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Long arm death wobble?

X

XJCRAWLER

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Flowery Branch,Ga.
Has anyone experiened death wobble with longarms? Right now I'm running 7 inches of lift with Rusty's adjustable short arms and can't get rid of the wobble, I'm wondering if long arms will eliminate it. It happens after hitting a bump in the road but never any other time. I have check alignment, tire balance, worn parts, trac bar being tight, it always seems to be worse after going offroad. Thanks for any help you can give.
 
I have longarms and I get deathwobble all the time, I don't think it has anything to do with it, I believe mine is due to bad alignment and a really short trackbar.
-cal
 
wow. deathwobble. :wierd:

my advice is to do a search on the word deathwobble, or dw.

many times the word deathwobble is used when not necessary, like saying you've got cancer when really it's just the flu.
 
XJCRAWLER said:
I know what deathwobble is. Can people get info without a bunch of extra smartass worthless replies?
Click to expand...

Not 'round these parts.
 
All else being equal, long arms are less likely to promote Death Wobble than short arms due to the improved control arm angles. A horizontal suspension arm (stock) allows the spring to absorb all the energy from a bump. As arm angles increase, more of the energy is transmitted through the control arm bushings. This results in a dramatic increase in effective spring rate at the wheel. The balance of spring rate vs unsprung mass has a direct inpact on the likelyhood of uncontrolled oscillations, aka Death Wobble.

Typically, a switch to long arms would also include new bushings and other components which would also help.
 
Thank you for a quality reply, I was thinking about the full traction kit for the front that comes with arms and mounts, tracbar with mount and 6 inch springs for 950.00 versus other kits that only come arms and mount brackets for 750.00
 
MaXJohnson said:
All else being equal, long arms are less likely to promote Death Wobble than short arms due to the improved control arm angles. A horizontal suspension arm (stock) allows the spring to absorb all the energy from a bump. As arm angles increase, more of the energy is transmitted through the control arm bushings. This results in a dramatic increase in effective spring rate at the wheel. The balance of spring rate vs unsprung mass has a direct inpact on the likelyhood of uncontrolled oscillations, aka Death Wobble.
Click to expand...

If that were true, my wifes stock 98 with nearly horizontal arms shouldn't wobble at all, but it does.

I replaced the track bar with a stock track bar, but it still wobbled. The rubber bushing at the axle end had just enough movement to get things shakin'. Installed an RE bar with poly and a heim, and things are all good.

That being said, if you are running 7" lift and short arms....well, you know.

Rick
 
Rick XTRM XJ said:
If that were true, my wifes stock 98 with nearly horizontal arms shouldn't wobble at all, but it does.

I replaced the track bar with a stock track bar, but it still wobbled. The rubber bushing at the axle end had just enough movement to get things shakin'. Installed an RE bar with poly and a heim, and things are all good.

That being said, if you are running 7" lift and short arms....well, you know.

Rick
Click to expand...

My post doesn't exclude additional factors. XJCRAWLER asked about a comparison of long arms vs standard 4-link, hence the phrase "all else being equal".
 
XJCRAWLER said:
I know what deathwobble is. Can people get info without a bunch of extra smartass worthless replies?
Click to expand...


there was nothing 'smartass worthless' about my post. you're just beating the boney remains from a long ago horse, to which there is more information on these boards to fill the silverdome.

if you really had deathwobble, mister smartypaints, you wouldn't be driving your jeep down to the corner store for milk, little less as a dd. so bite me.
 
I do have deathwobble, yes my wife drives it everday, it doesn't do it constantly only when you hit a bump at different speeds and the only way to make it stop is to stop the Jeep completely. And the question was about long arms and if they could eliminate it. If you don't have a need for info on dw then don't waste your time on reading the thread.
 
FWIW, a buddy of mine was in the exact same situation as you with too much lift on short arms. Replaced short arms with a long arm kit and it went away. (leaving out manufacturer's name for potential flame reasons) If you're running 7" of lift on short arms you're only delaying the inevitable (which is long arms). Even if the DW doesn't go away, it will ride/drive much better than it does now, guaranteed. HTH

MIke
 
installed long arms today and hit a bump and went in to a dw the worst i have ever had didnt have dw on short arms but ride sucked how do i fix it now i got the upgrade kit from rock krawler
 
Not sure I want to slip into this fray--sence I've never experienced "death wobble" with my XJ (6"lift and dropped, short, control arms), not sure my personal exoerience is relavent. That said, more moons ago than I'd like to admit, I had a model A roadster that did have' what I beleive is called "death wabble". For you youngsters, the model A Ford had a radius arm suspention, front and rear with a single transverse spring. My problem was solved by replacing the front king pins and bushings. The equivalent on an XJ would be to replace ball joints.
 
My rig is on a 5.5" lift (short arms) with RE HD trac bar and bracket. All bushings & Superflex joints have been replaced on trac bar and control arms, bolts are all tight, tires have been balanced, ball joints replaced 30k miles ago, new TREs, alignment done, tires rotated, etc. Still have mild DW at 47 MPH and then bad DW when hitting any bumps during a turn. Only guesses now are worn hub bearing units (can't find play though) or possibly drag link. I drive a stretch of road to work that is 45mph speed limit and has a sweeping curve to it at one point. I have to hit it at less than 35 or 55+ to keep it from wobbling cause that corner will flat out wanna throw the axle out otherwise.
Just also bought a stock 93 XJ and drove it camping this weekend.. On a stretch of windy mountain road, it too had a hint of DW a couple of times (although minor compared to my lifted rig). Bottom line, I hate DW! :rattle:
 
thx ill go along the road that sent me into dw today and well i ill see had a small turn on trac bar at the bottom will check again today didnt have ahole lot of time yesterday
 
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