• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Death Wobble (yeah I know...)

xCWolf

Bring the Boom
NAXJA Member
Location
Boston
So I really thought I cured it this time when I replaced my track bar which was shot pretty bad. (about an inch of play when I grabbed it)

Wobble went away for like a month and the other day finally came back but worse than ever now

So far I've replaced - Ball Joints U-Joints Track bar and tie road as well as had a professional alignment done and a new steering stabilizer.

So far to go - Control arms will be replaced as well as shocks, springs and a new adjustable trackbar once I get the lift components in

My question?

What am I missing as far as steering parts that could cause death wobble? I'm confused as to why it went away and was fine for a full month before it came back.

Maybe the mount for the trackbar came loose? (I pulled the whole thing out to make it easier) I couldn't find any play in it though nor have I found any play in any of the parts I replaced. I know the control arm bushings are worn but they aren't TOTALLY shot. I guess the part that bothers me is that it's even worse now.

Thanks for reading.
 
Have you tried tires?

I think tire balance issues were part of my DW cocktail.

If you haven't had your tires balanced in a while it is probably worth doing anyways. Same for rotation. See if that makes a difference.
 
I'll certainly give that a shot. After the alignment it had a VERY slight pull to the left occasionally which I chalked up to pressures or balance. I'll rotate front to back and swap the sides see what happens.
 
Upper control arm bushings are worth a check.

Check your steering box spacer as well, they like to disintegrate over time. That gave mine enough flop to cause dw
 
Upper control arm bushings are worth a check.

Check your steering box spacer as well, they like to disintegrate over time. That gave mine enough flop to cause dw

This one was puzzling to me. I'm assuming this was probably part of the issue but there is SOOO much conflicting reporting on this part. Some place say no way can it cause DW and some are saying it can. I'll check it anyways. I assume I can find somewhere a new upgraded more durable version? IRO perhaps?
 
JCR makes a steering box spacer.

https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/XJMISC/XJSTSPC.html

I would check the tires too. I had some out of balance that wouldn't shake the steering wheel on a smooth road, like you'd expect from out of balance tires, but if driven more than 60 miles and I hit a crack in the road, bam, I was off on the shoulder recovering.
 
Last edited:
This one was puzzling to me. I'm assuming this was probably part of the issue but there is SOOO much conflicting reporting on this part. Some place say no way can it cause DW and some are saying it can. I'll check it anyways. I assume I can find somewhere a new upgraded more durable version? IRO perhaps?

I had gone over everything else when I was having bad dw... that was the only thing left. I did the crok reinforcement as I had some unibody cracking there as well
 
I've found that if you don't use an adjustable track bar or corrected track bar after a lift it can make them not parallel. I believe that can contribute to dw and make it unpredictable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've found that if you don't use an adjustable track bar or corrected track bar after a lift it can make them not parallel. I believe that can contribute to dw and make it unpredictable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah that I know but it's not lifted yet
 
When replacing the trackbar, did you notice if the bolt on the axle side could move at all in the bracket? Sounds like it could be wallowed out since it worked for a bit and then started again. I bet if you torqued it down again, it would stop and then start up in a few weeks or after a big pot hole or curb check.
 
When replacing the trackbar, did you notice if the bolt on the axle side could move at all in the bracket? Sounds like it could be wallowed out since it worked for a bit and then started again. I bet if you torqued it down again, it would stop and then start up in a few weeks or after a big pot hole or curb check.


I just came in from checking that and it's exactly what happened. Nice catch! Now I know I read somewhere how to fix it but I can't find the link =/


Edit: Wasn't torqued down enough I guess wasn't actually wallowed it was just loose. Looks like I need to find my thread locker now
 
Last edited:
I had some hard core learning on the stock version of the issue recently. I discovered several things that can it. One is bent tire rim, bent 1/4 inch. No way to balance the tire.

Another was a shot lower control arm bushing, with no steering stabilizer installed and one shock that was nearly frozen with very little movement up or down anymore.

Lastly once I fixed all but the bent tire rim it was way worse because I botched the toe in by an inch or was two? LOL. It hopped around like a rabbit at 5 mphs, LOL scared the hell out of me.

I think there are many combinations of weeak to bad parts that cause it. I read about rubber bushing that solves the problem on rigs with all new parts this week here, I think it replaces the rubber grease boot, and is thicker and goes on the tie-rod end like end of the track bar. One of our vendors here invented it. Its called the fix or something?
 
two things you must do.
there is no alternative to this.

step one.
Put tape on your tie rods. one piece top. one piece bottom. line them up.

go and move steering left to right.
if the tape bits misalign.
that tie rod or part needs to be tightened or replaced.

step two.

Check the track bar bolt is not hollowing out its mounting hole.

take a video while you rock steering.
or have a friend rock steering while you look at track bar.
The bolt hole over years gets bigger. and is a big cause of wobble.
 
two things you must do.
there is no alternative to this.

step one.
Put tape on your tie rods. one piece top. one piece bottom. line them up.

go and move steering left to right.
if the tape bits misalign.
that tie rod or part needs to be tightened or replaced.

step two.

Check the track bar bolt is not hollowing out its mounting hole.

take a video while you rock steering.
or have a friend rock steering while you look at track bar.
The bolt hole over years gets bigger. and is a big cause of wobble.

Yeah the wallowing is my issue and now I'm trying to figure out what I can do for it without a welder.
 
Back
Top