Death Wobble.... Split from: What have you done to your Jeep today?

  • Put new MUCH NEEDED brake pads on the Jeep...


    the fronts were wore, but not toast... the rears however were toast, down to metal on one pad, and that rotor is pretty grooved. (I'll address that later)


    now brakes are nice and smooth, BUT...


    -check engine light came on, hopefully it was just brake pressure and it will reset.
    - Death Wobble is back, 40-45 either I stay below 40 or I power thru and hold on until I hit 50mph,
    I still haven't balanced the tires, but yesterday it was fine, now with new pads it is back???
    first thought is warped rotors, but there is no pulsing when the brakes are applied, it brakes very smoothly


    I know that my alignment is off, 33's had some shimmy at 45, 30's were smooth as glass, now 35's gets death wobble.


  • No point in troubleshooting any "wobble" until you balance the tires and fix the alignment. And if you can drive through it is likely not "death wobble". You will know the difference...


    What code is it throwing? (ignition off to "run" 3 times and leave in "run" position. Code displays on odometer)

  • No point in troubleshooting any "wobble" until you balance the tires and fix the alignment. And if you can drive through it is likely not "death wobble". You will know the difference...


    What code is it throwing? (ignition off to "run" 3 times and leave in "run" position. Code displays on odometer)


    Code is P 0123, then Done


    that is really cool, did not know I could do that, learn something new everyday.


    Only reason I am worried about it, is because before brake pads there was no D/W and now there is,
    I drove it with the new un-balanced tires up and down rt 1 and 13 for 2 days, with no probs.


    Oh and it is D/W, promise, had to drive thru it cause I was merging into traffic and I didn't have a choice, if I hold 40mph for more than 2-3 seconds the front end is hopping all over the road, not fun...


    D/W and shimmy have been my two biggest issues for the last year or so.


    -- checked toe in, it was dead on 1/16"... so I brought it in to 1/8" same result, tried 1/4" same result.
    -- the steering is tight, had the wife cycle it thru, no play,
    -- ball joints are good no play.
    -- unit bearings are good I think, there is no play, up-down or side-side, with the steering wheel locked.
    -- Track bar is newer (adj JKS) and it is tight
    -- Brakes seem not warped


    I am down to three suspects.
    -tire balance
    -Control arm bushings (they are stock, and they look fine)
    -alignment (toe-in is easy, but I might be off on the pinion angle) I have cam washers on the lowers but not sure what is the best angle?

  • P0123 (M) Throttle Position Sensor Voltage High Throttle position sensor input above the maximum acceptable voltage.


    stupid brake pads!!!


    brought on death wobble and a TPS issue.


    Where is the TPS, when I compressed the caliper pistons, I overflowed the reservoir... dumped a good bit of fluid...

  • Pull the battery cables off for about 8 hours. This is the "scan-tool free" hard-reset for Chrysler.


    IF it happens again you know something isn't right. Sometimes codes just "appear" for no apparent reason.


    -Brad

    Straight six or nuthin!
    1993 Jeep Wrangler Sport w/ splash graphics!
    1993 Dodge W-350 Cummins
    2006 BMW 325xi wagon.


  • Pull the battery cables off for about 8 hours. This is the "scan-tool free" hard-reset for Chrysler.


    Actually 15 mins and touching the cables together will clear the codes.


    Tried that when I got the 0123 code.


    Ended up replacing the sensor and it fixed it.


  • Pull the battery cables off for about 8 hours. This is the "scan-tool free" hard-reset for Chrysler.
    IF it happens again you know something isn't right. Sometimes codes just "appear" for no apparent reason.
    -Brad


    EDIT: Keith beat me to the post...


    You can do a hard-reset of all the data without waiting 8 hrs but why would you want to? There is zero reason to do that. A code is a code, it will clear itself, or it won't... Perhaps address the issue instead of forcing the computer to relearn everything over the next 500 or so miles?


    Here FWIW, http://www.rubiconownersforum.…iewtopic.php?f=38&t=59653, since "Internet Research" is so popular these days... :innocent:

  • I'm not too worried about the TPS, It's an easy fix... the Jeep is running great anyway.


    I was just baffled how brake pads caused two seeming unrelated issues... I had to get to work, so I haven't had too much time to surf the net for an answer, I was just hoping that others had experienced something similar, and could advise.


    tomorrow I think I'll pick up some rotors and have the tires balanced and go from there.
    if that doesn't fix the D/W, I'll be looking at new control arms.


  • I was just baffled how brake pads caused two seeming unrelated issues... I had to get to work, so I haven't had too much time to surf the net for an answer, I was just hoping that others had experienced something similar, and could advise.


    I seriously doubt the brakes have anything to do with either other issue.


    If you were on the verge of DW, running unbalanced 35's probably put you over the edge.

  • I seriously doubt the brakes have anything to do with either other issue.


    If you were on the verge of DW, running unbalanced 35's probably put you over the edge.


    True and true... but in my defense, the 33's were not in the best shape.
    I couldn't justify replacing w/o upgrading...
    and it ran true for two days, but that might have just been a fluke.


    two stops in the am... balance and then the parts store for some rotors I need them anyway, so might as well get it done now.

  • check to make sure your rotors are on tight and all the lugs are tight sounds like the tires arent mounted up tight if you got a death wobble after you did the new brakes.

    bLaTaNt DiSrEgArD<br /><br /><br />TJ 98 4 banger gone but not fogotten<br />WJ 02 limited- Do all vehicle &quot;QUICK THROW A LOCKER AT IT!!!&quot;


  • check to make sure your rotors are on tight and all the lugs are tight sounds like the tires arent mounted up tight if you got a death wobble after you did the new brakes.


    I wish... that would be way too easy, plus I checked as soon as I got back home from the first test drive... no luck they were all tight.


  • most likely you are feeling a slight wobble from the unbalanced tires


    death wobble, you would have to come to a complete stop, clean yourself up and change your pants


    I could bring you out for a ride... it was full on D/W


    I say was, cause balanced tires fixed the D/W, but there is still a shimmy at 40~45
    put on new shinny rotors front and rear, and damn do my brakes work well, did some 40 mph slam on the brakes to break them in, and it will stop on a dime, scared the crap out of some guys playing golf! lol.


    I am far from being in the clear... there is still an issue, but atleast I can drive it over 40 mph now, with out worry of losing it on the road!


    thinking control arms are in order.
    Probably do the Curries like I did in the rear.


  • Split this as it was getting a bit too far away from the intent of the stickied post...


    C'mon Ian... I was trying to hit 20K... topic is at 736 posts and 18712 times read!


    Thought I'd get some kind of award. lol



    But thanks, I had considered spliting, but there are so many Death Wobble threads already...


    What's one more thread, it is a common issue with Jeeps and I don't see it going away anytime soon.

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