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death wobble...i've tried everything (including a search!)

F

ferday

NAXJA Forum User
Location
canada
sorry for this question....

getting severe DW from my '96 w/ 4.5" RE. it is undrivable. the truck drove great for about a year before the problem started...

i've changed and/or fixed:
track bar
shocks
tie rods etc.
steering stab
bushings
tires/wheels
bearings/u joints

i've checked everywhere, there is no play in any part of the steering setup. problem got better with different wheels/tires, but still there. i searched this forum about a year ago and took all the suggestions, which has gotten me to this point today. i've now put a lot of $$$ into the front end and still have an undrivable vehicle...

if i can't fix this i have to auction an otherwise great truck for nothing....please help (and thanks!)
 
keep the bolts tight on the tracbar.....axle side AND frame side!
alot of time people forget about the frame side mount
 
Who's kit is it?
 
alignment? I've heard that too much toe can screw up the caster (I don't know how) and create DW. Also that too much caster causes DW. Are your coils bowed in the middle? If so, maybe drop brackets or adjustable arms would allow you to get the front axle angle straightened out and fix the caster. I had mine aligned and its better. Not perfect, but at least drivable at speeds higher than 50mph...
 
i had some dw, replaced my tracbar with a pro-comp heim unit, and it got a little better, so i said fuck it, and just went as it was...

so this weekend, i change my rear springs, and it's all gone, they were getting saggy, doesn't really make sense, but wow, what a world of difference.
 
mscans said:
i had some dw, replaced my tracbar with a pro-comp heim unit, and it got a little better, so i said fuck it, and just went as it was...

so this weekend, i change my rear springs, and it's all gone, they were getting saggy, doesn't really make sense, but wow, what a world of difference.
Click to expand...

I believe that could slightly affect caster.:dunno:
 
BlackSport96 said:
RE=Rubicon Express
Click to expand...
Good catch!
Which trackbar are you running?
 
FWIW...my 2000 with 2" had a shake at 50mph. Really bad when you hit a bump. Replaced just about everything in the front but maybe 3 ball joints. I had it aligned two times by different shops...still there. The one shop said the castor was "close" to what I told him I wanted. Finally I was looking at the "gojeep" website and read his DIY alignment. Made up a couple spacers out of some plastic I had laying around. Loosened up the LCA's and put my homemade shims in....and after close to $1500.00 in parts chasing the shake...it's gone, just from changing my castor a little...(like I had asked the shops...)
 
park on cement, have someone turn the wheels back and forth while you look for side to side or back/front movement, its somthin small ya just having found it yet, mine was the track bar bushing, i replaced lots a crap to... check your steering box bolts thatll cause dw
 
search for death wobble threads: read them. This topic has been covered many times before.

We need more info before we can help. What is your steering/ suspension setup? (stock steering, short arms, long arms, stock arms,.... etc.)
what are your alignment specs? what tires are you running? post pics of your rig and suspension geometry

the consensus I've seen is that you want between 0-1/8" toe in, 5-7* caster, and as close to 0* camber as possible.

I've replaced everything in my suspension and had everything to spec. turns out changing from 7* caster down to 5* caster fixed my problem. it doesn't take a lot to throw things out of whack

if these are all correct you shouldn't have an issue

also it seems you haven't checked your ball joints, steering box or trackbar mount yet those are often areas of concern
 
i was in the same boat as you, its was the ball joints. have you checked them do u know the proper way to check them?
 
corywmower said:
FWIW...my 2000 with 2" had a shake at 50mph. Really bad when you hit a bump. Replaced just about everything in the front but maybe 3 ball joints. I had it aligned two times by different shops...still there. The one shop said the castor was "close" to what I told him I wanted. Finally I was looking at the "gojeep" website and read his DIY alignment. Made up a couple spacers out of some plastic I had laying around. Loosened up the LCA's and put my homemade shims in....and after close to $1500.00 in parts chasing the shake...it's gone, just from changing my castor a little...(like I had asked the shops...)
Click to expand...
How did you change the caster with shims in the LCAs? I was under the impression you needed adjustable LCAs to change the caster angle by pushing or pulling the bottom of the axle to rotate on the UCA. And that would change your caster. But remember if one size has more positive caster then the other it will pull to the side with more positive caster.

And get your front tires balanced. If I hit a bump going over 50mph mine would go crazy. I balance my front tires and it fixed it.
 
If you look at the where the lower control arms mount to the body, you will see the holes are oblong. Behind the mounting bracket there are two bolts sticking out on each side...pointing toward the rear. When you loosen them, as well as the LCA bolt, you can change the caster there. Check the "go jeep" web site. He's in Australia and has alot of good ideas. Look for the DIY alignment.
 
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