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Death wobble after many new parts

SqueegieSteve

SqueegieSteve

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Boston, MA
Ok so i have a 98 with 3.5" rubicon superflex kit. I added two extra coil isolators in the front to even it out with trear which turned out to be a little higher then the back but almost even.

I did that all more then a year ago and all of a sudden bad death wobble about 1 month ago. Within the past two weeks i have been tackling it. I put a new track bar with hd bracket, new steering damper, new drop pitman... And now the steering is tight as hell and no more clunks or anything when i turn... But still get death wobble on the highway.

Could it be because i am too high lifted in the front and now my caster/camber is s bad that i now have death wobble? Should i put the 75 bucks down for an alignment shop even though i dont have adjustable control arms? Ive never had a shop do any work on my jeep, and i thought i knew the thing in and out.... Guess i was wrong.

Any feedback/storys you have would be a huge help. Thnks!
 
Death wobble check list:
1. Check bushings (Control arms & trac bar)
2. Check that yur trac bar bracket on the frame side is tight
3. Check your toe of the front tires (1/8" in/out or 0" tolerance)
4.bad ball joint/unit bearings
5. Seperated tires or unbalanced
6.dana 30 pinion angle could be too low or too high
7. Make sure u have an adjustable trac bar and it's adjusted accordingly to your vehicle height.
Basically Check if everything is tight to spec and control arms and such are adjusted too.

Do u have fixed control arms?
 
Last edited:
First, I.would.ditch the drop pitman arm, it changes your angles and will give you bumpster. The best way to check the front end is with it on the ground have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you look at all tie rod.ends and especially the track bar ends. Also I have seen people crank the lower track bar end bolt so tight the play will not show up when checking, so I would also back it off a bit when checking, the hole could be wollored out. And no I would not spend money on an alignment, search go jeep driveway alignment.
 
I have fixed control arms. I just installed most of the parts thats you mentioned. New track bar and at first the bottom bolt on the tie rod was too loose. So i pulled over ad torqued it down good... It made the steering tighter but still had death wobble. Now when someone turns the steering wheel everything looks tight.
Should i bother pulling out a coil isolator to drop the front down a bit to try and fix the alignment?
 
I just rechecked for play. Passenger side feels real tight, but drivers side has about 1/16" of play in it. Enough to result in death wobble? How do i know if its a wheel bearing or ball joints?

If so ill replace it tomorrow. How do i know whether its the top or bottom ball joint that is bad?
 
SqueegieSteve said:
I just rechecked for play. Passenger side feels real tight, but drivers side has about 1/16" of play in it. Enough to result in death wobble? How do i know if its a wheel bearing or ball joints?
you take the wheel off... If the unit bearing doesn't wiggle the ball joints might be the culprit...
If so ill replace it tomorrow. How do i know whether its the top or bottom ball joint that is bad?
you take the knuckle off and find out...
Click to expand...
 
I actually think my caster may be really bad. I heard that it can cause DW. Lifting it another inch and a half from what the rubicon lca's are designed for could be my issue right? Anybody have any experiance with bad caster and DW?
 
Wouldn't hurt to rotate your tires. I have had horrible death wobble with bad tires that look good on the outside.70% plus on the tread.
 
SqueegieSteve said:
I actually think my caster may be really bad. I heard that it can cause DW. Lifting it another inch and a half from what the rubicon lca's are designed for could be my issue right? Anybody have any experiance with bad caster and DW?
Click to expand...
super flex and super ride arms are generally really close to stock if not exact. still, their length wouldnt be the cause. my super flex arms arent a problem at 4.5" but im not saying castor couldnt be your problem.
 
Fix your caster, replace that bad ball joint (or all of them), then get a professional alignment. Report back what happens.
 
Check out the bolt hole for the axle side track bar mount. I have had DW on and off for quite a while and I narrowed part of it down to that bolt hole.

I took the bolt out and dropped the TB. Put the bolt back in the hole and wiggle it around and see how much play you have. I had a good 1/16" inch of play in the hole. I cut a small piece of flat steel drilled a new hole with an almost exact hole as the bolt diameter and welded it over the hole. Re attached TB and viola my DW was gone for the most part.

I would check out that hole I have heard it gives people alotta problems. There is alotta weight on that bolt during normal driving and that bracket is far from beefy.
 
Well i am going to see if i can get my wheels balanced, maybe that's my issue? Maybe i did throw a wheel weight... But i hope it's not the track bar hole. i don't have a welder.
 
Last night i replaced the upper ball joint on my drivers side... Now the death wobble has been reduced to a low minimum, not gone however... but definitly now somewhat highway and 70mph worthy
 
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