Steering Wheel Spoke Alignment; Front Wheel Shimmy - Jeep 1979 CJ-5 Technical & Service Manual

STEERING LINKAGE 2M-5
equipment. If caster is incorrect, adjustment can be
made by installing tapered shims between the axle pad
and suspension springs.
If caster is correct and the axle is not bent or twisted,
a satisfactory check may be made by road testing the
vehicle and checking steering wheel return.
Before road testing, check and correct tire inflation
pressures. Be particularly careful to inflate both front
tires to exactly the same pressure.
During the road test, turn the steering wheel from
side-to-side and make turns to both the left and right. If
the vehicle turns easily to the either side and the steer-
ing wheel returns to center unassisted, caster is correct.
However, if the vehicle turns to either side easily but the
steering wheel does not return to center unassisted,
incorrect caster is indicated.
STEERING WHEEL SPOKE ALIGNMENT
After checking and adjusting front wheel alignment,
align the steering wheel spokes as follows:
(1) Turn steering wheel until spokes are in centered
position and clamp steering wheel in place.
(2) Loosen connecting rod adjusting tube clamps
and turn tube until front wheels are in straight ahead
position.
(3) Tighten adjusting tube clamps.
(4) Road test and check steering wheel alignment.
FRONT WHEEL SHIMMY
Front wheel shimmy can be caused by one or more of
the following conditions:
• Loose front wheel bearings
• Worn, unbalanced, or out-of-round front tires
• Loose steering damper bracket
• Steering damper malfunction
• Worn or loose tie rod ends
• Worn, loose, or incorrectly preloaded steering
knuckle ball studs
• Incorrect tire inflation pressures
The following procedure outlines a method for deter-
mining and correcting the causes of wheel shimmy:
(1) Raise vehicle front end.
(2) Inspect front tire condition and check and cor-
rect inflation pressures. Check tires for evidence of un-
balance such as cupping, scalloping, flat spots, or bald
spots. Balance or replace tires exhibiting these
conditions.
(3) Check and correct front wheel bearing adjust-
ment if necessary. Refer to Chapter 2H for procedure.
(4) Inspect steering damper mounting brackets or
retaining nuts for being loose. If loose, tighten nuts or
center bracket on tie rod and tighten attaching bolts.
(5) Check steering damper operation. Disconnect
damper at tie rod bracket and alternately compress and
extend damper piston fully. Piston action should be
smooth and uniform throughout each stroke. Higher
resistance on extension stroke than compression stroke
is normal condition.
(c) Replace damper if lack of resistance is
evident.
(6) Inspect tie rod ends. Replace any tie rod end that
exhibits excessive play.
(7) Inspect steering knuckle ball studs. Insert pry
bar between knuckle and yoke, adjacent to ball stud, and
pry against each stud. If studs do not move or appear to
be loose in stud socket, proceed to next step. If any stud
moves or appears loose, reseat both studs in that side of
axle as follows:
(a) Remove wheels and axle shafts.
(b) Remove cotter pin and slotted from upper
ball stud and loosen stud jamnut.
(c) Unseat both ball studs by striking them
with lead hammer and remove upper ball stud split ring
seat using tool J-25158. Discard seat after removal.
(d) Remove lower ball stud jamnut and remove
steering knuckle. Discard jamnut after removal.
(e) Clean split ring seat threads and lower stud
taper in steering knuckle. Clean threads and tapered
surfaces of both ball studs and clean threads in upper
ball stud retaining nut.
(f) Position knuckle on axle yoke and install
replacement lower ball stud jamnut finger tight (only).
(g) Install and tighten upper ball stud retaining
nut until lower ball stud is pulled into tapered hole in
axle yoke. Do not install split ring seat at this time.
(h) Tighten upper ball stud nut to 80 foot-
pounds (108 N*m) torque then remove nut.
(i) Install and tighten replacement upper ball
stud split ring seat to 50 foot-pounds (68 N*m) torque
using tool J-25158. Tighten both upper ball stud retain-
ing nut and lower ball stud jamnut to 100 foot-pounds
(136 N*m) torque. Install replacement cotter pin in re-
taining nut. Do not loosen nut to install cotter pin.
(j) Install axle shafts and repeat procedure out-
lined in step (7).
(k) Install wheels and lower vehicle.
(8) On CJ models not equipped with steering
damper, install steering damper kit if steering com-
ponents are OK.
(9) Lower vehicle.
(10) Road test vehicle to verify effectiveness of
repairs.