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Blah.. wobble continues

Talyn

Talyn

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Radford, Communistwealth of Virginia
Well, after changing the following:
Left side ball joints
both axle u-joints
and one TRE at the pitman arm
my wobble persists. It is most evident between 45-50, but if a bump is hit anywhere above 45 a strong wobble comes on, but dissapates. Not death wobble, though. I can't get any movement out of the hubs that shouldn't be there (i.e. non rotational). Unless I am checking them wrong. All the TREs
look good now. trackbar mounts are tight. Also, tires are balanced and not out of round, no bent rims. Teh shocks have about 20,000 miles on them, and appear to still be good. No odd sounds are present either. This is the measurements from my last alingment: http://www.electronicimpulse.net/~vissagoth/jeep/JUimages/fral.jpg

Specs are:
2000 XJ
3.25" in front, 3.5" in rear (RE AAL + ZJ V8 springs and spacers)
JKS adjustable trackbar
JKS BPEs
Yokohama Geolandar AT + II 30" tires.
DT3000 shocks.

Any ideas? I am totaly frustrated with this wobble. Any one in the area (Near Bedford, PA) would be willing tot ake a look at this for me to see if I missed anything?

-Chris
 
Last edited:
Sometimes between 45-55 on a good road surface I can feel a slight wobble. Any bump over 45 it starts to wobble heavily, but never actually made it to death wobble yet. Anywhere above 55 on a good surface there is no evidence of wobble.

-Chris
 
I can move teh CAs by hand a bit (just rotate the bushins, not side to dies). I have no idea just how tight they are suposed to be. I have no clunking sounds coming from under thatw ould indicate a work bushing... how tight should teh bushings be?

-Chris
 
i did all that stuff and more. what it turned out on me was getting new tires. if you got old tires that are almost worn they just are not going to balance well. i tried my friends tires to check if his were any better and they did the trick.

the best thing ive ever done for the DW was get the RE drop brackets for my control arms. they are like 200 and something dollars but worth every penny. once i put those on i havent had an algiment and im running my old out of balance tires and still no death wobble.
 
Bill that is what i ahd to do. I always had a little wobble but i just put new tires on and my wobble went away, well its been about two weeks ago......no wobble.....so it could be the tires...that's my case
 
I have been haveing the same problem. I do have some play in the wheel bearings though. i thought it might be the shocks. or the track bar also. I have about 36,000 miles on the BFG MTs. this is driving me crazy.
 
If the bushings are old & tired, you'll get Death Wobbles. Also loose bolts on the track bar tower and on the steering box. Closely inspect the frame where your steering box mounts. If the metal is fatigued or cracked it'll flex and the harmonics of that flexing will give you the DWs. Also if you have large tires and the stock steering linkage, it can flex.

Do NOT use a steering stabilizer as a fix for DWs. It may dampen the harmonics to the point that you won't have wobbling but the problem will still be there and will continue to grow until it becomes a crisis. For example if the source of the DWs is a frame cracked at the steering box mount the cracks will continue until the box rips out. I'd remove that steering stabilizer and not install it until you've hunted down all the gremlins and got your wobbling back under control
 
XJCHUCK72 said:
I have know a few to use the OEM CA's and the drop brackets with as much as 4.5" lift.
Click to expand...

What if with as little as 3.25"? I don't see how adjuctable LCAs would help if my caster is good. Maybe teh drop brackets would be teh answer, but this problem wasn't always present adn has been getting worse -- indicating something worn in the front.

-Chris
 
MistWolf said:
If the bushings are old & tired, you'll get Death Wobbles. Also loose bolts on the track bar tower and on the steering box. Closely inspect the frame where your steering box mounts. If the metal is fatigued or cracked it'll flex and the harmonics of that flexing will give you the DWs. Also if you have large tires and the stock steering linkage, it can flex.

Do NOT use a steering stabilizer as a fix for DWs. It may dampen the harmonics to the point that you won't have wobbling but the problem will still be there and will continue to grow until it becomes a crisis. For example if the source of the DWs is a frame cracked at the steering box mount the cracks will continue until the box rips out. I'd remove that steering stabilizer and not install it until you've hunted down all the gremlins and got your wobbling back under control
Click to expand...

I never considered a new steering stabalizer as a fix, however some people do. The only thing I am leery on is how to tell if the bushings in teh control arms are worn. I can twist my control arms by hand, but i don't think it is anything major. I do still have the stock steering linkage, but I only have 30" tires.. i was thinking of maybe replacing the Tie rod as it is pretty flimsly to begin with (with a ZJ one, as I will never have anythign above 31" tires). As for the frame near the steering box, a quick look revealed nothing, but I will take a closer look. Both mounts on the track bar are good (JKS tracbar), but if I am standing still and someone turns teh steering wheel back and forth I can see the track bar frame mount flex a bit. Maybe a HD Trackbar mount?

-Chris
 
i had some track bar problems too. i ended up welding the track bar mounts down. that seemed to help me alot.

having someone else steer the wheel back and forth and watching what is loose is a really good way to find the problem. if anything is loose get it tight.

have you checked your tie rod ends? they are a major problem for death wobble.

if you do all this crap and nothing works give me an email at [email protected] i had death wobble for a year and a half and non of the normal things people tried to help me with worked. ive got it down now if you still have a problem give me a mail and well get rid of that wobble for good.
 
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