure cause i still have a shit stain in my seat from when it finally broke through driving 40 mph.

 

It feels as though the front wheels are moving opposite to each other, one left, one right, the steering wheel moves left to right, and at some magic speed, it stops (as you slow down) . It usually starts when you hit a hole, or speed stutter bumps. You have directional control, it just feels as though you are flying a loose collection of parts in formation.... A friend of mine called his truck that did it , Methusellah of a thousand veils", as it was like a belly dancer shimmying away

 

BDS Suspension has a dual steering stabilizer set up for the JK. It is not listed on their website but, here is a link. www.bds-suspension.com/pdfs/55366.pdf .

 

i agree that the steering stabilizer shouldn't CAUSE the problem, but it is usually able to help PREVENT the shake from occilating and becoming a violent death wobble shake. In theory (and in personal experience) you don't NEED to have ANY steering stabilizer installed to drive shake free. I had a 4" lift and 33" claws on my Cherokee with 10" wide real beadlocks and didnt even have a stabilizer installed. it drove mint, but the key was having proper caster and enough toe to keep the tires pointed correctly and not fight eachother. A good balance job helps too with the widder tires and wheels. Just putting a stronger new steering stabilizer on is just masking the problem. its like sweeping crumbs under the carpet or putting a bucket to catch a leaking roof. fix the roof, then you dont need the bucket!