Death Wobble

My brother has a '91 XJ with a RE lift of like 5 or 6 inches. He usually runs 35" tires. Every once and awhile he gets a death wobble and it looks like the front wheels are going to fall off i mean to see it, it seems like they wobble up down forward and backward but staying in place . So like when forward and backward moving they are turning in/out rather than lateral movement. Well it only happened occasionally, but since we put his stock wheels with 235/75 back on for moving his boat around (the boat is unrelated, just why we put the small tires on) it is getting much worse.

It used to just go away after a few moments, but now he says that it won't stop wobbling until he comes to a complete stop. He took it to a local Midas and this is what they said was wrong.

All front control arms, track bar, front diff bushings, tie rods, steering box. They said it would be over $1300 and they didn't think it was worth him fixing it.

We just had it at Leonard's off road a couple of months ago, because we are newbs and we were having trouble with loosing rear drive-shafts. They gave it a good look over and told us things that were wrong with it, and what they parts were that we had. They are the ones who told us that it was an RE suspension on the front. They replaced the rear springs and blocks with true lift springs so we had no more troubles with the drive shaft. My point is, they gave it a look see and pointed out things for us to change, and I would think they would have mentioned if there was something bad about the control arms and especially the track bar.


Moral to the story is that $1300 really is too much to spend right now, but we would like to make it safe to drive. i.e. no more death wobble. Can anyone suggest what would cause the wobble? If it would be the things in the list, what could we do first to loose the wobble, and then get to the rest later?


I don't know that it would help, but here is a picture;

Gotta give us specs on the peices you have-

stock trackbar and bracket?
how old are the Control arm bushings?

you should be able to do a quick search on "death wobble" and come up with things to check and tighten.

the things the shop told you are some of the reasons for this happening, you wont/shouldnt have to replace all of them, just the one that is messed up. Anywho you need to get under rig and make sure all joints and bushings are good and that all bolts are tightened to their specific TQ.

More than likely you are running a stock TB and bracket and the top joint is being pulled too far out of its spec and causing the front to wobble. i would replace this with a RE1660 HD TB and a HD bracket from them. it could be anything really with not looking at the rig itself. Heck it could even be the front DL. More pics of the front suspension, joints and TB would greatly help

PS those "eye bolts" are not a good spot for recovery, unless you like straps hitting you in the face.

If you play with the toe-in/out a little, it should get rid of the death wobble. The problem is, if there's a bad component causing the wobble, changing the toe will make the tires wear faster.

I've heard to bring the toe in 1/4", but on a friends jeep, we had to do the opposite (toe out 1/4") to cure the problem. It made the jeep driveable, but he said he could hear the tires scuffing a little around turns.

A good quick fix.

I would not do this ^^^ it is a "band-aid" for more problems and could cause wrecks. There is an obvious problem and you need to find it, not fix with another problem, to cause more and more (insert snowball effect here).

Not a "GOOD QUICK FIX"

Have you ever had death wobble? That will cause wrecks, not adjusting the toe a little.

Quick fix means just that. Like to get it to a shop without worrying about the violent shaking.

dictionary.com said:

quick fix
–noun Informal. an expedient, temporary solution, esp. one that merely postpones having to cope with an overall problem.

Click to expand...

you need to check the ball joints it is a common problem on dana 30's with bigger tires... Jack up one side so the tire is off the ground enough to get a pry bar under it and lift up on the pry bar and watch the upper and lower ball joints and see if there is any movement, most of the time its the lower ball joint that goes bad but you need to replace all of them if one is bad...

TRSCobra said:

Have you ever had death wobble? That will cause wrecks, not adjusting the toe a little.

Quick fix means just that. Like to get it to a shop without worrying about the violent shaking.

Click to expand...

Nope never had it..... ever. Hell I dont even have a Jeep. I ride a bike and take the bus. (God I wish we were on Pirate right now). Anywho when posting "Quick Fix" most of these people on here take that as "well dirka dirka now its all cool" and turn around and post blame on this forum for "why did my ball joint come flying off my rig at 65 mph and take out a school bus full of special needs kids????? ".

I have seen it, read it and heard it................. thank you come again!!!

:explosion

Death wobble can be caused by many things.

First, take your steering stabilizer off and throw it away. (that little shock thingy on the drag link) This only masks the issues with death wobble thus causing further wear and tear on parts. You DONT NEED IT.

Second, check your Track bar. If there is ANY play in it, (even 1/32nd of an inch) you need to tighten it, replace the bushings, or the frame mount end (whatever you have aftermarket or stock) You can also check the track bar by having a helper turn the wheels left to right while you observe it. The track bar should SOLIDLY attach the front axle to the frame. As I said above, the track bar should parallel the drag link, with the axle at ride height, at full stuff and full droop.

Third, check your steering linkage. Get under the Jeep and grab the drag link (the rod from the steering box to the passenger knuckle), try to shake it around, if it moves at the passenger knuckle you need to replace it. If it wiggles, or has slop at the pittman arm (steering box side) than you need to replace the tie rod end. Then grab the tie rod (part that connects the drag link to the drivers knuckle) and try to shake it and move it around. If these parts are loose, you need to replace your tie-rod ends. You can also observe this while you have a helper turn the wheels left and right while you observe it.


Fourth, check your ball joints and wheel bearings. Jack each wheel off the ground and try to "wiggle" it by grasping it at both top and bottom, and each side. If it wiggles, you need to replace either the ball joints or bearing. This can be easily checked by further removing the wheel,brake caliper, and brake disc. You should try to move the knuckle up and down or wobble it (ball joints), and then try to wiggle the hub/bearing assembly by grasping it by the flange that the wheel studs mount to. If the flange wiggles, you need to replace the hub/bearing assembly.

Fifth, tire balancing. An imbalanced tire can lead to death wobble.

Sixth, Your steering box. This can be checked by having a helper turn the wheel left and right. Watch for the engagement of the steering shaft and watch the pittman arm turn, if there is play in either, there is the problem. Also, your steering box may be coming apart from the frame. Watch for this too as your helper turns the wheel. You can also try to wiggle the steering box on the frame itself. Check for play at the frame mount and bolts, which may be broken off inside the frame, where you cant see.

Seventh, EXTREME control arm angles. Anything over 3.5 inches of lift on stock-length control arms can cause death wobble, due to the mounting of said arms and the stresses on them.

Eighth, control arms themselves. Check all the bushings at the frame mounts and axle mounts. This applies to both stock arms and aftermarket. If your bushings need replacing, then replace them. The control arms keep your caster angle right so as your other axle components do what they were designed to do. Worn out bushings will be either visually detected, or have a helper put your rig in 4LO and watch the front axle as they drive the vehicle back and forth. If the inital torque really moves the front axle (essentially the pinion) up and down you need to look into bushing or even control arm replacement. (OR a Long Arm kit for those over 3.5 inches on stock length control arms)

Ninth, shocks. Your shocks mushy, bent shafts, or leaking fluid? Time to replace them. Yup, even shocks can cause death wobble. Check the mounting points on the axle, and also at the shock tower. If these are worn out, than replace them.