Nine problems related to suspension have been reported for the 1998 Jeep Wrangler. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I have a 1998 Jeep Wrangler. I've owned my Jeep for 15 years. It has been garage kept. We were changing the shocks a few weeks ago and noticed severe rust damage. The frame is rusting from the inside out. It's severe. Years before I was traveling down a 2 land rd and had to press my brakes harder than I usually would due to a car pulling out in front of me. At that moment I blew a brake line. I could not get my vehicle stopped. Luckily it's a 5 speed. I geared down as fast as I could and managed to pull it off the main road onto a hill to get it stopped. After inspecting my vehicle I found severe damage. The motors mounts are barely there. The part where the frame mounts to the body is actually missing one due to rusting completely out. Every single bolt and nut is rusted. Every single square inch of the frame is rusted. The problem is that Jeep poorly designed the frame with side holes for water and dirt to enter but did not design it with drainage holes on the bottom of the frame. Water and dirt enter and never leave. It's extremely unsafe to drive. I've read thousands of complaints online and this is a very common problem.
The rust is so bad on the Jeeps it's ridiculous it's not safe your going to kill someone when there rear axle shoots out from under them this is a issue you should fix not the consumer I will not be buying this product again if it is my fixed. 98 tj Jeep Wrangler.
Death wobble, front end shakes violently at higher freeway speeds. Very fearful to drive on other than streets. Has happened several times the last 2 years. Purchased Jeep used 5 years ago but only started to have wobble last 2 years since im retired and don't drive long distances very often and not don't want to drive anywhere that requires me to use freeways.
Jeep death wobble. Scary!.
Rust has eaten completely through Jeep frame in rear support area through about midway of the door section. This is not minor surface rust, but large gaping holes that I can put my whole hand inside of. The Jeep was purchased new in 1998 and has never been offroad. It has very low highway mileage and is in an area where the winters are mild, so there's not a lot of road salt used during the winters here. It has been maintained and has been well taken care of. I had recently taken it to a fabrication shop to see if it could be repaired, and after examination the shop owner said there is no solid metal left in the frame for a repair to be possible. He said there are no drain holes on bottom of the Jeep frame, but only holes that the manufacturer put on the side of the frame. He said, as a result road grime entered the frame from these manufactured side holes, got trapped inside the frame and caused it to rust from the inside out. He said that is why I had not detected the severity of the rust problem before now. The shop owner put his hand inside the frame and pulled out a handful of moist road grime and loose rust flakes to further illustrate the problem. The shop owner went on to inform me that my Jeep is not safe to drive. In stark contrast, the underside of the body of the Jeep has absolutely no rust at all.
When driving at any speed and going over a bump, the steering wheel is vibrating and there is some knocking noise coming from the vehicle. Consumer feels the design of the steering wheel and column mechanism does not fit correctly causing loose fitting. Ak.
Suspension.
Due to the design of suspension it is rubbing against radiator hose, puncturing the hose which caused a leak. Consumer has contacted dealer. Please provide any further details.
Vehicle leans on one side more than on the other. Dealer has inspected the suspension , improper adjustment of the body mounts causing tilting.