I-70 wobble

[bzapp]

I just purchased my '92 XJ. The previous owners installed a BB and 31" tires on stock offset wheels. I quickly put some steel wheels with 3.5" of offset. This poor jeep shakes me to death on the highway. Any sugestions to fix. Im thinking about a RE adjustable trackbar and some longer LCA'S. Also what is a good colorado company or dealer for a 3-4.5" lift with a new spring pack. Cost is of concern.

thanks.

 

[DaJudge]

What speeds? How much lift?
Could be a bunch of things but tire balance is a good place to start.

Glen

 

[bzapp]

seems to be right around 45-50 mph. 3" lift. Tires were just balanced.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Check your track bar ends. Factory track bars have the tie rod end at the frame end and those tend to appear fine, but you'll see movement when leaving the XJ parked and having someone rock the steering wheel about 6" right to left. The best way to check the track bar tie rod end is to park one tire against the curb to get better resistance.

The added offset of the wheels would enhance this issue, and you could also have bad lower ball joints. Were the tires worn on the insides at all? How wide is the rim? 3.5" offset is fairly deep for anything under 8" wide wheel.

You say you have a BB lift, but yet say it's at 3". BB's aren't usually that tall without having adding more spring or spacers. If it's lifted 3", then you're on the right track about the control arms being short - you might have a caster issue created by the tall lift on factory parts.

 

[Kittrell]

FIrst things first, did it wobble before you changed out the wheels?

 

[bzapp]

The vheicle did not wobble very much brfore the wheels. Excuse my ignorance. What I ment was that it has a coil spacer in the front and a add a leaf in the rear. The rim is in fact 8" wide. The tires were warn a little on the outside. My thinking leads me towards a trackbar to correctly locate the axle under the vheicle, and then longer LCA's to correct the caster.

 

[XJFire]

I do NOT reccomend Avenger in Colorado Springs. My buddy bought his lift through them and snapped a leaf spring, they tried to pass him off when he went in to get it repaired under warranty. They tried to get out of fixing it by pretending they didn't know who he was. Very shady, it took him almost 2 weeks to convince them, even after showing a reciept from the start that they had to fix his shit.

 

[pabloconrad]

The vheicle did not wobble very much brfore the wheels. Excuse my ignorance. What I ment was that it has a coil spacer in the front and a add a leaf in the rear. The rim is in fact 8" wide. The tires were warn a little on the outside. My thinking leads me towards a trackbar to correctly locate the axle under the vheicle, and then longer LCA's to correct the caster.

Double check your tires. Sounds to me like they weren't balanced correctly.

PS: It's a freaking blizzard up here right now.

 

[dbswede]

my solution to deathwobble was.....
balljoints (3 i should hae done the 4th but it looked newer) tierod out of 96 with less mileage than my 93, drop pitman and adj track bar....
my 93 has a 5 inch lift and came with aftermarket lca'a (not adj) stock wheels and 32"s......I think it is a combination of things that can vary that causes dw.

 

[bzapp]

After further investigation I've come to realize that what the previous owner told me is indeed false. The coil spacers in the front are 1.75" and and rear AAL is not providing any lift at all. So now the ball joints seem to be the culprit. Now the next dilema is who's 3" lift to buy. I hear nothing but bad things about rusty's, is there anything out there close to that price in a 3" lift?

 

[Danno]

I have bought and installed two of Rubicon Express's 3" lifts (got two daughters with XJs). Very good quality and easy to install. I can highly recogmend them from personal experience.
I have also noticed that DW usually starts at the track bar mount first. Elimenate that as a source by replacing the joint even if it looks all right. Better yet, get the JKS track bar upgrade and do it right.
The other thing is that the XJ Dana 30 front axle is really sensitive to changes in the track width. I have put the Warn hub disconnect kit on 2000, 2001 and 1997 year models. This widens the track width by about 3". They ALL experienced some aspects of DW. The 2000 was the worse. I finally gave up and built a D44 to replace it. Had no more problem with DW. Going to rims that widen the stance will almost certainly give some degree of DW most likely.
HTH, Danno

After further investigation I've come to realize that what the previous owner told me is indeed false. The coil spacers in the front are 1.75" and and rear AAL is not providing any lift at all. So now the ball joints seem to be the culprit. Now the next dilema is who's 3" lift to buy. I hear nothing but bad things about rusty's, is there anything out there close to that price in a 3" lift?

 

[Yucca-Man]

I'll second the RE 3" - it's probably more expensive than the Rusty, but there's not nearly the craptastic problems that Rusty's often experiences.