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2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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SandiP
New User
Jun 26, 2014, 12:24 PM
Post #1 of 7
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2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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Hi! I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what is going on with my Jeep. About a year ago I noticed that the steering wheel would shake when I pressed on the brakes. I've had the brake pads and rotors replaced since this started and wasn't told there were any other issues. To be honest I didn't ask about this specific problem. The shaking has gotten much worse and I have taken my Jeep to 2 mechanics and neither could tell me what was wrong. The shaking happens as soon as I press on the brakes but if I am using the cruise control, there is NO shaking. I do have over-sized tires and a lift on my Jeep. Both mechanics thought that might be the problem. I replaced the tires and the problem is still there. Any ideas??
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 26, 2014, 12:42 PM
Post #2 of 7
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Re: 2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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I tend to agree with the two mechanics - vehicle is altered so all bets off but still need to know all front end parts are tight and not worn.
Dunno what you mean about the cruise control as that shuts off instantly if you touch the brakes so why would that matter?
Sometimes new or not rotors are just not right out of the box. Even machining them doesn't solve all or for long. If a brake is just slightly dragging that wheel will be warm to hot which can aggravate braking and hence the shake felt in steering wheel.
More: Is this or should it be equipped with a steering damper (shock for steering not suspension) ?? It's on the maybe list IMO too.
IDK - I'd hoist front wheels and see them spin free and check all parts for free-play -- not much of any allowed. The lift all depending may have hopelessly thrown off alignment specs but should be showing as odd tire wear.
In short if all is safe I blame it on being altered if nothing else found,
T
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SandiP
New User
Jun 26, 2014, 12:57 PM
Post #3 of 7
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Re: 2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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Thank you for responding Tom.
The lift was done right after I got the vehicle. It didn't start shaking until 3 years later.
I mentioned the cruise control because I frequently use the decrease speed option. This engages the brakes. The steering wheel does not shake at all while braking when I use this feature.
I replaced the tires because the tire threads were getting worn and the mechanic thought that was the problem. but replacing them didn't stop the shaking.
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kev2
Veteran
Jun 26, 2014, 1:19 PM
Post #4 of 7
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Re: 2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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I do not think the decrease speed engages the brakes-
The brakes and rotors have been done- eliminating that, next would be suspension check loose components- tie rod ends, control arms, bearing preload, etc, the lift is hard on components- last an alignment check
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 26, 2014, 1:22 PM
Post #5 of 7
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Re: 2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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I was UNAWARE that any current cruise controls actually apply brakes! Either it doesn't or just never noticed one literally since the 1960s! Even so it would be the same brakes and no clue why that would matter.
OK - any lash (free-play) in steering anything to do with holding wheels in place, suspension, -- all of it has some play if you jockey a wheel watching a free steering wheel by hand you'll notice some.
All steering I know of (check for yourself*) will have intentional free-play when not set to dead straight ahead as positioned by steering wheel, mark on shaft, down to whatever u-joints and probably a damper for less road annoying feel thru steering wheel such that it will compensate for the different arcs of a turn as well as possible to avoid scrubbing.
Test if you don't believe me - shut off vehicle. Put key so steering is not locked or not I guess, turn to near an extreme left or right and feel the play. When pointed straight ahead there should be almost none.
Sometimes in the course of messing with cars/vehicles a steering wheel gets "centered" but just removing it and placing it back on not paying attention to the real center for either a rack and pinion or gear box type and will be forever not perfect. Any slight reason for a vibration will likely show up as wheel vibrations if there's play in certain conditions and may go away or be constant.
In lifting this thing it about had to have something done to accommodate a lot of things and it might have been then but waited to show itself - can't know without checking hard in person.
Not here to discourage some fun and been there but an incredible amount of engineering goes into the angles of alignment, tire sizes, center of gravity and so on it's a real brain twist.
Again - all parts need to be known good. Suspension and steering parts need prying and putting load or weight of vehicle just right on where to expose that possible wear or it wont show up.
About now I think you have effectively ruled out tires themselves. Takes real time to check all the items possible and IMO not done very often and should be with every responsible alignment job.
If checking and hoisting yourself to check things just be aware of what you may pry on to not harm anything.
Sorry for the novel - there's a lot to do with how a vehicle steers and is suspended,
T
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SandiP
New User
Jun 26, 2014, 1:36 PM
Post #6 of 7
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Re: 2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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thank you both for the responses. The ball joints and tie rods were replaced last year.
Sounds like this is beyond my comprehension.
I don't know much about cars. Just enough to know when something is wrong. I try to get it looked at or fixed right away. Sadly i have made many trips to my mechanic and found that it was just a stone that got lodged or something else.
I just assumed that because the speed decreased when I press the decel button on the cruise control, that meant the brakes were engaged. Didn't know you could stop a vehicle any other way. Again I don't know much about cars. Just trying to fix the problem before it gets worse. I love my Jeep and don't want to have it break down on me.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 26, 2014, 1:58 PM
Post #7 of 7
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Re: 2006 Jeep Liberty Steering Wheel Shakes when braking
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Ya - there's a boatload to know to just scratch the surface of understanding vehicles. Hard to be concise to explain and even with years at it there's always something to surprise even the best of techs.
No matter and it takes real help to find some issues by someone with the time in a rat-race world of drive-thru repair and such.
Side note on the cruise control. When (they did and I owned one) have cruise that applied brakes! You could watch the pedal get pulled down. That was on some with controls on the steering wheel. Braking was called "retard" on them. I actually found it a bit dangerous as the longer you held it the harder it tried to stop and about thru you thru the windshield!
Other - grease the heck out of this vehicle as kev2 said there's a lot of stresses on parts and your new parts should have fittings - do them or make sure they get done as they can go fast,
T
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