When traveling at 50+ MPH, sometimes my trusty '96 Cherokee Classic starts shaking rather violently with some trigger I cannot exactly pinpoint. The whole vehicle shakes as does the steering wheel. I have to hold on to the steering wheel pretty strongly to maintain control. After 5 - 10 seconds, it goes away.

The last time it happened, I was doing about 60 and had to slow suddenly for traffic congestion. It seemed that hitting the brakes medium to hard set it off. The shake continues after getting off the brakes. After a hundred yards or so, it "calmed down".

It also happened when I hit a bump at 50+ MPH, but it's possible I was braking when as well.

I took it to a nearby mechanic (Firestone shop) who looked at it. They said the suspension and steering looked fine, and the tires were ok and wearing evenly. They think the shaking is caused by warping front rotors. But that doesn't explain to me why it keeps shaking even when I'm off the brakes? Or does their explanation make sense?

We're getting a Honda Odyssey Minivan (hers) and getting rid of either my '96 Cherokee Classic (76k miles) or my wife's '98 Cherokee Sport(58k miles). I'd prefer to keep mine rather than take over hers, but I need to figure out what mine needs first.

Thanks!

Put a new steering stabilizer in it, I had the same problem with my 96 about a year ago this fixed it.

My old wrangler would eat those stabilizers every 15k or so...

If it's as violent as you describe, I'd be looking real hard at the front axle again, shocks, u-joints ect.

Ferg

Also check wheel bearings.

1.) Steering damper

2.) Track bar

3.) Wheel balance

Been through it many times ..........................

YAY!
I thought steering dampner, too

You say you took it to a mechanic, then you said you took it to a Firestone shop. Ya can't have both. Take it to a reputable front end shop, which Firestone is NOT. Might want to find a place familiar with Jeep products, and one that doesn't pay it's techs a commission on the parts they sell. There are far fewer stores like Firestone, Sears, and Goodyear anymore, because the attorneys general of a large number of states have put them out of business. I hope Pep Boys service bays follow soon (as they seem to be). The Cap'n

Thanks guys. I'll look into the steering stabilizer.

Cap'n, I'm having a hard time finding a decent mechanic around here. I've reconnoitered several different places over the years, had work done at only a couple, and have not been back to the same place twice. There are a ton of shops, but none that I've felt comfortable with.

My wife has always had her Jeep worked on at the local Dodge dealership where she bought it and has been satisfied, so I may give them a shot.

Dan I guarantee that the steering stabilizer dampener will fix it it did mine, and I had the same symptoms. I have also had this happen with other 4x4's of mine and every time this was the cure.

Cost about 50 bucks to fix it yourself.

Is this the right part: Link

If not, can you point me in the right direction?

Bite the bullet and find a good Jeep dealer. Unfortunately, even some of them don't have a clue what they are doing either. Just had a bad experience with an brand new dealer here who wanted to put a new torque converter in my daughters Wrangler cause the check engine light came on. Never had any tranny problems before or after. As far as the shake I had a problem with my '88 Cherokee while living in Germany. It started to shake really bad especially when turning a corner while we were on a trip to the UK. As soon as we got back to Germany I took it into a Chrysler dealer and all they found was a couple of loose tranny mounting bolts. That stopped all f the shakes. Good Luck.

Thats it, I would run down to the local autoparts store they will have Monroes, Ranchos,
Just get the X heavy duty one, they should have them in stock. 30 bucks is about right.

Isn't a steering dampener just a bandaid for the root cause? I recently had problem you describe on my '73 2.0. We checked everything and found a bad front shock. I recommend taking the truck to a real mechanic.