Steering and vibration issues after getting stuck in mud.
 

Recently bought a 2012 Stock Sport and took it off road this past weekend. I got it stuck in a muddy spot that required it to be winched out. Ever since then I've been having issues with the steering and vibration/wobble. The steering is very stiff when turning at a very slow speed with no acceleration and at speeds above 50mph the Jeep shakes/wobbles like something is off balance.

For the past few days i've been removing pounds of dried up mud thats stuck underneath, around the inside of tires, and in pretty much every crevice the Jeep has. After each time i pull out some more mud the issues with the steering and wobble improve but not back to "normal". It seems to me there's not much mud left that would still cause the problems. Could the power steering be failing from cutting the well to aggressively when trying to get myself unstuck? I seem to hear a faint whirring when turning that i don't think was there before.

There's still caked in mud between the plastic wheel covers and the wheel that is very difficult to remove due to the tight space. Could that cause the vibration/wobble?

Any caked on mud on your tires, will cause it to be off balance and will probably cause some of your vibration issues. First off clean as much of that mud off as humanly possible, tires and suspension. Then after that, if you are still having issues, I would suggest checking the "death wobble" threads.

It doesn't take much mud to throw off the balance.

You really need to get all of it cleaned up. In the few instances I am forced to go through deep mud I spend days cleaning. I even remove the wheels and disassemble the brakes for proper cleaning.

Any chance the tire was unseated and some mud is not inside the tire? This has happened to me.

Thanks for the replies. Would the mud cause the steering issue too?

This night 3 of mud detail. I have it all in a pile in the garage and there's already at least 25# of dried mud.

Clean and repeat until all the mud is gone.... :doh:

If you can get to one of those self car washes and use a pressure washer to expedite the mud extraction. when you are complete with that, run through a full service carwash fully get the undercarriage washed and rinsed. This should remove 90% of your mud cake. Once done with that, check all your steering linkage for additional cake and remove as necessary. Also, if you were up to and or past your radiator, clean that out as well but don't use a pressure washer, garden hose works just fine.

Look and clean everywhere. Pull and inspect/clean your tires and rotors.

Is it possible you threw a balance weight?

+100 on what all these guys are saying, you may need to pull your wheels and pressure wash the inside of the wheels if you have one. I go through mud holes if I have to get across areas on a trail where I don't have a choice but I try to avoid it if I can for this same reason. I killed my horn and radiator the last time I got bored and went through a mud hole and I finally learned my lesson. Check your driveline after you are done cleaning everything and make sure your trackbar is tight and torqued correctly.

When I loaded mine up with mud I couldn't believe the amount of mud that came out of the rotors and dust shields. It took me hours of disassembling and cleaning before it felt right again.

I put a sprinkler under my jeep and let it run on low for an 30 min. It got a lot of unwanted mud from under the jeep. Driveways was trashed. Everyone that gets a jeep can't wait to drive it through the mud. It's not as much fun trying to clean it afterwards.

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Going to try the sprinkler tomorrow when its in the 40's. I noticed mud in the cylinder (i don't know whats its called) above the jounce bumper . How can i get that out? I got as much as i could with my fingers but there's more in there.

Here's what I'm talking about. Mud is inside that hole.

Pic..

That hole is the bump stop mount and mud there would not cause a vibration.... However, I can see from the picture that you are no where near clean enough to rule out mud as a source of your vibrations and steering wheel shimmy.

The inability to properly clean is what keeps me off the trail in the winter... I know it will be tough but it really needs to be done. Dress warm, put on a rain suit and go for it!

Power sprayed whole thing and got it up to 65mph with no wobble. I think that's fixed.

Still very hard to turn wheel when stopped or making slow turn. Power steering issue?

I took off those sh*ty plastic hub caps. No need to keep those on, right?

Least it's not South Alabama mud, that sh*t is sticky.

Just asking but, you took it out of 4 wheel drive, right? :wink:

Easy to lose a wheel weight turning the tires in mud or against a rock. Shouldn't have any issues turning the steering wheel...

Sent from some string and a few tin cans.

Yup..

This same thing happened to me about a month ago. When I was in the mud all 4 wheels were spinning and I wasn't going anywhere. When you get wheel balanced, the tire shop puts weights o the wheel to make it more stable at high speeds. When my wheels were spinning it ripped off all of the weights and to fix the issue I had to go in and get the wheels rebalanced. Hope this helps.

Dealer is replacing PS pump. Said there was metal in the fluid. Thankfully I did the stress test before bumper to bumper expired.

Dealer replaced pump, reservoir, and belt. Now she turns better than ever. What I learned from this: The right tires for the right application. A winch is helpful. How to repair a dent in the stock bumper. How to clean mud off rig. My air dam is buried in a new development and some guy will probably dig it up 10 years from now while planting a garden...