Death Wobble Help

BlackJKU08

BlackJKU08

New member
I have been experiencing death wobble lately, I have read the information on here about it but am struggling to diagnose properly the issue due to the prior owner not doing maintenance really at all. My rig is mainly daily driver with some weekend trails but nothing too serious. I can't adjust the tie rod or drag link due to rust and years of neglect. I am thinking about getting the parts in pic to get functionality back and rid of wobble...this is only one step, just seeing if I make sense. Thanks as always for the advice.
IMG_2487.JPG


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I experienced the same thing. I was able to resolve it by changing the steering stabilizer. Some people will argue that by doing so you are only masking the problem. In part is true, unless your problem is right there. That was my case. Running 35" tires, I had a larger rotating mass, adding a bad S.S. it got very scary at times. I'm not sure if this will fix your issue but it is worth checking out the status of your stabilizer. Also ball joints and tie rods ends can be causing wobble. Hope this will help. Good luck


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Sorry, but your steering stabilizer is not going to cause, or cure, death wobble. If your suspension is set up properly, you don't even need a stabilizer.

I'd start by checking the torque specs on your trackbar, control arms, etc. Basically, follow the write up here. You should also check your ball joints.
 
Sharkey said:
Sorry, but your steering stabilizer is not going to cause, or cure, death wobble. If your suspension is set up properly, you don't even need a stabilizer.

I'd start by checking the torque specs on your trackbar, control arms, etc. Basically, follow the write up here. You should also check your ball joints.
Click to expand...

Yup :yup:

Every case I've ran into/seen so far has always either been a loose track bar bolt or worn ball joints.
I've had balljoints that showed no signs of up/down play (lowers) until they were removed from the knuckle.
 
Start by making sure your track bar bolt to the axle is tight (125 ft lbs). Also check all the tie rod ends. Best way would be to jack up the jeep just so the wheels are of the ground. Have somebody turn the wheels back and forth while you look for play in every joint.
Also check your balljoints for play. Once again jack the jeep up just enough to have the wheels of he ground stick a shovel or prybar underneath the tire and move it up and down, the slightest up and down movement can cause a shimmy, play of as little as 1/16 of an inch will cause shimmy. First time I checked mine I couldn't even see any play, second time I did a much closer inspection and was able to find play on both sides.
I replaced my balljoints and the shimmy I had was gone.
As far as steering stabilizers, like it has been mentioned a million times before on this forum, SS won't fix the shimmy you having. It will only mask it by dampening the movement that is being transferred back to the steering box. If everything in your steering is tight you don't even need a steering stabilizer.
For me with big 37" mud tires I found that proper tire balancing also helps a lot. It will not directly cause shimmy but in my opinion the little side to side movement of improperly balanced tire will contribute into shimmy.
I hope this helps.


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I just went through this with my 16 JKU mine was blown out lower ball joints at the low 14000 miles replaced them and re-torqued everything and pulled the steering stabilizer and ran it like that for a few weeks to make sure it was gone


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I agree with the above posts, the Steering Stabilizer is most likely not the problem however a
blown one will be unlikely to mask the source problem for long.
The top 3 sources of death wobble IMHO are
1) Track bar looseness, worn bushing and ovalized mounting holes
2) Worn Ball Joints
3) Worn front wheel bearings.
Planman on You Tube has a very good Video on Diagnosing Death Wobble on Jeeps
Check it out on You Tube

I hear ya on having a jeep thats behind on maintenance I have a KTM 990 I bought that way and am still sorting out the problems caused by a lack of maintenance and common problems that were not repaired or at least correctly. It's been 3 years now and I still have a lot of work to do on that bike.
PHX
 
I began to experience death wobble after lifting my jeep with 54k miles on it and running 37's. My particular situation was resolved by changing my worn out factory track bar. I could have just replaced the bushing in the factory track bar but I decided to install an HD track bar instead. It fixed my death wobble and helped out with the overall handling of the jeep. I have never ran a steering stabilizer.
 
Re

Not mentioned yet, air pressure.. My 37" BFG KM2's, give me death wobble when run at 30psi, up it to 35, slight shimmy over bumps, off the trail with the pressure 15/18, psi, no wobble. Not a fix for the problem, but it may help. Iv'e yet to talk to my tire guy if that is due to poor balancing.
 
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