My girlfriend's Unlimited has an issue where it will wobble when turning a sharp left. I noticed it twice today and she said "yeah, I thought I noticed something like that".

I WAS in 4WD because we had a big snow storm last night and after taking it out of 4WD it seemed to have disappeared but I can't say it is only in 4WD.

It feels as if the wheel is going to fall off basically... a little concerning.

I don't think this is death wobble - no issues when going straight, only sharp turns (left only?).

Thanks for any feedback on what this may be.

 

Could be a build up of ice. I park outside and noticed the same thing last month. Pulled the JK into the garage to thaw out and haven't noticed it since. HopefuLly it is that easy of a solution for you.

 

don't all wranglers do this when turning sharply in 4WD?

mine does, all my previous wranglers did too... I figured it was normal.


my pickup does too btw.

 

You should never turn sharp in 4wd on hard surface, during a turn it will jerk and buck, its normal its doing it becuase the frount and rear are locked together.

 

What he said. They're are a few threads about it.

 

When you say sharp turns, I assume you mean at slow speed, and the steering wheel pulsates back and forth.

That is normal for 4wd. When making a sharp turn, all 4 wheels need to be able rotate at different speeds. They can't when in 4wd. It will be even more apparent if you are on a surface with good traction.

Another factor is the u-joint on each end of the front axle.
When a u-joint is not straight, it will speed up and slow down twice with each revolution. That is the biggest reason the steering wheel pulsates when making a turn in 4wd.

If it does it in 2wd also, it could mean the u-joints are seized from corrosion.

 

Great! thanks for the replies, I didn't realize.

 

So, I had this exact same problem with my 2010 JK. It has 30k miles and it is a DD but I also take it offroading in the hillcountry as well as the beach. Well, one of my kids and I found a road that begged us to explore and we had a blast but when we pulled out back onto the service road and turned, there it was ... a wobble that moved the steering wheel 4-6 inches around and then the wheel would stop for a second. As we continued the turn, 4-6 inches, stop, 4-6 inches, stop, etc.

+ Yes, we had the Jeep in 2wd.
+ The instrument panel did not say 4wd
+ I put the Jeep back into 2wd 30-40 feet before going onto the service road

NEVERTHELESS, after 12 hours of wondering what was going on, scouring the net, going to get realigned at Firestone and calling the Jeep dealership here was the problem: Front Diff was still slightly engaged. This came to my mind and I thought, "You have got to be kidding me. Surely not." then I put in back into 4wd going STRAIGHT, drove for a few seconds and then back into 2wd and that was it.

Now it turns smooth as butter like it always has. NOOB to the max, but now a little more informed noob.

 

In order for it to not be fully in 2wd, the cable must be out of adjustment, or the lever wasn't all the way to the 2wd position.

 

Alright, so I should check the cable then? And, I have never noticed this before, but the lever moves right to left. Are they normally tight?