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Chasing death wobble/steering problems

md21722 said:
Steering wheel shimmy is not the same as death wobble.

Steering wheel shimmy that starts when you a hit a bump and doesn't end until you slow down isn't exactly death wobble either.

I have never read of steering stabilizers fixing death wobble.

My 01 XJ which I've had for over 300,000 miles has only given me vibration and shimmy problems three times that I can remember:

1. Tires out of balance around '07-08.

2. Brake rotors somehow defective around '11. Problem was only noticed downhill at speeds over 40.

3. Tires out of balance or damaged, worn steering tie rod end around in '15. Hit a bump and the steering wheel starts shaking until you slow to 40 MPH. Found defective TRE at steering box/drag link. Shaking was reduced but still present. Then I put my old tires back on and the problem went away. Two of the "new" tires I took off would not stand up straight on their own.

While I was in there for #3, I found the steering stabilizer was worn. I replaced it only to solve problems with the steering wheel shaking back and forth a few times on damaged road surfaces that had been going on for a few years.
Click to expand...

http://www.thecarconnection.com/new...re-chrysler-posts-advice-on-jeep-death-wobble

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/s...e-bulletin-19-002-12-steering-shimmy-1402104/
 
seanof30306@yahoo. said:
How have I attacked you personally? I clicked on the link to your website that you provide in every post you make and read the descriptions you provide on the products you sell.

And you can insist that steering dampers do not fix death wobble, but the simple facts remain:

1) I had death wobble.

2) I replaced the steering damper

3) The death wobble is gone.

How come y'all never address that?
Click to expand...


He did address is way back when he said:

As has been stated coutles times on the WWW...
Steering Dampeners neither cause nor cure Deathwobble, they simply mask another problem. Hence the description "Band-Aid".

If the problem disappears after replacing a dampener, then the root cause still exists.


I'm voting for this thread to be closed.
 
md21722 said:
He did address is way back when he said:

As has been stated coutles times on the WWW...
Steering Dampeners neither cause nor cure Deathwobble, they simply mask another problem. Hence the description "Band-Aid".

If the problem disappears after replacing a dampener, then the root cause still exists.


I'm voting for this thread to be closed.
Click to expand...

Right. You insist steering wheel shimmy is not death wobble, then when I post the links showing Chrysler refers to death wobble as "steering wheel shimmy", you want the thread closed.

By the way. I never said the steering damper cured the root cause of the death wobble. I said the steering damper made the death wobble stop.

I was reading a thread the other day where a guy was talking about how he liked his trackbar with heim rod ends much better because when a heim end wore out, he just replaced it.

Now, if you had a trackbar with heim ends, and the heim end began to wear out, there's a chance you'd see some DW. So, you'd replace the heim end as a consumable wear item, and be pleased that the DW goes away.

Replace "heim rod end" in the above with "steering damper", and you become apoplectic. It makes no sense.
 
Serious Offroad said:
Bad engineers? Please quote where I said anything about bad engineers?

Go back and read what I wrote and what others have been saying as well. No one said Sake Oil except YOU.
Click to expand...

I will admit I paraphrased, but you clearly derided the engineering behind the placement of steering dampers on these vehicles when you said:

Serious Offroad said:
Steering dampeners are band-aides originally installed to satisfy soccer-moms and urban mall crawlers.
Click to expand...
 
The steering stabilizer was originally described to 'dampen' steering inputs. That makes sense when you look at the steering system. Most people think they have death wobble, but more than likely just have an imbalance of some sort.

Chrysler will never use the label 'Death' in anything, so the average Joe screaming death wobble, while Chrysler says shimmy, doesn't tie the two together.
 
Ronbo said:
The steering stabilizer was originally described to 'dampen' steering inputs. That makes sense when you look at the steering system. Most people think they have death wobble, but more than likely just have an imbalance of some sort.

Chrysler will never use the label 'Death' in anything, so the average Joe screaming death wobble, while Chrysler says shimmy, doesn't tie the two together.
Click to expand...

That's getting awfully obtuse. Anyone who has ever experienced death wobble knows it usually starts as a slight shimmy in the steering wheel, and rapidly escalates from there.

Of course Chrysler is not going to use the term "death" in anything, but while I suppose it is possible to have steering wheel shimmy that does not escalate into full-blown death wobble, there is no question that in the technical service bulletin Chrysler released, they were referring to what everyone else calls death wobble as "steering wheel shimmy"
 
Last edited:
This isn't a new problem, and it's not limited to Jeeps. Many vehicles with straight front axles experience death wobble.

My grandfather had a 1964 Ford Econoline pickup that did it right off the showroom floor.

My old man's 69 F-150 did it too.
 
"If all else fails, you might need a new steering stabilizer. Although if you do replace the stabilizer you might want to replace other components as well since the death wobble shakes everything and can loosen other components as well."

Wow
 
seanof30306@yahoo. said:
ummmmmm .... you realize the very first link in the search you provided lists the steering stabilizer as a cause of death wobble, don't you?
Click to expand...

Do you believe that?

I haven't had a stabilizer for years, with 6" of lift and 35's. I must have died and just don't know it yet. :wow:
 
Ronbo said:
Do you believe that?

I haven't had a stabilizer for years, with 6" of lift and 35's. I must have died and just don't know it yet. :wow:
Click to expand...

Do I believe steering stabilizers CAUSE death wobble?

No.

I believe there is something in the design of many straight axle suspensions that makes them vulnerable to DW.

I believe Jeep's solution was to add a steering stabilizer. I'm pretty sure many other manufacturers arrived at that solution as well.

I look at steering dampers as wear items.

Every single time I've seen death wobble in my Jeep, I've done every test I could find to see what could be causing it. When I could find nothing, I took it to the "chain store" I've been having my tires balanced and alignments done at for 20 years. You know, the chain store that makes money replacing front end parts? Trust me, if the ball joints looked in the slightest bit sloppy, or the tie rod ends were at all loose, they would have recommended replacement; it's how they feed the bulldog.

I've taken it to two 4x4 shops. Neither could find anything.

And so, I replaced the steering stabilizer, the dw went away, and that makes y'all crazy.

All I care about is driving down the road without DW. How I achieve that makes no difference to me.
 
The way I fixed my death wobble on my old Jeep was with hydro assist....because the hydraulic ram was an oversized steering stabilizer/dampener. That being said the real issue with my death wobble was a single sheer frame side panhard mount. The bolt had maybe 1/16-3/32" side to side play...It was the wrong way to fix the problem, because all I did was mask it. This thread is annoying...
 
seanof30306@yahoo. said:
Do I believe steering stabilizers CAUSE death wobble?

No.

I believe there is something in the design of many straight axle suspensions that makes them vulnerable to DW.

I believe Jeep's solution was to add a steering stabilizer. I'm pretty sure many other manufacturers arrived at that solution as well.

I look at steering dampers as wear items.

Every single time I've seen death wobble in my Jeep, I've done every test I could find to see what could be causing it. When I could find nothing, I took it to the "chain store" I've been having my tires balanced and alignments done at for 20 years. You know, the chain store that makes money replacing front end parts? Trust me, if the ball joints looked in the slightest bit sloppy, or the tie rod ends were at all loose, they would have recommended replacement; it's how they feed the bulldog.

I've taken it to two 4x4 shops. Neither could find anything.

And so, I replaced the steering stabilizer, the dw went away, and that makes y'all crazy.

All I care about is driving down the road without DW. How I achieve that makes no difference to me.
Click to expand...


Death wobble and a steering shake aren't the same thing. Death wobble is a violent shaking of the entire axle from side to side. Usually caused by a worn track bar or suspension links. A steering stabilizer will not fix this since it bolts to the axle itself. A steering stabilizer will mask the shake caused by worn steering joints or out of balance tires. Seems to me that you don't know what death wobble is.
 
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