Excess body "wiggle" from quick turns of the steering wheel

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96 FZJ80

96 FZJ80

Joined
Sep 14, 2024
Threads
2
Messages
22
Location
SE Michigan
Need some help with troubleshooting weird driving characteristics that started happening recently.

During quick, sharp jerks of the steering wheel at any speeds above like 30mph, the body continues to wiggle for a decent bit after straightening the steering wheel back out. It feels like it's coming more from the back end, but hard to say for sure. Having someone jump and push the body around as much as possible, I don't see any obvious spots where the excess body sway would be coming from. I replaced all sway bar bushings and links (both front and rear), and also replaced both tie rod ends, both ends of the relay rod, as well as the steering dampener thinking maybe it was steering related, but it's still wanting to twerk on me when I jerk it 🤣

I've got upper and lower control arm bushings on the way and hope to have them installed within the next week or so, but is there something else I should be looking at that could cause this?

For context: it's a 97 with 380k miles and what seems to be worn suspension, so I'm sure a bunch of the rubber bushings are beyond their useful life at this point
 
Did you check wheel bearings? (Raise wheel and pull from top and bottom on wheel)
 
Kernal said:
Maybe also check your body mounts??
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I looked at those also and didn't notice any excessive movement in them. They definitely look worn, and could use replacement in the near future, but not to the point to cause the excess sway that I'm getting
 
What's the state of your control arm bushings? When my front bushings failed, it was difficult to keep the Cruiser on the road.
 
mudgudgeon said:
You say "worn suspension". What state are you shock absorbers in?
New? Old? Don't know?
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They aren’t leaking, but they are fairly spongy, and they look like they’ve been on there for a while. I have plans to lift it this winter so I’m not overly concerned with digging to deep into those
 
lumbee1 said:
What's the state of your control arm bushings? When my front bushings failed, it was difficult to keep the Cruiser on the road.
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They have a few small cracks in the rubber from what I can tell. I’ll be replacing the radius arm bushings when I lift in this winter, as well as the rear control arm/trailing arms bushings hopefully this weekend when they get delivered. I’m guessing I’ll have to get adjustable panhard bars, so I’m not overly concerned with those at the moment either
 
I added whiteline rear sway bar and heavy duty mounts from landtank. That will help with body roll especially during cornering
 
efjayatee said:
I added whiteline rear sway bar and heavy duty mounts from landtank. That will help with body roll especially during cornering
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I already added LCP heavy duty links and mounts to both the front and rear sway bars, along with all new bushings. It didn’t help at all
 
From your description, I'd say it has to be your shock absorbers. Good news is it's easy to test. You basically push down on one corner of the vehicle while parked, and see what happens. A good shock will stabilise the vehicle quickly without any fuss. Clapped out shocks will see it bounce up and down on the springs. Look up a YouTube video for "shock bounce test" or the like. I'd be very surprised if you don't see issues from that.
 
efjayatee said:
Whiteline too?
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Not yet, I’ve still got the stock sway bar on there for now, I’ve heard whiteline is the go to when it’s time for a new one though
DivByZero said:
From your description, I'd say it has to be your shock absorbers. Good news is it's easy to test. You basically push down on one corner of the vehicle while parked, and see what happens. A good shock will stabilise the vehicle quickly without any fuss. Clapped out shocks will see it bounce up and down on the springs. Look up a YouTube video for "shock bounce test" or the like. I'd be very surprised if you don't see issues from that.
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Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the absorbers. The weird thing is I don’t really get any extra bounce on the road, just the “wiggle” if I do any evasive maneuvering. Hopefully icon will get their Black Friday deals out soon so I can get their 3” lift!
 
96 FZJ80 said:
Not yet, I’ve still got the stock sway bar on there for now, I’ve heard whiteline is the go to when it’s time for a new one though

Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the absorbers. The weird thing is I don’t really get any extra bounce on the road, just the “wiggle” if I do any evasive maneuvering. Hopefully icon will get their Black Friday deals out soon so I can get their 3” lift!
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Put in the whiteline in already.....30min job. At least you will know if that helps with your rear. What lift you got right now? Stock or lifted?
 
efjayatee said:
Put in the whiteline in already.....30min job. At least you will know if that helps with your rear. What lift you got right now? Stock or lifted?
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It's on the ever growing list of things to purchase for the rig lol. It's just on the stock suspension right now, but hopefully won't be for much longer
 
On stock and has the rear wiggle😲......def its your worn out suspension like others have mentioned.
Wait till you do the 3" lift which is in reality a 3.3" and if you are unlucky, vibration, casters issue, wandering as you drive blah blah blah.....ect, its an expensive endeavor 😎
 
efjayatee said:
On stock and has the rear wiggle😲......def its your worn out suspension like others have mentioned.
Wait till you do the 3" lift which is in reality a 3.3" and if you are unlucky, vibration, casters issue, wandering as you drive blah blah blah.....ect, its an expensive endeavor 😎
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Yeah, on that, FWIW, I'd recommend a 2" lift for an 80 as the "happy place". You can do that with minimal fuss, and get most of the benefits. Beyond 2", you'd better have deep pockets and an appetite to chase issues for the next 3+ years.
 
You can get away w/out caster co issues at 2.5" and some are ok at 3", but from vehicle to vehicle it varies.
 
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