First, here are the particulars on the vehicle:
1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee
6 cyl. - automatic
Home is KY USA
Tires good
Problem occurs intermittently
I'm hoping someone has a crystal ball and can diagnose this problem:
Occasionally, at about 45-50 mph the jeep starts shaking violently and it feels like the steering wheel is going to come off in my hands. If I speed up it smooths out. If I slow down it smooths out. It can happen on acceleration or slowing down, when I step on the brake or whenever it wants to. It might do it 3-4 times then not do it again for a month.
I took it to a Jeep dealer, and for $85 they said they could fix it for $1965.00. They took it for a test drive and determined it had a front suspension wobble. (Gee, you think?) Said the front end was wore out and needed track bar, inner drag link, outer drag link, upper ball joint, lower ball joint and something called a damper. (Seemed a bit excessive to me.) Said it probably starts shaking because I hit a bump or pothole and put something out of line. (Not exact wording but the meaning is there.) Jeep dealer said it was possibly overdrive/transmission related but finally ruled that out.
My husband jacked up the front end to check if anything was loose and said everything seemed tight to him, but the service man at Jeep said there were things loose that shouldn't be.
So, any idea if all that stuff is really needed or is it overkill? Or could it be something a lot simpler?
All I know is, it's really scary when it happens and I need to get it fixed but I don't want to be taken to the cleaners either. Please help if you can!
Update: After researching, I have discovered I have the dreaded "Death Wobble" which can have multiple causes and is very dangerous. Now I really don't know what to do.