death wobble help please!

ok i have been dealin with a death wobble problem for almost a year now i have tried eerything except for changing the steering box and replacing the pittman arm. my jeep is a 1997 XJ with 3.5" of lift and 31" tires and 130,000 miles on it. now i have replaced the trackbar with a JKS adjustable trackbar and i replaced the steering stabilizer and i have had the alignment done countless times by a shop the does the alignment for the local Ferrari dealership. now in an effort to try and fix the problem i replaced my lower control arms with JKS adjutable LCAs for two reasons 1-my factory LCA bushings needed to be replaced and 2-the new ones are adjustable so i can use that to hopefully cure this problem and the retain factory bushings at both ends so i still get a good ride but they twist in the middle so i now get unlimited flex for when im out 4wheelin. so my question is should i make the LCAs shorter or longer than stock to get rid of this problem?

hi there not sure if i can help but i have a 88 xj lifted about 6.5 and i had a bad wobble i put a bigger steering stabilizer on it and it stoped my problem maybe that will help

yah i replaced mine with a BDS steering stabilizer right b4 all this started and it made a difference in handling back then but it was about a year ago that i replaced it so i have ruled that out since it is so new

try a good tire balance and make sure your wheels are not warped, also make sure your rotors are not warped.

stabilizer can help the ride, but only masks the problem...it solves nothing

rotors are fine the are only about a year or less old and i checked them already, tires were just rotated and i had the rims looked at and they are fine ive had bent rims b4 that were so badly bent that they had a hard time clamping them down on the balancer and i still never got death wobble but i still had them checked and they r fine.

what i want to know is should i make the new JKS LCAs shorter or longer than the stock ones and by how much?

death wobble comes about most commonly due to caster issues ith the front axle. i would "roll it backwards" a bit and see what happens. basically, i had death wobble after my lift, got longer arms and it went away. lengthen the lca's a bit and see what happens. good thing you have adjustables. i did not!

as for how much, i do not know. depends on how much lift exactly and the rear height of your xj as well. everything affects the front.

you want the pinion at 7 degrees. measuring with a 360 degree level at the diff cover bolts. top and bottom on one side or another.

see gojeeps site , he has tips:

http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAlignment.htm

ok im so close to giving up and selling my jeep its not even funny. i mean i love my jeep more than anything but there it just that point where u gotta say its time to give up. ive got two more things i can try and if these dont do it then its bye bye XJ. the next thing im gonna try is replacing the steering box and if that dont do it then a drop pittman arm. also my rear leaf springs are sagging and i wanted to know if maybe that would have any affect on my problem. just thought i would ask

your going about it all wrong. who wants a jeep that wobbles on a test ride? check to make sure your trac bar is lining the jeep up perfectly over the axle. make sure the axle mount hole is not wallowed out. be sure the frame side mount is secure as well.your forgetting other things that i could be
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=89888&highlight=death+wobble+thread

Stay at it. I fought my wobble for almost 2 years before I found the culprit to be my LCAs. You will be glad you did not give up when you find the solution...you will just wish you tried that first!!!!

Information provided by Jeeps Unlimited



Curing death wobble is defiantly a reality. Death wobble isn’t similar to a wobble from an unbalanced tire. It is by far worse. When death wobble hits you will know… it’s a violent shake from the front end that feels like the Jeep is about to fall apart. Usually when it happens the only thing you can do to stop it is to slow down.

The first steps to eliminate death wobble should be a visual inspection of each component, check the bushings, tire balance and an alignment. These are some common things you must check anytime you lift your Jeep. Death wobble is experienced mostly on lifter Jeeps, however it is not uncommon for someone without a lift to experience the dreaded DW. Listed below are a few things you can check.

Check your Track Bar, play in this can cause the axle to shake.
1. Bushings - check to see that they are not worn. Looks for cracks, and excessive play)
2. Angles - this angle should be the same as your draglink. Use an angle finders you can get at sears to determine this, don’t just eye-ball it.
3. Bolts – Make sure all bolts are tightened down to spec (some lift components have a different torque spec then)

Check the Axle, your mounts may be worn
1. Check the axle mount. Here is a good write up on a wallowed out bolt hole
http://www.jeepin.com/features/trackbarfix/index.asp
2. Check your Universal joints, a binding or lose U-Joint can cause DW
3. On the frame end if you still use the conventional Tie Rod End or (TRE) make sure that there is no play in this, as play can cause DW.
4. Look/Check for worn/torn boots on ball joints/tie-rod ends.

Check your Tires
1. Out of balance tires can cause shaking in the front end, which can lead to death wobble.
2. Make sure all of your lug nuts are tight, (Sounds elementary but it happens to the best of us)

Check your Frame
1. Small cracks in the frame can cause the steering box to feel loose, Shaking from DW can only make this worse. 33’s and larger should have some form of Steering box brace, or frame brace in.
2. If you have upgraded your frame mount, make sure its cranked down nice and tight. (best to use an impact gun)
3. A busted Frame Mount can cause play in the front end causing DW (Keep a watchful eye on the welds as welds in sheer can break over time.

Make sure you have a good alignment
1. After you get an alignment done, have them print out the numbers for you. An XJ should have a 7* positive caster angle. A lifted XJ can’t always have that high of a number because the pinion would become out of alignment with the front driveshaft. Pinion angle takes precedence over caster.
2. Make you sure you go to a place that will adjust the caster if necessary (either by shims in the frame side of the LCAs, or adjustable LCAs).

The more adjustable parts the easier it is to tune in your suspension.
1. Adjustable Track Bar
2. Adjustable Upper and Lower Control Arms (upper ones above 4” of lift). Not only are they adjustable, but they are stronger.


Things to remember:
1. After any lift, get your Jeep professionally aligned, this is a REQUIREMENT, not a suggestion.
2. A Steering Stabilizer (SS) is not a quick fix for DW.
3. Make sure that the lift you purchase comes with all the required parts for a safe driving vehicle. (as long as its going to be a DD)
4. PLEASE ALWAYS DRIVE WITH YOUR FRONT SWAY BAR CONNECTED!

Entire list of everything that can cause death wobble:
-Front tires out of balance
-Front alignment out of spec
-Loose track bar
-Worn track bar bushings
-Worn track bar end
-Needing an adjustable track bar
-Bad bushings/joints in control arms
-Worn/damaged steering stabilizer
-Worn/damaged shocks
-Worn/damaged tie rod end
-Bad U Joint
-Bad ball joint
-Loose frame mount
-Steering box looseness
-Need drop pitman arm
-Driveshaft(s) not balanced
-Bad front hub assembly


Torque specs:

Item ........................................ Ft. lbs. ................... Nm

Lug nuts (1/2 X 20 w/ 60* cone) .... 85-115 .............. 115-150
All tie rod ends .....................…..... 55 ...................….. 74
Steering (both ends) ..............…..... 55 ................….... 74
Shock absorber upper nut .............. 16 ................….... 22
Shock absorber lower nuts ............. 17 ................….... 23
UCA frame end .....................…...... 66 ..............…..... 89
UCA axle end .........................….... 55 ................….... 74
LCA frame end ......................…..... 85 ...................... 115
LCA axle end .........................….... 85 ...................... 115
Track bar frame end ..............…..... 60 .................…... 81
Track bar axle end .................….... 40 ..................…... 54
Track bar bracket bolts ..........…..... 92 ...................... 125
Track bar bracket nut .............….... 74 ....................... 100
Track bar bracket support bolts ...... 31 ....................... 42
Hub bolts (3) ............................…. 75 ....................... 102
Hub- axle bolt ..........................….. 175 ..................... 237

Alingment specs (stock):

Angle ............. Preferred ........... Range ............. Max R/L diff.

Caster ............ +7.0* ........ +5.25* to +8.5* ......... 1.25*
Camber ........... -0.25* ....... -0.75* to +0.5 ........... 1.0*
Total Toe-in .... +0.25* ....... 0* to +0.45* ............. .05*
Thrust angle .... 0* to ± 0.15*

awww, come on man, nobody loves a quitter! its the shakes and rattles that makes these xj's so lovable!

since it seems like you cant handle it, maybe take it to a dealer and ignore all our posts.

they will fix it for you and you'll probably pay more than what that xj is worth.

don;t go around buying random parts and sh*t. check around and move the front around a bit. sounds like you need to lengthen the lca's a bit, you are lucky you have adjsutable ones. most folks dont when they find all this out.

hey bro everybody wants u to figure it out i had to go to a la kit and replace my trac bar with a re hd trac bar mount and trac bar it fixed but it keeps coming loose so check all the nuts and bolt lock tight and torque to spec bro good luck

ok so a new steerin box turned front rotors and road force balanced tires and still DW but i will say this it is better and i can control it better and when it starts it only goes for a few seconds and works itself out where b4 i had to slow down or stop the car to get it to stop so we r gettin there

Control arm drop brackets fixed my DW.

installing a lift fixed mine. If you have adjustable LCA's lengthen them a bit and see what happens.

i had a bad death wobble too. i replaced my steering shock with 2 over sized ones from rusty off road. i thinek it was about 100.00. that worked great for me. good luck

Few questions...does the DW hit while you are on a smooth flat road? Or does it hit when you change lanes? Or does it hit when you hit a hole or a hump in the road??

The HEEP had DW after the lift...It would kick in if i hit the slighted bump at speed..I checked all the usual stuff, blah, blah...alignment, caster, etc.
The problem turned out to be a out of round tire...it balanced fine, but it wasn't ROUND. when i hit a bump...it started oscillating...DW! Got the tires trued and rebalanced...no problem since.

There is a less common tire problem usually found in used tires...the kind where you get a screaming deal on some really good looking used tires...its called mass imbalance...the tire is round (at rest or slow speed) it balances fine...looks good right?? these tires (usually hard core offroad tires) have an area in the carcass where there is too much rubber...at speed, centrifugal force causes a "hump" to form....now its way outta round...still balanced more or less, but it looks like the wheels on a clown car. Try a buddies tires and wheels to see what happens.

it definately happens when i hit a sharp enough bump but only when im at about 55 mph if im goin faster or slower than that it will try wont fully DW. it will also happen when im at 55 mph and im goin around a curve. i have 31 BFG Alls on my XJ right now and a set of 31 BFG muds on my MJ (the XJ is the one that DWs) so i guess i can switch them out and see what happens cuz the MJ wont DW at all and its still runnin factory trac bar factory steering stabilizer and factory CAs and its an '88

I've got the same problems. 98 XJ 4.0 litre, 3" Old man Emu kit (shocks, springs). It first happened about 3 years ago, slightly sloping bridge overpass on the interstate. Since then, it has progressed to about 8 sessions in a 2 hour drive. I've taken it to the dealership for them to look at (thank god for free front end inspection coupons!!), replaced the stock steering setup with rusty's, new shocks and steering stabilizer, etc.
I just put on my summer tires (street tread, 16" alum wheels)- the're straight and balanced, and the wobble was ridiculous. I nearly got rearended multiple times as i had to slam the brakes on to drop down to about 20 mph to stop the shakes.
I'm getting fed up. I've checked all the bolts and fitting, as so has the dealership. Its getting worse.
jeep's got 175000 on it, but is in pretty good shape. ball joints were replaced about 75000 ago, and are within specs for the dealership to do the alignments (numerous). I'm running out of things to check. I know that my control arm bushings are old "(stock) and i plan on replacing them after exams- anything else?