Death wobble!! Help

super_c_06

super_c_06

New member
I'm running a set of nitto trail grapplers on my jk. 37's. I could run them at 70+ mph with no problem. Just had them rotated and now I can't get over 40 without death wobble. What's my next step to fix this?!?
 
super_c_06 said:
I'm running a set of nitto trail grapplers on my jk. 37's. I could run them at 70+ mph with no problem. Just had them rotated and now I can't get over 40 without death wobble. What's my next step to fix this?!?
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Either rotate them back to see if problem goes away or see if you have a front tire out of balance. Could be a bad tire or out-of-balance tire. Check that the pressures are the same as well.

EDIT:
You're sure it's DW and not a shimmy right? Here's this too. http://wayalife.com/content.php?124...s-What-it-isn-t-and-What-You-Can-Do-to-Fix-it
 
I know those are big tires but I doubt an out of balance tire would cause full blown death wobble.

Start with checking your trackbar. It almost always has something to with the trackbar. Check the mounts for ovaling, check the bushings to make sure they are tight. Also just check the hardware to make sure it's torqued.

If it's not the trackbar then check the torque on your control arms.

After all that check your unit bearings and ball joints.

Also check out the link that WJCO posted. It's full of good info.
 
crowrb29 said:
I know those are big tires but I doubt an out of balance tire would cause full blown death wobble.

Start with checking your trackbar. It almost always has something to with the trackbar. Check the mounts for ovaling, check the bushings to make sure they are tight. Also just check the hardware to make sure it's torqued.

If it's not the trackbar then check the torque on your control arms.

After all that check your unit bearings and ball joints.

Also check out the link that WJCO posted. It's full of good info.
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I'm guessing there is a terminology mix up here if it started as soon at the tires were rotated. I'm with WJCO in thinking it is an out of balance tire, NOT a death wobble.
 
It was shaking pretty hard. I'm gonna get them balanced tomorrow and see if that fixes it. I just thought it was odd that it never happened before until I rotated them.
 
I had the same exact thing happen to me. 04 Rubicon, 33's. Never had an inkling of a wobble until after a tire rotation. My track bar bushing was a little loose, so I replaced it and had a road force balance completed. Problem solved.
 
UPDATE : just left from my friends tire shop. Balancing was WAY off. Both front tires. One was 5. something and the other was 8. something. When he put them on the machine, it shook it to death. Lol. Got them zeroed out and it rides like a Cadillac now. Thanks for everybody's help. [emoji106][emoji106]
 
super_c_06 said:
UPDATE : just left from my friends tire shop. Balancing was WAY off. Both front tires. One was 5. something and the other was 8. something. When he put them on the machine, it shook it to death. Lol. Got them zeroed out and it rides like a Cadillac now. Thanks for everybody's help. [emoji106][emoji106]
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Good to hear. Glad they fixed you up.
 
Struggling with death wobble

Hi all,
Having huge frustrations with the DW myself. It only started after putting in a TF 2.5" sport lift with new shocks, springs, bump stops and a steering shock. Did around 500km worry free, then the thing started going mental. Had to stop to have the DW stop and to calm down my wife. Since then I've fitted a new adjustable track bar, replaced a worn tie rod end and had 2! Alignments done. Jeep still has the DW... Had my ball joints checked by mechanics from different shops, I'm not that mechanically minded myself, so wanted a pro to look at it. I have just moved back to Whitehorse in the Yukon after driving 2000km to get here, had no problems until around 200kms out of town then it went crazy again. I've checked everything is torqued, and I'm not sure where to go from here. My wife just wants me to sell it, but I love the jeep, any help would be great?!
 
Nimbo said:
Hi all,
Having huge frustrations with the DW myself. It only started after putting in a TF 2.5" sport lift with new shocks, springs, bump stops and a steering shock. Did around 500km worry free, then the thing started going mental. Had to stop to have the DW stop and to calm down my wife. Since then I've fitted a new adjustable track bar, replaced a worn tie rod end and had 2! Alignments done. Jeep still has the DW... Had my ball joints checked by mechanics from different shops, I'm not that mechanically minded myself, so wanted a pro to look at it. I have just moved back to Whitehorse in the Yukon after driving 2000km to get here, had no problems until around 200kms out of town then it went crazy again. I've checked everything is torqued, and I'm not sure where to go from here. My wife just wants me to sell it, but I love the jeep, any help would be great?!
Click to expand...

Don't sell it just because t has DW! Click on the link in WJCO's post and go through that whole list of causes and solutions. Also, I had a jeep dealer tell me there was nothing wrong with my ball joints when I had DW. Well, I replaced them anyway and turns out they were wrong.
 
Nimbo said:
Hi all,
Having huge frustrations with the DW myself. It only started after putting in a TF 2.5" sport lift with new shocks, springs, bump stops and a steering shock. Did around 500km worry free, then the thing started going mental. Had to stop to have the DW stop and to calm down my wife. Since then I've fitted a new adjustable track bar, replaced a worn tie rod end and had 2! Alignments done. Jeep still has the DW... Had my ball joints checked by mechanics from different shops, I'm not that mechanically minded myself, so wanted a pro to look at it. I have just moved back to Whitehorse in the Yukon after driving 2000km to get here, had no problems until around 200kms out of town then it went crazy again. I've checked everything is torqued, and I'm not sure where to go from here. My wife just wants me to sell it, but I love the jeep, any help would be great?!
Click to expand...

i would put the stock steering stabilizer back on, most aftermarket steering shocks tend to pull or push and are not worth the expense.

Then while the jeep is on the ground, loosen the track bar at both ends, loosen the control arms (both ends) and give your jeep a good shake to relieve any possible binding.

tighten everything back to torque.

this is a great source of information to sort out the common causes of DW:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...s-What-it-isn-t-and-What-You-Can-Do-to-Fix-it
 
If it started after the lift, ensure that caster angle is correct. An alignment won't change this unless you have adjustable arms.
 
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