29th Jul 2004, 11:00
"Every time the roads are wet, I can't seem to get good traction. It slips and slides all over the place."
I experienced the same problem, when starting from a stop in my 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport, during snow or rain. I put it in 4WD for a few seconds, until I get going and then drop it back to 2WD for regular traction.
I have also just started experiencing the front end vibration at 45 - 55 mentioned in many of the comments. My mileage is 65K. The problem is getting worse. I balanced, rotated and bought new tires, and the problem didn't change. So I don't think it is in the tires. I am going to try the suggestion of replacing the steering stabilizer, and inspect the track bar. I inspected the drive shafts for a thrown weight, but found no issues. If the steering stabilizer and/or track bar don't work, I will try and find someone to dynamically balance the wheels on the car.
29th Dec 2003, 22:36
Yes, the problem is likely the tires that are on. I find certain Goodyears to be HORRIBLE in the rain. My 92 was on Goodyear Aquatreads and was downright dangerous in wet weather if you can believe this. It didn't matter that the tires had lots of tread and were fairly new. I also experienced the Goodyear's dangerous rain performance on a Trans-am then I switched to Firestone SZ-50 - much much better in the rain!
Solution: pick up a pair of Pirelli Scorpions for the rear (I'd get front and rear if I were you). Once these were on the slip and slide was eliminated completely... a whole different, but safer truck. Best investment I've made.
Hope this helps.