Death Wobble.

  • My Jeep has it bad and I am out of ideas. Does anyone see anything I missed that could be causing it?



    New track bar(ends are tight)
    Welded washers to the stock brackets and replaced the hardware with shouldered grade8 stuff. All torqued correctly
    Balljoints have no play
    Steering links are tight and have no play
    Unit bearings are tight
    Steering box has no play
    Tires are road force balanced



    Hitting bump over 40mph sends it in to a wobble. Going over 53mph sends it in to a wobble. After it starts I have to come to a complete stop to make it stop shaking.

  • bump this back up. I have to be missing something.



    since the first post I have added



    New balljoints
    new tie rod
    new drag link
    new track bar
    new upper control arms
    rebalanced and roadforced the tires.
    Aligned it.



    I'm starting to hate this thing.

  • Upper track bar bracket tight? Have someone turn the wheel while you look at the brackets. Make sure they aren't flexing or moving at all. Control arm bushings ok? Oddly enough check the rear track bar also. I chased a dw issue and ended up finding the rear was loose causing it to shift all around and throw the front end into a fit. Steering box feel ok? No skipping or jerky wheel? Unit bearings? Last resort throw a stabilizer on it and wish it well . :mrgreen:

    2000 Sahara, All custom...
    2000 Cherokee Police package, Beater....


    I may be slowest and the stupidest

  • both brackets good welded washers around the holes so they wouldn't egg out. Unitbearing are good. Control arm bushings are all new and johnny joints have no play. I never really thought to check the rear It does get beaten up a little by the detroit.





    Castor 4.6*
    Toe 1/8" toed out.



    It is frustrating that I fix other people's junk for a living but can't keep this thing from wobbling for more then a month at a time.

  • I feel your pain...
    Is someone looking at it with you or are you just pushing/pulling on stuff. It took Ed getting a good look at my lower track bar bracket while I turned the wheel to tell it was loose. It was torqued and felt tight but it wasn't. Obviously yours are not wobbled, but somebody might be able to pick out some movent elsewhere.

  • I had a wobble in the front of my JK that would appear at 40mph...not death wobble but a wobble none the less..I figured it was from my crappy tires being cupped and didn't worry about it...last weekend I put new front swaybar links on and it 100% disappeared so......don't know why they took the wobble away but it is gone now

  • Why out?


    X2. I'd run it at 1/8-1/4" toed in.



    I had a wobble in the front of my JK that would appear at 40mph...not death wobble but a wobble none the less..I figured it was from my crappy tires being cupped and didn't worry about it...last weekend I put new front swaybar links on and it 100% disappeared so......don't know why they took the wobble away but it is gone now


    I don't get that one either. Strange that links would have any affect at all.



    Spedly, there is definitely an answer....you just have to find it. It can be frustrating as hell. My TJ had DW and I finally gave up and used a stabilizer. Now with hydro assist, I don't feel anything but if I took my hydraulic ram off, I bet death wobble would show it's ugly face again. :bang: PM sent.


  • My TJ had DW and I finally gave up and used a stabilizer.


    This is always as risky as talking about the Canal, but one thing about stabilizers...


    Call them a band aid or whatever you like, but having one on will help protect steering components from damage if you do get DW.

  • This is always as risky as talking about the Canal, but one thing about stabilizers...


    Call them a band aid or whatever you like, but having one on will help protect steering components from damage if you do get DW.


    I agree. I also like the way the Jeep feels with a stabilizer on. Bigger tires are heavy and have a lot of leverage over the stock steering when you hit bumps, potholes, etc.


  • .



    I don't get that one either. Strange that links would have any affect at all.





    No doubt it is extremely odd...







    I always shied away from running a stabilizer on my TJ as I kept killing them...but I went through the Death Wobble scenario for 2 yrs before selling it to Ed who threw on a stabilizer and it is now gone....

  • The stabilizer helps a lot sometimes I can feel it start but the stabilizer stops it. Other times it just wobbles with it on. I took the antilock off the other day because one of the links was seized. Still wobbles.



  • I don't get that one either. Strange that links would have any affect at all



    My wifes XJ had DW and I took a wrench to everything and the only thing that I could find was the nuts on the swaybar links had backed off some. Tightened them up and its been gone for over a year now :shrug:

  • Did you torqe the ca's while it was on the ground or up in the air? You should have the jeep on the ground then tighten the bolts. Have someone jerk the wheel left and right, just turning wont help. If you have someone jerk the wheel you should find what is loose.

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