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Death Wobble related '?'

R

RizzyRong

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Ohio
Background: Just did a 3" lift last weekend, all included was front shocks, coils, skyjacker track bar relocation bracket + OEM trackbar, on the rear was an add a leaf, and shocks.

I've check all the bolts, and the track bar looks solid. I did notice that the tie rod has about a 45 degree of rotation/play in it while I was adjusting the toe. Should there be any % of rotation to the tie rod bushing/ball joints, (not sure what to call them)? If so, is that to much?
 
have you double checked the toe? no matter what i do, i can never get driveway alignments right the first time.

have someone turn the wheel lock to lock, with it running. while you sit in front of the front end and watch for clunks, or movement in the wrong spot (WATCH that tracbar and bracket -- im not framiliar w/ the skyjacker bracket--)

check the ball joints by jacking up one front wheel at a time, put one hand at 1oclock, and the other at 6, and shake the wheel, feeling for play.

did you change tires? out of balance tires can cause dw, even if they didnt pre-lift.
 
I didn't change tires, i did rotate them and they are only 245's w/ nitro inflation (dont know if that affects balance or not?)

I did double/triple check front and back, the difference between the front and back is the front is 1/8 of an inch shorter then the back. That is what I was told it should be.
 
Last edited:
RizzyRong said:
I did double/triple check front and back, the difference between the front and back is the front is 1/8 of an inch shorter then the back. That is what I was told it should be.
Click to expand...

sounds about right, if you dont get any results from the 2 tests i recommended, do a search for death wobble, theres many, MANY causes... might as well start checking things off the list.
 
Adjust your toe in/out.

A few month ago I installed my 3" lift (Closer to 5" height gain due to sagging old springs) similar to yours and had the same problem. My jeep was almost not driveable going to the tire shop.
 
jeeperjohn said:
You need to adjust your tow to 1/16-1/8" towed out. That should take care of the death wobble assuming there are no loose parts elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Huh? I've always read and set my own vehicles to 1/8" toed-in, forces the tires to push against one another slightly. Toed-out they'de be trying to track away from one another, which seems like it would contribute to death wobble.
 
This is RizzyRongs uncle, I checked it for him the other night. I put the lift on it with him. the toe for the 242 case is 1/16 to 1/8. we rechecked that . that was my first thought. I was unable to check it for him until Tuesday night. Trackbar bracket had elongated the hole you must drill. I know all bolts were tightened properly, he check, my oldest boy checked and did I. We overdrilled the bolt and put in a bigger bolt. I'll check with him and see where he is it with it. I believe that we are going to use a trackbar instead of the sucky bracket from SKYCRAPPER. or possibly run a bead on the bracket thanks all John
 
jeeperjohn said:
You need to adjust your tow to 1/16-1/8" towed out. That should take care of the death wobble assuming there are no loose parts elsewhere.
Click to expand...
It could be that my caster is out but I had death wobble bad with my tires toed in. I went with 1/8" toed out and no more death wobble. It tracks straight and drives just like it should.
 
RNMedic said:
This is RizzyRongs uncle, I checked it for him the other night. I put the lift on it with him. the toe for the 242 case is 1/16 to 1/8. we rechecked that . that was my first thought. I was unable to check it for him until Tuesday night. Trackbar bracket had elongated the hole you must drill. I know all bolts were tightened properly, he check, my oldest boy checked and did I. We overdrilled the bolt and put in a bigger bolt. I'll check with him and see where he is it with it. I believe that we are going to use a trackbar instead of the sucky bracket from SKYCRAPPER. or possibly run a bead on the bracket thanks all John
Click to expand...
A new trac bar is a good idea,brackets just seem to always come loose. and it's my understanding rigs with 242's.toe is 0.due to the full time feature.
 
i would replace all four control arms/bushings if they have not been replaced and are old. you can jam all the prybars you want to see if there is play in them and mine looked fine bolted up to the vehicle, but it wasn't until i unbolted them to see that every bushing were spidered out in the middle. this has so far cured my death wobble along with a new trackbar.
 
Forgot to mention that I also did a similar lift with add a leaf, gc coils, spacers, shocks, and steering stabilizer. I began with the add a leaf and that is when my problem started. it must have shifted the weight to the front and stressed the old ca bushings.
 
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