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Death wobble, the continuing saga

RockTracXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Colorado Springs
’94 XJ, 6” of lift, Rusty’s lowers, stock uppers, Rusty’s track bar

I was having death wobble last year. Here’s a list of work I did to fix things in general and to address the DW. I corrected the alignment, got new tires and wheels, new front shocks, new steering box and intermediate shaft. After all of this I was still having DW. Turns out my lower control arm bushings were shot (I have old style Rusty’s LCAs, these use the stock style rubber bushing). After I replaced these the DW was gone.

This past spring I got an Iron Rock over the knuckle steering setup (5/8) and installed that. While I was down there I also replaced the upper control arm bushings (stock rubber) and the track bar bushings (poly). I set the toe myself and in driving it around after these changes the DW is back with a vengeance. After I realized it was back I went through and double checked everything. The steering is tight and all CA and track bar bolts are there and tight. I checked the alignment and I was toed in about a 1/4”, so I changed that and now I’m at 1/16”. This morning on the 13 miles to work I think I got it wobbling good at least 5x, and all at speeds less than 55.

Has anyone used poly CA bushings to help solve DW problems? I’m planning to rotate my tires tonight to see if that helps any. Balljoints are newer and don’t have any play. I’ve got a Warn hub kit, so I’m not worried about front DS angles and think my caster is good, at least 5 degrees.

So, any thoughts? To continue to make improvements and go backwards is quite frustrating. That and I’m supposed to leave for Moab this Saturday and now I’m afraid to drive my Jeep across town. Thanks for reading and thanks for any insight.
 
short arms with stock upper on 6" of lift is not good. too steep of an angle for the stock uppers to handle.

my bet would be control arm drop brackets would cure the problem.

the control arm angle is also killing the bushings. poly bushings would put even more stress on the arms and could let to ripping off an axle mount.
 
If you raised your steering up, you should also drop your trac bar to get the both paralell.... not sure if that would solve your problem, but assuming everything else is the same as before it is something to look at..... also.... GET A PROFESSIONAL ALIGNMENT.
 
Good post on DW. I know what your saying about the alignment, that's why I did do it myself the Go Jeep way.
 
I feel your pain as I am sort of there. Not real DW but after a good odd hit on the fwy, 3 or 4 shakes. i have done it all. Even have JKS UCA and LCA's. Long story short, the only thing left to do to get ride and steering back is the dreaded drop brackets. I have yet to find someone that says they don't help when the lift is 5+ with short arms. I am going to have to give it some thought.
 
Sometimes you just have to love the simplicity of leaves....
 
I think I'd rather go long arm. I almost pulled the trigger on a BDS LA upgrade kit yesterday. So DW is largely a lifted, short-arm problem? I guess I'm trying to figure out how much the short-arms cause it, because like I said I haven't always had the problem at my current height. That, and if I dropped a grand on LAs and still had DW I'd be pretty pissed.

How would I change my track bar setup? The angle is pretty close to that of the drag link. Closer with the new steering than with the old.
 
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