Death wobble nightmare

ok so about 2 or 3 months ago i take my 97 xj with a 3.5 inch lift in to get the left wheel bearing fixed. i knew it was a wheel bearing cuz i had had the right one go out on me about a year earlier and the symptoms were the same. anyway while it was in there the shop that i took it to told me that the left axle shaft u-joint, the rear driveshaft u-joints, water pump, track bar, and control arm bushings all needed to be replaced. so i had them do the wheel bearing, the u-joints, and the water pump. now when i had taken the jeep in it had no death wobble ever at all i didnt even know what death wobble was or whta it was like and it had no drive-line vibrations other than the wheel bearing. i get the jeep back and right out of the parkin lot it starts the death wobble and then i get up to speed and notice the drive-line vibration. now i also have an 88 MJ thats got a 3 inch lift on it and its in poor condition but driveable it just needs alot of work but it doesnt have any death wobble at all and its runnin the original factory track bar and steering stabilizer. now in efforts to get rid of the death wobble i replaced the track bar with a JKS adjustable track bar and i replaced the steering stabilizer with a BDS HD steering stabilizer. i still have terrible death wobble and its driven me crazy and i had a guy tell me he thinks it might be the steerin box which its a 97 that hasnt had the shit beat out of it runnin only 31" tires and the steerin box shouldnt need replacin yet considering my 88 MJ with original steering box that u can tell needs to be replaced and my buddy with a 92 XJ with a 3 inch lift and 31" tires dont have death wobble. i need help so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

First off, that's not deathwobble. Deathwobble is when your crusing down the highway at 65 and all of the sudden your jeep starts bouncing all over the place!
Sounds like driveline vibes, or a balancing issue.
Do you have a SYE?
Did you or a shop install the trackbar?

ok here is what happens ok im drivin along at 40 mph or faster and i hit a sharp bump like a pot hole or somethin that hits both tires at almost the same time and the front end starts shakin violently and the steerin wheel starts goin crazy and i have to slow down i can even slightly feel it when im just crusin and slightly turnin when goin around a curve. no i dont have a SYE and i installed the track bar just how the directions said although i had to tighten the frame mount end tighter than the directions specs because it was slightly movin around and would make a knock sound when i would turn the wheel either way

Now that sounds more like DW!
When you lined up the Track bar was it with the vehicle on the ground (level ground), and the wheels straight? You usually have to kinda shake it side to side to make sure the axle is centered.
Newer XJs are pickey about having almost any lift with no SYE.(due to a different output on the T-case) This is most likely the more minor vibes you're getting. I'm suprised it wasn't worse with bad U joints!
Other than that make sure the Trackbar is TIGHT! As well as the control arm bolts since they replaced those.

ok i never had the control arm bushings replaced to i dont think i would have to tighten the bolts on the control arms but i will just for good measure. i did make sure i had the wheels striaght and that the axle was center by takin measurements and i went and got it all aligned after that and i tightened both ends of the track bar as tight as i could

Ben824 said:

ok i never had the control arm bushings replaced to i dont think i would have to tighten the bolts on the control arms but i will just for good measure.

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Oops, mis-read that one.

Well I would check the condition of those bushings while you're at it.
What 3.5" kit do you have? Does it replace the Control arms? Stock LCAs can cause problems over 3", even .5" difference. Problems may not show up right away, but the lift will put extra stress on the bushings.
Other than that most DW cases deal with the trackbar.
Make sure the stock frame mount is Very tight! Unless I'm mistaken the JKS uses the stock mount, I'd bet that is the problem. Mine came loose a couple times. I made sure to use lock-tite when I installed my Rusty's HD mount, no problems since.

the kit is a Rubicon Express and BDS combo. its a BDS 3 inch with RE 3.5" coils. so i have factory control arms. my frame mount was loose but i had it tightened but that was almost a month ago and i have to say it suddenly got worse so that might be it ill check that too and actually take the bolts all the way off put some thread locker on them. which color would be best blue or red?

I just used red cause it was laying around.
I'd also check the steering box bolts, they can work loose too.

alright ill work on all that and put up an update but if anybody has any other ideas i would really like to hear them im willing to try anything at this point

I am going to throw an interesting thought at you. You had a knuckle u-joint replaced. I have had problems with different idiots at driveline shops replace joints for me before that I have had to "redo" because the joints were too tight in one or both directions. Maybe they got the joint too tight when they put it in. That might be the problem you are having.

so what is too tight about it and what can be done?

i'll tell ya like i tell everybody.. (incase the ball-joints being to tight aren't the problem..)

i used to have crazy death wobble with both a 5" and 6" lift with Very good steering parts and ball-joints and correct caster angles adjusted by control arms with new bushings..
then after a good year of trail rides my very Tired Rusty's Steering system needed new tie-rod ends and one day while replaceing the TREs,,

**>> i adjusted the toe-in from Zero (standard) to have 1/4" Toe-In and ever since i've never had any Death wobble<**
yeah maybe it may wear down the tires a little faster but hey it sure beats having the Check-Underwear!! Light illuminate while going 70 mph on the interstate while driving beside a 18wheeler after

I had the wobilies the other day after installing a 4.5" lift. Buddy told me to replace my stearing stabilizer. No more problems yet. Im glad I was only going 40mph.:wierd:

XJedi23 said:

I had the wobilies the other day after installing a 4.5" lift. Buddy told me to replace my stearing stabilizer. No more problems yet. Im glad I was only going 40mph.:wierd:

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a steering stabilizer is a "Band-aide" for the problem it will become worn (broken-in) and the problem will return

Did I say something about BALL joints being too tight??
I did say something about the U-joints being too tight. the main thing you can do is jack up the front axle and set it on stands and turn the steering wheel full lock and turn the tire slowly while watching the joing. If it looks and feels like it might be binding just slightly, then it is too tight. If so, take it back to the shop that did the work and have them fix it.

A steering stabilizer is never the cause of death wobble. I've got my stock steering stabilizer on my '94, with 33x12.5 tires for the last 2 years, 30x9.5s for a year before that, and 175k miles. No DW. I've never even touched the damn thing....and even so, it doesn't have enough dynamic control over the steering to cause death wobble. If replacing it fixes a DW situation, it's because you've changed the damping to the point where whatever was actually causing the DW (a problem on its own that SHOULD be fixed) is now successfully damped.

Primary things to look at are caster angle and track bar tightness. With stock arms your caster angle is certainly off, so see if you can get an alignment report for it. With a little bit of adjustment using shims on the frame LCA brackets an alignment shop might be able to correct the caster a little bit, but you may end up having to put adjustable arms in there.

Track bar...centering it under the vehicle perfectly isn't important. I drove mine with 3" lift and stock un-re-drilled track bar for quite a while. Make sure that it holds the axle wherever it is, is the important thing. Make sure the axle end bolt is tight, that the frame end TRE is in good condition, and that the bracket bolts are tight.

If not that...rotate the tires. Strange wear or imbalance on the tires, compounded with out-of-spec camber, will cause death wobble like you're describing. In fact, if nothing seems really obvious up front, do this first. It's free and an easy check.

A "too tight" axle u-joint will NOT cause death wobble, nor will a "too tight" ball joint. Either of those will just wear out the respective component faster...but I've yet to see a ball joint that is overtightened. The tapered ream on the knuckle won't allow you to tighten it far enough to overtighten a ball joint...same thing for the TREs.

IdahoEagle said:

Did I say something about BALL joints being too tight??
I did say something about the U-joints being too tight. the main thing you can do is jack up the front axle and set it on stands and turn the steering wheel full lock and turn the tire slowly while watching the joing. If it looks and feels like it might be binding just slightly, then it is too tight. If so, take it back to the shop that did the work and have them fix it.

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what would an axle joint have to do with the oscilation (sp) and rebound of a suspension that would cause DW, are you familar with how severe actual DW is, at 30 mph the wheels feel like they are 2 basketballs being alternately bounced by a 7-foot NBA player and the steering wheel jerks from side to side Violently (this continues until you bring the vehicle to a complete stop)

the worse DW incident i had was drivin to work on the interstate w/ some p245s on after i sold my 33s at around 65 or 70 mph its scary as he11!!

the axle U-JOINT is the center of the the rotating mass that is your wheel and tire BUT its offset inward and the weight of the vehicle on the axle housing and knuckle should dampen any irregularity caused by an "overtightened" U-joint (which i'm not sure how you can Over-tighten a U-joint anyway.)

If the joint is on the tight side on one side, it can be a binding influence. it has a slight angle to it at all times. If it has too much tension on one side, it can cause it to oscillate when it is put just a little more off center when it hits a bump.

i had a similar problem just after i lifted my 95. i had to check the torc(sp) on the suspension and steering components. then i took it in for an alighnment and that solved all my woes in that area.

good luck

ok so about 2 or 3 months ago i take my 97 xj with a 3.5 inch lift in to get the left wheel bearing fixed............ i get the jeep back and right out of the parkin lot it starts the death wobble and then i get up to speed and notice the drive-line vibration............... now in efforts to get rid of the death wobble i replaced the track bar with a JKS adjustable track bar and i replaced the steering stabilizer with a BDS HD steering stabilizer.

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i'm surprised that nobody had stated the obvious.

Ben824: your first mistake was not making a U-turn and taking it back after you PAID THEM to work on your vehicle. if it came in without death wobble, it has to leave without death wobble. if you had complained immidiately they would have had to fix that. it may or may not be there fault, but having worked at dealerships for some time i can tell you that if you get your vehicle back with problems that weren't there before, and honestly/respectfully complain about it they will (sometimes have to) fix it.

since you already did so much to attempt to fix it since you got it back, you lost your chance. but remember that for the future. if it wasn't there before, then it shouldn't be there when you get it back.

unfortunately that's the only advice i have for you since i don't know anything about death wobble. never having experienced it myself, i'm actually learning alot here incase it ever happens to me.