• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Chasing death wobble/steering problems

ljobbins

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
SD County
I have been chasing some death wobble for a week and a half and now have some questions.
The story:
Installed 2in coils and found the tie rod end to be shot.
Replaced the tie rod end.
Drove and at 40mph almost flew off the road with death wobble. Jacked up and found drag link super sloppy with broken ends on both side.
Replaced drag link and stabilizer.
Alignment then horrible so I got an alignment.
Now it vibrated bad at 60mph but not to the point of full blown death wobble.
Suspected tires out of balance so I got them rotated and rebalanced.
Better but not completely gone.
Now we are at today with new steering links and freshly balanced tires. Everything is tight when I jack it up and try to shake it hard.
I am now stuck suspecting the steering box is bad but not positive because I don't exactly know how to check. I checked the frame and it is solid. I read about people having flex/crack problems from steering box braces so I am skeptical of adding one if I do replace the steering box but wanted people's opinions.
Can anyone think of other things to check before I drop a ton of money and time on replacing or fixing the steering box? This is a DD but does get some off-road use but not rock smashing status. I am frequently on freeways so I need to be able to go over 60mph. I now have a 2in lift with 30in tires. I can manage driving slower and more cautiously for this moment but I need it fixed ASAP. Thanks for any help
-Luke
 
I have been chasing some death wobble for a week and a half and now have some questions.
The story:
Installed 2in coils and found the tie rod end to be shot.
Replaced the tie rod end. Did you replace both?
Drove and at 40mph almost flew off the road with death wobble. Jacked up and found drag link super sloppy with broken ends on both side.
Replaced drag link and stabilizer.
Alignment then horrible so I got an alignment.
Now it vibrated bad at 60mph but not to the point of full blown death wobble.
Suspected tires out of balance so I got them rotated and rebalanced.
Better but not completely gone.
Now we are at today with new steering links and freshly balanced tires. Everything is tight when I jack it up and try to shake it hard.
I am now stuck suspecting the steering box is bad but not positive because I don't exactly know how to check. I checked the frame and it is solid. I read about people having flex/crack problems from steering box braces so I am skeptical of adding one if I do replace the steering box but wanted people's opinions.
Can anyone think of other things to check before I drop a ton of money and time on replacing or fixing the steering box?
This is a DD but does get some off-road use but not rock smashing status. I am frequently on freeways so I need to be able to go over 60mph. I now have a 2in lift with 30in tires. I can manage driving slower and more cautiously for this moment but I need it fixed ASAP. Thanks for any help
-Luke

I didn't see anything about the track bar. Likely that is the problem.
 
I dont see anything either about the trackbar. replace the trackbar joints/bushings or if its stock replace the whole thing. and tighten down the 4 bolts that mount it to the frame.
 
Sorry the trackbar is stock length but newer. Bushings looked good when I installed it but I will check the mount to the frame later. Thanks
 
make sure trackbar mounts are not wallowed out.
 
Yeah... First check the axle-end bracket for any signs of movement (bare/shiny steel, look close), and make sure the frame bracket is tight. The former caused the worst death wobble my XJ has ever seen when my dumb ass thought a 3/8" grade 8 bolt was a suitable replacement for a cross-threaded 10mm grade 10.9 on a stock track bar. Short answer: it's not.
 
Cool thanks guys. I have auto class tomorrow so I will take the track bar off and check it again then retorque it if it is still good.
 
The problem is caster. Loosen the frame side lower control arm and adjusters. Move adjuster all the way forward and retightn. U can add washers behind the adjuster studs if u off road. Also moog has a better trackball bushing for the factory trackbar. It stops alot of the flex from the bushing.
 
The problem is caster. Loosen the frame side lower control arm and adjusters. Move adjuster all the way forward and retightn. U can add washers behind the adjuster studs if u off road. Also moog has a better trackball bushing for the factory trackbar. It stops alot of the flex from the bushing.
Wait....What?
Seting caster should be done properly, and this sure ain't proper.

Caster should be set at 6-8 Deg. There are plenty of write-up's on the WWW explaining how to do it with a simple angle-finder ($12 at Lowes, or Home Depot).

Please don't post "stuff" like this....you aren't helping the OP.
 
Hands down wrong. Shifting your caster forward may mask some of the wobble but it's not fixing anything. Track bar first. Usually the problem. I had what I thought was death wobble but it turned out to be warped rotors. It would happen after I hit a bump on the highway. It just so happened that when I hit bumps I usually would tap the break for some reason.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
 
I also chase a light death wobble from time to time. If the track bar seems fine check the lower ball joints for horizontal movement. New ball joints fixed mine for a few weeks but my DW is coming back again. I'll run through the whole exercise in a few weeks (waiting for a broken finger to heal) starting with the track bar, alignment then the lower control arm Johnny joints, the tie rod ends and last but not least the steering box. I run the TNT Y link kit. The LCAs get play in them easily and that's what I expect my DW to be coming from.
 
OK, OK ... I was just kiddin'

OP, I've had my XJ for 19 1/2 years. I've put over 150,000 miles on it, and have had three experiences with death wobble.

First, how are your tires? All 3 time's I've experienced death wobble, my tires were at the end of their life.

Second, how do you maintain your tires and alignment? At 5,000 miles, I went to my local Firestone store and put lifetime alignment on my Jeep, and lifetime rotation and balance on the tires. I've done that with every set of tires since.

After that, every 5,000 miles, I've gone on the Firestone website and downloaded a 19.95 oil change coupon, and got my oil changed, tires rotated and balanced, and front end aligned. I strongly recommend that. Not only does it keep my XJ riding good, it gets longer wear out of the tires, and helps with death wobble, as you'll see later.

HINT: Tip the guy who does the work 5 bucks. Once you've done that a few times, and the word gets around, the most senior (and experienced) techs will insist on getting to work on your rig, and they'll do an extra-good job for you. More than once, they've caught small problems and fixed them for me for free.

I had my first date with DW right at 40,000 miles. I'd never heard of it before, and it scared the crap out of me. The tires were shot, so I put a set of 255/70 15 Bridgestone Dueller AT Revos on it, and a factory replacement steering stabilizer.

I didn't see even a hint of death wobble again for 55,000 miles.

Right at 95,000 miles, I started to feel just a bit of pre-DW when I'd hit certain bumps on the highway during my daily commute. Always the same bumps. The tires were 50,000 mile warrantied, and had 55,000 miles on them, but instead of replacing them, I had them balanced and rotated again, and the DW went away.

3,000 miles later, I started seeing pre-DW again, but a balance and rotation resolved it again.

3,000 miles later, same story.

I'd found a set of 16" Moab wheels, and ordered tires for it. While I waited for them to come in, I had to take a trip to St Louis (400 miles away). As soon as I left there for home, the death wobble started. It was unbelievably bad at 50-60, but once I got over 60, it was OK. It would take 4-5 tries to get past 60. It got worse and worse until I drove the last 50 miles on surface streets, and couldn't go above 35 mph. The last 10 miles, it shook like crazy, no matter what speed I drove at.

By that time, I'd done a ton of research on DW, and knew a heavy duty steering stabilizer was the answer ...

OK, OK, I couldn't help myself.

I ended up buying a Death Wobble Kit from Kevin's Offroad. It consisted of an upgraded adjustable trackbar with Rockwell 75d durometer bushings and a super-HD steering damper. I installed it, and mounted 245/70 16 Duellers on the Rubicon Moab wheels and had 40,000 miles completely free of DW.

Right before I was due for my 140,000 mile balance, rotation, and alignment, I began to feel a little pre-DW. Just like with the last set of tires, the rotation, balance and alignment resolved most of it.

Right before 145,000 miles ... same story.

Looking under the Jeep, we checked the steering stabilizer and found it was worn out. I got the idea of finding the heaviest-duty, most badass stock-replacement steering stabilizer known to man, and posted a thread on here asking which one that might be.

What followed was something like the Running of The Bulls, except all of the bulls were rabid, and I was dressed all in red. It was epic. Imagine Bernie Sanders showing up at a TEA Party rally.

"STEERING DAMPERS DO NOT FIX DEATH WOBBLE!!!"

Anyway, before the mods deleted the thread, one guy made what I thought was an ingenious suggestion. He said, instead of spending a ton of money on a bulletproof steering damper, I should go buy a Monroe stock-replacement steering damper for 29.95, because it has a lifetime warranty! If it goes bad in 10,000 miles, you just take it back and get a new one.

I thought that was brilliant, and headed down to Auto Zone. At the last minute, I couldn't help myself, and bought the Monroe Super Badass Heavy Duty one for 69.95, but it has a lifetime warranty, too.

No more death wobble.

at 151,000 miles, the steering suddenly became very loose. We found out the steering box was bad, so we replaced it. While we were turning the wheel and watching the box work, we noticed the KOR Death Wobble Kit track bar was flexing all over the place. We pulled it off and found the bushings had failed so badly we couldn't get them, or the bolt out.

We switched it out for a Rugged Ridge track bar.

http://www.ruggedridge.com/hd-adj-front-track-bar-18205-05.html#product_tabs_additional_tabbed

Death Wobble is gone completely. The only problem I had was, when I'd go over a sharp bump, even at slow speed, there would be a huge WHAM! sound. It reminded me of the sound of my ex-wife slamming the door after she found the strip club charges on my credit card statement.

Turns out, the mounting bracket is MUCH more substantial than the stock one, or the KOR DW Kit one, and it was interfering with the spring perch. A little bit of grinding, and it was fine.

So, what I think my long story offers you is a clinic on basic DW.

As tires wear out, you'll tend to get DW.

Unbalanced tires and/or alignment out of whack affect DW.

Track bar affects DW.

And last, and certainly most controversially, replacing the steering damper ameliorates DW. It may not resolve the root cause of it, but in my mind, if I can put a 70.00 steering stabilizer with a lifetime warranty on my Jeep and get 10-15,000 DW-free miles ... that's a win.

Especially when all I have to do when the DW starts again is pull the steering damper off, go down to Auto Zone, and get a new one .. for FREE.

By all mean, check the things mentioned above carefully, but if you just start throwing parts at death wobble, you're going to have a very sore wallet ... and you might still have DW.
 
You were kidding in the beginning, but in this giant post you essentially told him to change his steering stabilizer.

Yes ... among other things.

I've got 150,000 miles' experiences driving the same XJ. I've dealt with DW 3 times, with three different sets/sizes of tires, and two different sets/sizes of wheels. The steering stabilizer was part of the solution each time.

Should you just immediately slap a steering stabilizer on it and declare it done?

No.

Should you just start throwing parts at the problem?

No.

If, after carefully checking the entire suspension, and finding nothing else wrong, should you replace the steering stabilizer?

In my opinion, absolutely. It's the best bang-for-the-buck shot in the dark you can take at it. 29.95 for a lifetime warrantied steering stabilizer that will almost certainly help, and possibly ameliorate the problem for tens of thousands of miles. I wish I'd come across that idea the first time DW reared it's ugly head 15 years ago. Could've saved some money.

HINT: The last time I put on the new steering stabilizer, the DW was much less intense, and came less often, but it didn't immediately go away.

Total buzzkill.

Over the next couple of weeks, though, the DW showed up less and less often, until it disappeared entirely.

My theory is something in the suspension became unsettled from being up on the lift, and it took time for everything to settle back into place. I don't know whether that's correct, or not, but for over 3,000 miles, I haven't seen a bit of DW. On my commute to work, there are 5 spots where the death wobble shows up. Not once in 3K.

I'm cool with that.

And the giant post? I think a detailed analysis of 150,000 miles' driving and 3 major incidences of DW, and what resolved it each time has value. I know I wish I'd read something like that the first time I got death wobble.
 
Back
Top