Death Wobble

ugh...... ok, I thought I knew enough to do enough.... anyways, my dad's jeep developed death wobble couple weeks ago and it was bad but not frequent. So we take the whole front steering and suspension appart, replace a badly worn trackbar with an adjustable one with a good bushing and new TRE, tighten all the superflex joints on the lca's and uca's, grease everything that needs to be greased and my dad took it for a sping not too long ago and said it's ting up.... so I took it today to work and those 60 miles were the longest 60 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, what's weird the beginning I was cruising at 70mph without any issues. Everything was smooth and issues (no wibes, no wobble). Then about 10 miles into the commute it hit for the first time and it wasn't too bad. From that time it was getting progressively worse each time it hit.

So...... here's the issue: nearly brand new steering components on the tie rod and drag link, new adjustable trackbar, front suspension all good, alignment all good and...... it's still acting up (btw, UCA bushings on the axle are almost brand new). Any suggestions as to what I might have missed?????

It seems like after the Jeep "warms up" is when it hits. I would check your shocks. The shocks are what dampen the ride, with out them or with bad ones it will be like driving a pogo stick. Sounds funny but, as shocks heat up they will fade. They may seem ok when checked when "cold"(not driven on for a bit) but when "hot"(driven on for a while) they may not be.

magimerlin said:

It seems like after the Jeep "warms up" is when it hits. I would check your shocks. The shocks are what dampen the ride, with out them or with bad ones it will be like driving a pogo stick. Sounds funny but, as shocks heat up they will fade. They may seem ok when checked when "cold"(not driven on for a bit) but when "hot"(driven on for a while) they may not be.

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That makes a bit of a sense... cause I think that it started getting really bad after a really rough section of the road. Damn... this is going to be a rough 60 miles back......

a good quick check is to drive it for ten minutes and pull over. Reach under and grab each shock. If they're still cool/cold, they're shot. If they're warm, they're functioning (converting kinetic motion into heat energy) If warm, drive it home and wait for the wobble and pull over when it occurs, Check the shocks again and see it they're hotter (still working and not the cause) or colder (failing and unable to control rebound/jounce after they get some miles on them)

Shorty said:

a good quick check is to drive it for ten minutes and pull over. Reach under and grab each shock. If they're still cool/cold, they're shot. If they're warm, they're functioning (converting kinetic motion into heat energy) If warm, drive it home and wait for the wobble and pull over when it occurs, Check the shocks again and see it they're hotter (still working and not the cause) or colder (failing and unable to control rebound/jounce after they get some miles on them)

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Good idea. I'll do it when I go get gas during lunch.

Kejtar said:

Good idea. I'll do it when I go get gas during lunch.

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Taco Bell?

Shorty said:

Taco Bell?

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I think having Death Wobble and eating Taco Bell might haver OTHER side effects

werd-- err, turd.

how is the alignment? my jeep had DW and it ended up being a combination of worn rubber bushings and too much caster. i think it was around 8*. the shop i had it at set it to 3.5* and it drives great now. new arms with poly bushings, new adjustable track bar, and new(used) jk shocks helped too. surprisingly, putting different tires on made a difference also. probably changed the harmonics of the suspension.

zedpapa

x2 on the alignment. You replaced the tie rod ends and your toe could be off.

balance your tires ?

Did the alignment after the TRE replacement.

Remi, check for excess play in the steering shaft. After I replaced mine, death wobble was gone.

johnnyc said:

Remi, check for excess play in the steering shaft. After I replaced mine, death wobble was gone.

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Hmmmm I don't think there is any, but I"ll check. Where did you have play at? At that little u-joint wannabe spot or elsewhere?

Yes, at the joint. When I twisted the upper shaft and lower shaft by hand, there was a lot of play.

Possible causes of DEATH WOBBLE: Isolating this is a process of elimination; not always obvious and straight forward.

Note: It can oftentimes be due to a combination of things!

-Front tires out of balance (try swapping fronts to rear; see if symptoms change)
-Improper lug nut torque on wheels
-Front alignment out of spec
-Loose track bar
-Worn track bar bushings
-Worn track bar end
-Bad bushings/joints in control arms
-Worn/damaged steering stabilizer (not generally a cause in and by itself)
-Worn/damaged shocks
-Worn/damaged tie rod end
-Bad U Joint
-Bad ball joint
-Loose frame mount
-Steering box loose
-Bad front hub assembly