Thoroughly Confused.....

Installed my 3" BB this past weekend (Coil Spacers, shackles, and blocks). Also installed a JKS Adj. Track bar per advice on here, and also installed new BDS Shocks....Now for the problems.

I've now got a BAD case of death wobble (can't go above 45mph). I have not had the alignment redone on it yet, mainly because i'm unsure of whatelse in the front end i'm going to have to replace. That and also, i've been told by some that an alignment will help to fix this problem (as the caster and toe are obviously off), but i've also been told by some that it will NOT fix this problem. I have read all the threads on deathwobble, and checked all my front end components, and everything seems nice and tight with no play. However, i do have the majority of the components on hand to replace if needed (TRE's, ball joints...etc)....but i'd really rather NOT rebuild my entire front end if I don't have to....as i'd like to take whatever parts I dont need back (got a total of $225 in front end stuff thats ready to be put on if needed). I do have a Skyjacker Steering Stabilizer that I just got today and i'm going to install it tomorrow, as I know that my stock one is shot to begin with, and not helping the situation.

Other problems.....got some driveline wobble mainly when first starting off and right before I come to a complete stop. I do have a tcase drop that I need to put in, but couldn't get the stupid studs on the crossmember to break free....tried everything (heat, BFH...etc etc). I also have a very nasty growling type of noise (best way to describe it) that comes at about 30mph and lasts till about 35mph or so, whether i be coasting or accelerating or slowing down....i'll try see if I can get it to show up on video later.

Here are two things that concern me right at the moment.



Will probably end up replacing that joint tomorrow as well, eventhough everything is tight.

Also, this:



Will the stabilizer bar go back into its normal place after an alignment, or is this something else to be concerned with?

All suggestions are welcome...as i'm extremely confused and frustrated. I was kind of hoping i'd luck up and not have many problems, but I should have known better the way my luck usually goes.

the grinding noise is likely your ujoints. On a 99, you generally need to install a SYE with a lift kit around 3"+.

for your death wobble issue, first align your front end, when you lift a vehicle, the drag link is more at an angle and does affect your toe-in. Use a measuring tape and align it where the toe-in should be about 1/8th to 1/4" inward. No more than that.

Once you have done the alignment, then see if you still have the dreaded wobble. If you do, then re-check your trackbar at the axle end and make sure that bolt is freakin tight.

Couple of quick tips:
#1 Alignment will help. Check Go Jeep's site for at home alignment tips
#2 Growling is probably due driveline not being happy with the lift - as you suspect. To remove the studs for the t-case drop I used 2 nuts and a lock washer. Remove the existing nut on the stud, thread on one nut, then the lock washer, then tighten the second nut against the first. Back off the stud by wrenching on the top nut. It will bind against the lock washer and second nut and back out the stud (I have the same year XJ that spend its life in NH and it worked for me).
#3 The front stabilizer will help hide the problem, but probably not fix it.
#4 Check your front shocks. I used Monroe Sensetraks (check out Rocklizard's page for the number). The longer shocks, with the correct travel for the new lifted front end, made a huge difference. They were about $30 apiece at Autozone and the best $ spent on the rig so far.

djblade311 said:

the grinding noise is likely your ujoints. On a 99, you generally need to install a SYE with a lift kit around 3"+.

Click to expand...

I spent many a day researching lifts and general things to go ahead and plan for, and people generally didn't have to do an SYE for lifts under 3.5"...which is the main reason why I went 3"......and I really don't have the money for an SYE for the NP242.....so if it comes down to that, the lift is either coming off, or i'm going to 2".

Guess I'll go get that alignment tomorrow....i'm still afraid to with the thought that if I end up having to replace many of the joints and such on the front end, its going to be right back out again. The other alignment shops were going to set it back to factory spec, does this sound right? The guy I really want to take it to also installs lifts, so I figured that if anybody could do it right, it'd be him....problem is he's in the process of getting a new alignment rack, and wouln't have it set up till the end of the week.

An alignment is probably a waste of time at a shop.. unless you're lucky enough to know one in charlotte that actually adjusts caster/camber, etc.

You can adjust the toe at your house with basic hand tools and a tape measure.

As for the noise, it sounds like driveline vibrations. Put the transfer case drop on and see if it goes away. Also whoever told you, you dont need a sye w/ this or that really can only guess. Every jeep reacts differently to lifting.

Death wobble... not very fun especially in Charlotte traffic.. I see you installed a jks adjustable trackbar. well did you center the axle? Also make sure that the trackbar bolts are as freaking tight as you can get them. The axle end, and the frame end... also make sure the factory bracket is absolutely tight.

Another thing to look at it is, are your tires balanced? That may play into it.... then it's just a guess/check game replacing TRE's, etc.


What lift did you go with?

EDIT: also a sye for the 242 is dirt cheap... RE Hack & Tap = 85.00... then use a front driveshaft out back w/ an adapter from Napa + 50.00....

AND, you can probably move the swaybar back by just pulling on it... or center the axle better w/ the trackbar...

Highmiles said:

Couple of quick tips:
#1 Alignment will help. Check Go Jeep's site for at home alignment tips
#2 Growling is probably due driveline not being happy with the lift - as you suspect. To remove the studs for the t-case drop I used 2 nuts and a lock washer. Remove the existing nut on the stud, thread on one nut, then the lock washer, then tighten the second nut against the first. Back off the stud by wrenching on the top nut. It will bind against the lock washer and second nut and back out the stud (I have the same year XJ that spend its life in NH and it worked for me).
#3 The front stabilizer will help hide the problem, but probably not fix it.
#4 Check your front shocks. I used Monroe Sensetraks (check out Rocklizard's page for the number). The longer shocks, with the correct travel for the new lifted front end, made a huge difference. They were about $30 apiece at Autozone and the best $ spent on the rig so far.

Click to expand...

Don't know about your '99, but the studs on the t-case (#2 above) were welded in!! Don't be like me and really strip out the threads!! If the studs don't come out easily, look closely before you try something drastic - if you don't, you be sorry -- like me!

Use an extractor to remove the studs... heat them well, PB blast them, etc...

uncc civilengineer said:

An alignment is probably a waste of time at a shop.. unless you're lucky enough to know one in charlotte that actually adjusts caster/camber, etc.

You can adjust the toe at your house with basic hand tools and a tape measure.

As for the noise, it sounds like driveline vibrations. Put the transfer case drop on and see if it goes away. Also whoever told you, you dont need a sye w/ this or that really can only guess. Every jeep reacts differently to lifting.

Death wobble... not very fun especially in Charlotte traffic.. I see you installed a jks adjustable trackbar. well did you center the axle? Also make sure that the trackbar bolts are as freaking tight as you can get them. The axle end, and the frame end... also make sure the factory bracket is absolutely tight.

Another thing to look at it is, are your tires balanced? That may play into it.... then it's just a guess/check game replacing TRE's, etc.


What lift did you go with?

EDIT: also a sye for the 242 is dirt cheap... RE Hack & Tap = 85.00... then use a front driveshaft out back w/ an adapter from Napa + 50.00....

AND, you can probably move the swaybar back by just pulling on it... or center the axle better w/ the trackbar...

Click to expand...

I was really hoping you'd see this and chime in here. I'm back home in Clemmons for the summer now that school is out. And Death Wobble period is no fun at all. Did a 50+ mile drive from Stokesdale back to my house trying to keep it under 45mph and watching for bumps the other day....and i'm gonna have to do the drive back up there probably tomorrow the same way.

I went with the RRO 3" BB...if I could just get the damn thing to quit wobbling so much, i'd be able to take it up to a higher speed and see if I have any more driveline issues.

Now that you mention it, is about time to get my tires balanced and rotated again...perhaps i'll go do that tomorrow as i've got free lifetime balance and rotation on these tires (havent put bigger ones on yet).

I'll have to give it another go again tomorrow with re-centering the axle, as i'm not sure that I did it correctly to begin with. When I installed the JKS, I just adjusted the trac bar untill it lined up with the hole on the axle side, and sorta did a bass ackwards way of adjusting the caster myself by losening the LCA's and sticking a big flathead screw driver and prying on it from side to side, which seemed to line the axle up a bit better, but certainly didn't help the DW at all. So because of this, i'm sure an alignment is in order now. Like I said the guy i'm planning on taking it to for an alignment also installs lifts, and I was talking to him about it today and he said he'd be sure that everything (caster, camber, and toe) were all in back in spec....just as soon as he gets his new machine hooked up.

As far as front shocks, they're brand new BDS shocks that were recommended to me by Tarheel 4wd, and I don't really think thats part of the problem, but at this point, anything is still fair game.

Untill I can get it to a safe point to drive it, it's staying parked in the driveway and i'm crusin in the KJ...so atleast I have something to drive and i'm not completely stranded (although mom isn't too thrilled with me at the moment).

Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming. If I can get it to quit wobbling, i'll return all the parts I got for the front end and maybe invest in a SYE, if the tcase drop doesn't solve the vibes.

Also, I took it out and drove it today around my neighborhood and just outside of it where I could keep it at fairly slow speeds....feels like i've got some slight binding when taking off from a stop and coming to a complete stop (where I first thought it was wobbling)....i'm guessing this is in relation to the driveline angles being off?

I've got a halfway decent video of what DW sounds like from the inside i'll have to upload and post up tonight.

As far as the crossmember studs go, they've been heated, soaked in pb blaster like you wouldn't believe and they still wouln't come out. If I still can't get it, I might just have to break down and take it somewhere and get a shop to do it...which I absolutely hate doing...I much prefer to do my own work

Are you using an extractor to remove them?

As for the trackbar.. yeah, redo that..

Take it loose at the frame end, have someone sit in the jeep and turn the wheel until the axle is centered.. measure or just eye ball it as best as possible...

Then loosen or tighten the trackbar to fit back in the hole.. not the axle end... the frame end...

And make sure everything's tight..

EDIT: you can also check your toe at home (bubba alignment): get (2) brooms and strap them to the tires parallel to the ground... place them both at the exact same height off the ground and measure the distance between them in front of the tires.. then behind the tires... it should be the same..

You can adjust your tierod to make them the same..

There are some things you must use a shop for.

Heater cores, and alignment jobs

The binding in the frontend when u start and stop check the gears in the front axl.I jumped my 2000xj just the front cought about 4feet of air and slammped i replaced everything in the front end upper arms there where bent like elbows ujoints and pretty much everything else.I finaly took the dif apart and i had pices of my spider gears come out.

3 in seems high for a budget boost... i'd be willing to bet part of the reason you're having death wobble is that your lower control arms are too short.

I know a guy who runs a 3.5 with stock control arms. No issue. 2001 XJ.

uncc civilengineer said:

Are you using an extractor to remove them?

As for the trackbar.. yeah, redo that..

Take it loose at the frame end, have someone sit in the jeep and turn the wheel until the axle is centered.. measure or just eye ball it as best as possible...

Then loosen or tighten the trackbar to fit back in the hole.. not the axle end... the frame end...

And make sure everything's tight..

EDIT: you can also check your toe at home (bubba alignment): get (2) brooms and strap them to the tires parallel to the ground... place them both at the exact same height off the ground and measure the distance between them in front of the tires.. then behind the tires... it should be the same..

You can adjust your tierod to make them the same..

Click to expand...

Thanks Chris. I was going to loosen it at the axle end, but I guess the frame end would make more sense. I'll bet you this is the majority of my problem, the front axle not being centered.

As for the gears in the front axle, I doubt it. This slight, and I emphasize slight (it almost feels as if something is slipping) binding didn't occur at stock height.

LCA's are still a possibility...I guess i'll have to start pricing them, just incase.

So it looks like tomorrow the Stabilizer is going on, and try re-centering the axle again...hopefully this will help.

I guess i'll also adjust the toe. If I can get it to a tolerable driving state, i'll take it down to the shop and get it aligned properly.

Blaine, thanks for reminding me...I do have that leaking heater core I need to attend to....i'm a little tired of smelling mold every time I get in the Jeep. If it aint one thing to fix, it's another....but I still wouldn't trade it for anything

With the JKS trackbar, the adjustment is on the axle side. Eyeballing the axle was hard for me. I used a tape measure and measured from the top of the wheel to the frame at one spot that could be used as reference on both sides. Get someone to turn the wheel to center everything up. Once centered, get alignment at a shop. They should also center the steeringwheel for you. If they don't, it can be centered by loosening the drag link sleeve and turned it with pliers. You can see which way the steering wheel moves when the sleeve is turned and decide if you are turning it the correct way.

ok..now im confused as to which end of the trac bar to loosen...the axle side, or the frame side.

Heres a video I shot earlier today....gives you (for those who have never experienced DW before) an idea of what it sounds like inside. It certainly is something else, and you'll probably need a change of shorts after the first time it gets ya....I know I almost did...especially since I was runnin about 60mph when it first got me

Yep.. sorry bout that I was thinking RE trackbar for some reason..

Yeah the JKS adjusts at the axle end.. but its still the same principle, I'd take it loose from the FRAME END and just spin it until it fits back in the hole when centered...

It's a much easier bolt to work with IMO..

Cool...will work on that tomorrow afternoon/evening...and let ya know how it goes.....keeping my fingers crossed I can get this thing under control tomorrow.

Is it still a good idea, once I can get the wobble under control by doing a "bubba alignment " to take it and get it properly aligned?

Never saw deathwobble before.....that's cool....as Butthead would say.