vibrations, maybe start of death wobble?

my jeep's been lifted for over 6 months now, but recently at speeds over 45mph i get a slight vibration that feels like it's the drivetrain, and also my steering wheel vibrates too. ive read all about these crazy ass death wobbles, and since im on summer break now, ive got lots of time to work with this, so what can i start lookin' at? wheels were balanced maybe 3 months ago, havnt been aligned ina while... no t-case drop, 3" of lift... that's about all i can think of. someone wanna link me to a good thread i missed or help me out? thanks in advance

How are your U-Joints? I replaced the U Joints in my rear shaft and I had what you had. It was a lil shimmy and got annoy above 65. Also check your TRE's and just have the alignment and balancing done.

Start grabbing stuff and looking for play. I just drove to St. Louis and had horrible steering vibrations in the wheel. I got the tires balanced AGAIN (just did last month) and it solved it. I don't think you'll feel the u joints in the steering wheel. I also don't think your TRE's or balljoints are going to do a steering wheel shimmy (unless it's accompanied with a drift of the vehicle when you let go of the wheel). Mine is true like an arrow but when those tires are out of balance it really sucks.

interesting update, this only occurs between teh speeds of a little under 45 and a little over 50. what could it be?

Factory lower control arms? If so, get longer ones. That fixed my problem.

jimcherokee said:

interesting update, this only occurs between teh speeds of a little under 45 and a little over 50. what could it be?

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Vibrations at certain speeds are generally always tar related. Try the reballancing. I would also remove the weights before wheeling the truck into the bay. that way you KNOW they got the attention they deserve and the attendant dosent say...."Yea these are good enough". I would also use a different place to balance them. Ask around at work see who go's where and try them for the balancing.

CW

sorry it took me a while to get back to the post. these storms in our area fried our phone lines and we have DSL... anyways, i think it's kind of intermitent, but i will get my wheels balanced and see if that helps. thanks alot everyone

Jess said:

Factory lower control arms? If so, get longer ones. That fixed my problem.

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or stonger ones...mine was fine until this weekend...then i noticed the vibes and tonight i switched them out with the same lenght just aftermarket tube and they went away

my jeep started doing about the same thing say 3months or so ago.

it has now degenerated to DW. While looking to find the cause i found nothing loose in the front end cept the steering box. anyway, my boss/mechanic says its past the point or adjusting, and i have to get a new steering box.

CWLONGSHOT,

Tar related? You are from connecticut, its called a TIRE or TIYA up there depending how close to Bean town you are. Now down in Sow-cara-line-ah Georgia and Al-bama they call it a TARRR, but not up in Yankee land.

John

ok this may sound a lil crazy but hear me out. try checkin ur high pressure power steering hose fittings and make sure they are nice and tight cuz i had one fitting gradually come loose after gettin it replaced a whiel back to the point that there was a puddle of power steering fluid on the drive way one night after i pulled in. i had had horrible death wobble b4 that and after i tightend those fittings down it almost went away. but i still have a little DW but i think that is becuz i just put some 3.5" RE springs up front a while back after havin run 3" BDS springs that came with my BDS lift and i am still runnin factory lower control arms. also if u have those black rock crawler steel wheels get them checked for the trueness of the rim cuz yah they r great rimms cuz they look good and r cheap but they also bend pretty easy i have already had to replace 2 of them and i think i might have to replace a third one. but definately get ur tires rotated and balanced every oil change so like every 3,000 miles or so and get the alignment done every few months at a good local alignment shop. i take mine to a local shop and not a chain place like NTB they suck. the shop i go to does alignment for the local ferrari dealership and they only charge $60 bucks to do it and they do the best job i have ever seen. anway there is my 2 cents