Trouble codes and Death Wobble.

Lets start with the trouble codes, light came on today so i stopped at Advance Auto Parts and they pulled and printed the codes for me. Here's what was shown.



If it matters at all, I filled my gas tank last night and 2 days ago replaced the downstream o2 wiring since it had been missing for some time. I replaced the downstream o2 several months back the same time I replaced the catalytic converter but the sensor was never hooked up due to the connector being MIA.

Onto the death wobble, and I'm sorry I know it's such a common issue. I've thrown so much money into the front end of this Jeep and i'm getting tired of it. Things I've replaced, ball joints, 3/4 tie rod ends, wheel bearings, axle u joints, and the tires. I've removed the differential side of the track bar with intentions of replacing the bushings, but after removal i noticed there was no play at all on either ends so i just re-installed it. It happens at 55mph to 63mph. I know my axle u joints aren't as tight as they should be, same with the wheel bearing, but replacing those has never cured it before.

I took video of the steering wheel, to show you what it does. It's kind of hard to see, but you should be able too. You can also see how the think wanders around too, it's almost scary on a posted 55mph country road.

A bad alignment can cause Death Wobble and Wandering....
Death wobble is generally caused by worn front end parts...
You have already addressed the most common parts, but you need to check the upper and lower control arm bushings; both frame end and axle end....
Worn control arm bushing cause a lot of unwanted axle movement which can cause death wobble.
Wandering can be caused by low caster.... Caster for the XJs is 5-7* which is part of the alignment...

Im getting an alignment this weekend, and the codes are no longer present. I don't know what happened, but the CEL turned itself off. Thanks.

Got the Jeep aligned, no luck. The jeep drives straighter and I feel more in control than before. However, I told the technician my problems and he did a look over of the entire vehicle. He told me my caster angle is way off, but could not give me any other help as to the shake even after he drove the vehicle. He told me the jeep didn't feel right at all and that's what it was left at. I really need some help, I cannot tolerate this shaking anymore, I will sell the damn thing.

I just recently had it and got it fixed. I crawed under and started to check everything. I found out that the bracket that holds the track bar to the body was way loose. Tightened the bolts ater some thread lock and whala!! Hope this helps and good luck!

based on the video, I wouldnt consider that a "death wobble". Driveline vibration, sure, but not a death wobble. How about what kind of lift etc you have on the jeep? Is it stock? does it have a 8.5" long arm? Obviously big differences there, maybe you mentioned this somewhere else, but I dont see it.

~James

IF the caster is way off as the tech stated.... and you continue to have Death Wobble.... ; I would check the rubber bushings that are pressed into the axle mounts where the upper control arms are attached.....
When these go bad... they can cause death wobble and caster problems....

Tires off balance or seperated cords within the tires can cause that same shake.

when i had DW it all but shook the wheel out of my hand and bounced off the road. really all i could do to keep from wrecking. turned out it was an end link that had broken off but on another one i had a steering damper that was no good. seemed fine when you pushed it in and out but in the center there was a section with no tension at all and it just let every vibration go through. did you change that at all? i didnt see it in the post.

sean

2" BB boost ( 2" poly spacers, and new Quadratec HD leafs with 2" blocks and 31" tires. The Jeep did the same motion with the old tires on it, and rotating the tires didn't change anything so that rules out a bent rim. Steering stabilizer has also been recently changed. Also, the tech went through my front end with a pry bar checking all of my bushings, and he said he found none that were faulty.

They were computer balanced a while back, but not recently. I noticed my axle U joints have some slop, and my rear u joint has caps on it that don't seat properly and is allowing the drive shaft to move around. I already bought 3 new joints and will fix them tomorrow. We'll see then, I guess the next step would be to have the tires balanced? Would installing my t-case drop possibly fix the issue ?

i would try just rotating your tires. if it is a balance issue then you would not feel it as much on the rear wheels as you would on the front. you never know.

I'm going to do that as well, but I do just believe i possibly found the problem. My Rear differential pinion is all gouged out and the u joints are able to move around and the caps are actually spinning when fully tightened. I ordered and paid for a new yoke but since the closest one is in Ohio i have to wait until tuesday. Hopefully this cures the problem. Thanks guys

camarors8992 said:

pinion is all gouged out and the u joints are able to move around and the caps are actually spinning when fully tightened.

Click to expand...

Yeah. That'll do it.