Death Wobble prevention and part replacement 92 Jeep

Hi guys

I have a 1992 XJ that I picked up from my dad's friend 2 years ago and have replaced various parts on. Right now, I'm working on trying to prevent death wobble from occuring, because I think I have some symptoms of it. For the past few months, I got a lot of front end vibrations around 55 mph and would continue until about 60, 65. Sometimes, if I took my foot off the pedal, let it get below 55 and then slowly brought it back up, the vibrations would either lessen or not exist until a higher speed.

I took the car into the shop the other day for a different problem and they rotated the tires for me and the vibrations seem to be reduced, but they're definitely still there. I read elsewhere and saw that there are several parts that may be loose that I should check (tie rod ends ? ) I don't know a lot about cars yet, so I'm not familiar with everything that should be checked, so I'd appreciate any help.

Also,

When I picked this jeep up from my dad's friend, it had been sitting around for a couple years not being used. I've gotten a bunch of parts replaced but I was wondering if there were suggestions on what else to replace. I'm hoping to replace them myself if I can. Off the top of my had, I've replaced:

• Fuel pump and tank
• starter
• PCM (reason why it was in the shop )
• O-ring on oil filter housing
• battery
• AC fuse

I'm getting the muffler replaced, I found a hole in it. Also thinking about replacing all the wires since a bunch of them seem to be getting corroded. Anyway, this is getting real long, so thanks in advance for any help guys!

baseline maintenence:

Distributor cap
Distributor rotor
Plugs
Plug wires
Fuel filter
Air filter
Oil change
Top off/swap out oil in Tcase/transmission/axles
Grease all lube spots with grease gun (steering joints/universal joints)

If it doesn't fire up and run well after that, as well as the parts you mentioned, go step by step TESTING before throwing parts at it.

That's where I'd start anyways.

Routine maintenance and overhaul is one thing - and fairly straightforward.

But mention Death Wobble and you'll get an avalanche of suggested solutions. Search this forum and you'll find dozens if not hundreds of posts. All or none of the answers may work for you.

There really is no option but to work carefully through the DW checklist, and ideally not spend money on expensive replacement parts until you have narrowed down the most likely source(s) of the DW. Don't assume that any particular component is responsible.

As an example of the sort of process that DW requires, and a fairly systematic analysis of the various possible causes of DW, take a look at the thread about the DW on my '93 XJ, here. I got lots of thoughtful input from forum members, and eventually solved the problem after a few false-starts.

In my case, the main culprit - eventually - appeared to be the control arm bushings. But along the way I had also replaced shocks, UJs and various other parts, so there could have been other contributory factors too. So, as they say, YMMV.

Best of luck!

br1anstorm

I'd bet your tires aren't properly balanced since the vibes went down after rotating

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll start on that list for the maintenance. Also have a Hanes manual, so I'll look through there as well. I'll also keep looking through the DW list and check through everything before doing anything. One of the shops I took the Jeep to said something about the U joint but it was a while ago, so I'll have to get it looked again.

sandsgg, can you explain what you mean? I'll definitely go get them balanced soon. Haven't had it done in a while.

Not only balance, but in the 15+ years of fooling with XJs and ZJ, I've learned that perfectly round tires are also very important. I spend a lot of time on Interstates, and just north of 60MPH seems to be the sweet spot for a bad tire or wheel balance to rear its ugly head. I spent too many years chasing jiggles, wobbles, thumping, and all sorts of evil stuff, just to come to the conclusion that quality, round, well balanced tires, and nice firm, OEM types of stock suspension parts are the key to a Jeep vehicle that behaves properly. Many, if not most, of the contributors on this forum have had good luck with lifted vehicles and big tires, but I was having a hell of a time just keeping my stock height, normal tire XJ happy. I am on the fifth track bar in my '92, at 205k miles, but just replaced the original on my '96, at about 180k. No rhyme or reason! But, both have good tires on them, and they're happy. All OEM type suspension parts, real Jeep wheels. Unless you're going crawling with it, stock is my vote...

Like others have posted, there can be quite a few different causes to death wobble, and in many cases you have a combination of factors that cause it. It sounds like your case isn't too severe... yet. There's a reason it's called "death wobble"... because it comes on suddenly and your life may flash before you eyes because the rig is shaking so violently... so if it's not doing that, count your blessings but plan on doing some things to root out the cause.

One suggestion I have, other than the routine maintenance suggested, is to chock the tires, put it in park or neutral, and have a friend sit in the jeep and steer the wheels back and forth just slightly off-center with the rig running. No need to steer all the way left and right, just back and forth a bit with the wheel, enough to put pressure on everything one way, then back the other way, then back, etc.

While your friend steers the wheel back and forth, get under the front of the rig and look very carefully for any parts that have slop or movement in them while changing directions with the steering. Many times you'll find the front trackbar ends either on the axle or frame are worn, or the tie-rod ends in the steering are worn. You may also notice loose or worn control arm bushings, or a host of other things can cause death wobble.

When you have a slight vibration that you can "drive through" you don't have death wobble.

Death Wobble is a "What the F*???????????" moment where you take your foot off the gas, DON'T apply the brakes, and call on a higher power to slow your XJ and get you out of trouble.

Death Wobble--IMHO--is related to WORN, DAMAGED, or MISSING steering/suspension components and is definitely aggravated by lifted suspensions and wheel/tire changes. Death wobble is NOT a Jeep-only problem.

Generally, with a vibration in the steering that you can "drive through", I would look to wheel balance, possibly some brake rotor run-out but then you would notice a pulsation in the brake pedal when applying the service brakes.

Thanksk for all the input guys. I'll go through the steering and suspension stuff first for my death wobble check list.

joe_peters said:

When you have a slight vibration that you can "drive through" you don't have death wobble.

Death Wobble is a "What the F*???????????" moment where you take your foot off the gas, DON'T apply the brakes, and call on a higher power to slow your XJ and get you out of trouble.

Click to expand...

x 2 on that. DW loosens your teeth-fillings, dislocates your shoulder-sockets and requires you almost certainly to change your trousers when you get home...