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Death Wobble

atomno1

atomno1

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Gastoina
I have a 1998 XJ with 5.5 in of lift, TeraFlex trackbar, with 33s. I have replaced all of my trackbar bushings. At between 38 and 50 mph I can make it death wobble or it just dose it by itself. Has anyone had any experience with this and if so what is the fix. I also have a new OME stableizer.
 
atomno1 said:
I have a 1998 XJ with 5.5 in of lift, TeraFlex trackbar, with 33s. I have replaced all of my trackbar bushings. At between 38 and 50 mph I can make it death wobble or it just dose it by itself. Has anyone had any experience with this and if so what is the fix. I also have a new OME stableizer.
Click to expand...
if you do a seach here on "death wobble" you will get quite a few threads on the issue. Its a problem almost everyone with lifted XJs have had at one time or another. The problem is...it can be so many different things.

I'm not usualy the type to tell you to search it out but in this situation I think you would have better luck finding info that way.

Good luck
 
I took it today to get the latest alignment. I am waiting to get it back. Other than that, My tires have about 40% tread and they are cheaper AT's I am replacing them with 35"MTR's, It is time to have them balanced again. I have a 3 in coil with a 2" spacer in the front, and a 3' leaf in the back with a 2' shakle. I still have stock control arms. This lift worked fine untill recentley. Everything apeers to be in good shape. I am hoping that the tires and alignment will help. Any sugestions?
 
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Make sure all attachment points & hardware are tight, all ball joints are not worn in the least, and all steering angles are correctly adjusted. This includes control arms.

Things that have caused me Death Wobbles <--- (this is what you want to do a search on)

Loose track bar tower bolt
Loose track bar mount bols
Worn ball joints
Worn control arm bushings
Bent tie rod
Wallowed out bolt holes
Frame cracked at control arm mounts
Out of spec steering alignments
Factory tie rod & drag link too weak for big tires
Factory control arms flexing with large tires & lift

Don't waste any money on steering stabilizer fixes for Death Wobbles. A new stab may damp early stages of wobbles, but won't fix what's causing them
 
DrMoab said:
I'm not usualy the type to tell you to search it out but in this situation I think you would have better luck finding info that way.
Click to expand...
Likewise. This is one topic where there are SO many possible factors, and SO many different opinions that you really need to search and read all the threads that show up.

Everyone has an idea (or three) about what causes DW. Two primary theories involve caster angle, and wheel balance. I'm in the wheel balance camp. Reduced caster angle probably contributes by not allowing the alignment to self-cancel DW, but I grew up in a generation when cars ran with almost zero caster and we didn't get DW. DW occurs only when something starts at least one wheel wobbling, and then the wobble gets transferred to the other side at the same time. IMHO it is usually poorly balanced tires that set it off.
 
Eagle said:
...but I grew up in a generation when cars ran with almost zero caster and we didn't get DW.
Click to expand...
non-radial tires and no power steering... :)

I'm in the something-is-broken/not-at-spec camp.

--> Stock control Arms!
 
kubtastic said:
--> Stock control Arms!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I just saw that part.

The new alignment is a waste of money, because there's no way it can be brought within specs with stock control arms and a 5" lift.
 
My cousin had the ultimate death wobble on his TJ about a year ago. He's got a 4" skyjacker lift with 33x14.50 bias ply Mickey Thompsons on 15x10 rims. Tried rebalancing the tires to no avail. He was almost afraid to drive it. Then one day we put a toys by troy alumiflex tie rod on and adjusted his toe in(which was way off). Hasn't had the problem since.

I'm not saying that the new tie rod fixed the problem, or that the toe in adjustment was the solution. Maybe it was a combination of both. I don't know. Just stating what we did.

Hope this helps........??
 
I got it back from the alignment shop. That seems to have fixed it for now. There is still a good bit of shimmy at highway speeds, but I think that is due to the tires that will be replaced. I am looking to go to 35's. I wheel a good bit, but I also use it as my daily driver too. Any sugestions as to what tire would be the best for me?
 
atomno1 said:
I got it back from the alignment shop. That seems to have fixed it for now. There is still a good bit of shimmy at highway speeds, but I think that is due to the tires that will be replaced. I am looking to go to 35's. I wheel a good bit, but I also use it as my daily driver too. Any sugestions as to what tire would be the best for me?
Click to expand...


Uhmmm smaller than 35's. Guy you need to look at your suspension system. You added lift, but it sounds like you have yet to address any of the components that would put your alignment in to proper spec.

I'm really shocked that alignment shop even work on your vehicle. They did not do you any favors, by just ajsuting your toe, If they even did that.

Also, it sounds like your current tires are a major culprit. I also had a cheap set of AT's also, they still had some wear life in them, but were separating. They caused a very strange woble, but not death woble.
 
I get no death wobble now... I just get a shimmy at about 67 MPH. I need new tires now, the next thing I am looking at is the Clayton long arms. What do you think about those? What did you mean by smaller than 35s.
 
35" tires are not very good for a dd because your sterring components are not up to the task of dealing with the huge meats on a daily basis. There are already weak points in the system and driving every day with 35's you will start getting thoes problems. Like cracked stearing box mount, broken upper trackbar mount and on. Not to mention how hard to balance these are and how quick they go out of balance. 33's are the biggest I would recomend for a dd, bfg mud, at, mt/r just make sure it is radial for a dd. If you need 35's just beef up the stearing before you get a cracked frame rail.
 
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atomno1 said:
I get no death wobble now... I just get a shimmy at about 67 MPH. I need new tires now, the next thing I am looking at is the Clayton long arms. What do you think about those? What did you mean by smaller than 35s.
Click to expand...


Jeep1947 mention some very good points.

Anyway, Claytons would be a major improvement over what you have. Are they the best, I don't know I don't run them, Search . There are many, many kits out there as well as DIY fabrication.

As far as 35's, they can be run, they can be run on your XJ. Even if your rig was a decated trail rig. It is not anywhere near ready for 35's. Heck it really doesn't sound ready for the 33's your running.

I know this sounds like myself and others are coming down on you. We just want you to understand that there is a right way and there is the wrong way. Learn from those who have been there and you'll have a strong respectable rig. Otherwise you can learn the hard way, like many others have including myself. ;)
 
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