DEATH WOBBLE : What it is, What it isn't and What You Can Do to Fix it
- Thread starter wayoflife
- Start date
Hey Thanks guy for the speedy replies . . . I've been looking at the long arm kit . . . my gut tells me I should have gotten it in the first place , now that I have spent all this money on BS ... yes I should have did that / a better kit . some of my friends have lifted jeeps, they too went the cheaper way . . they deny any problems but I bet you money they have them too, and it appears I'm not alone whit this problem ...
well I might do just that remove the lift sell it and buy a complete long arm kit ..
Again Thank you ... I love this site . . Keep up the good work people .. you have a great tool here .. again thank you..
:rock: :thumb: :standing wave:
well I might do just that remove the lift sell it and buy a complete long arm kit ..
Again Thank you ... I love this site . . Keep up the good work people .. you have a great tool here .. again thank you..
:rock: :thumb: :standing wave:
Well then I guess the next question would be ... would it help with my problem .. if not then best to go Stock !!
I did the short arm because I thought it would be Ok , but I'm hating myself for not going long arm .. but then again .. maybe that to is not a good Idea for a daily drive .. yes I spend a lot of time in the swamp or should say off road and bad trails .. :thinking: ..
mgmavant
Member
I was starting to get death wobble quite a bit - usually started around 60 mph, but it didn't happen all the time. When it started to happen more frequently, I decided to replace my ball joints (I knew they were bad because of the movement). After replacing the ball joints, I didn't have death wobble. I have an 08 JKU-R with about 95k miles on it. I suspect the ball joints have been bad for some time.
GIJK
New member
Are all of you guys replacing the ball joints yourself or having someone do it? I watched a YouTube video and it looks like a big job. I also have death wobble and haven't been able to correct it. It's been sitting in the driveway for two weeks now. I have a rock krawler steering system and a fox ATS on the way but this is really only so I can drive it to a 4x4 shop for tire balancing. It's been very frustrating
If you're worried about doing the job yourself, just take your Jeep to a shop and have them do it.
mgmavant
Member
It was a big job for sure. It took me about 9 hours to do it myself. The first side was a real pain to figure everything out, but once I did it the other side wasn't bad at all. I'm glad I did because I now know how it's all put together - not to mention the $$$ saved by doing it myself. I ended up breaking a speed sensor, and that was a real pain to drill it out and clean it up and running to the dealer for a new sensor. If you do decide to do it, I would recommend disconnecting the speed sensor as opposed to pulling the sensor out.
I had death wobble as well and it got to the point where I couldn't go over 55mph. Replacing the ball joints fixed it. I have an 08 with about 95k mile an I've been running 35" for the past 40k miles.
Good luck with it whatever you decide to do.
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I had death wobble as well and it got to the point where I couldn't go over 55mph. Replacing the ball joints fixed it. I have an 08 with about 95k mile an I've been running 35" for the past 40k miles.
Good luck with it whatever you decide to do.
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BBG
New member
Death wobble can be made up of many things.....first not having your axel centered under your jeep can cause death wobble, bad ball joints can cause death wobble negative caster in upper and lower control arms can cause it, bad tires; some people think they can save a quick buck by buying used tires, but if they're worn unevenly they can contribute to death wobble. Unfortunately when your doing it yourself it's trial and error. With those kinda miles it could be anything. Best solution is to fix one at a time out correct all of those and your problem should go away.
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Pilgrim55
Member
ball joints
When I took my 2012 jeep in for alinement they told me that they want to replace one ball joint to correct camber and caster. I have a 3 1/2 inch lift with 35 BF Goodrich tires. I did not want to replace just one so I am waiting during my wait I hit a bump and my jeep started to death wobble only done this once. I want and check all my steer joint only found some play in the drag link. When I jack up the jeep and pry up the tires I notice that the ball joints have a little movement in them the axle shaft move up and down when I do this. I guess my question is and my original plan before all the death wobble started was to replace all my ball joint and replace my lower ball joint with offset ball joints. Will this help with the death wobble? I figure it won't hurt. My second question is has anyone know about moog ball joint are they any good and should I put offset ball joint on it. What other brand of ball joint do you recommend? thanks for any help that you could send my way.
When I took my 2012 jeep in for alinement they told me that they want to replace one ball joint to correct camber and caster. I have a 3 1/2 inch lift with 35 BF Goodrich tires. I did not want to replace just one so I am waiting during my wait I hit a bump and my jeep started to death wobble only done this once. I want and check all my steer joint only found some play in the drag link. When I jack up the jeep and pry up the tires I notice that the ball joints have a little movement in them the axle shaft move up and down when I do this. I guess my question is and my original plan before all the death wobble started was to replace all my ball joint and replace my lower ball joint with offset ball joints. Will this help with the death wobble? I figure it won't hurt. My second question is has anyone know about moog ball joint are they any good and should I put offset ball joint on it. What other brand of ball joint do you recommend? thanks for any help that you could send my way.
Sorry but, this simply isn't true. Fact of the matter is, your axle will almost always be off center depending on how much weight you have on board or lack there of. It's just the way a solid axle works and it being off WILL NOT cause death wobble.
Negative caster can make it a lot easier to occur but ultimately, you would need to have a loose or worn out suspension or steering components to make it happen. Also, caster can be set by either your upper or lower control arms but they themselves will not have any. Hope you understand that I just wanted to make this clear for anyone else reading this thread. :yup:
Bad ball joints will cause death wobble and are a common culprit. Moog joints are pretty affordable and will get the job done but, I might recommend a set of Dynatrac ProSteer's if you can afford it. They are pricy but will be the last set you will ever need. Crown HD joints (same as Synerygy and Alloy USA) are a decent option as well. I would also double check your unit bearings as them being bad will create a similar condition and can cause death wobble as well.
BBG
New member
Well what would be the cause of death wobble on a brand new jeep with a rough country 3.25 lift ? Did some research even spoke with Dennis woods of teraflex bought a adjustable track bar and my problem was solved I don't know call it magic......lol
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Easy, your front track bar most likely had a mounting bolt that wasn't tightened to the proper torque spec - a common problem after installing a new lift. This would allow for enough movement to cause death wobble. It's sad to hear that Dennis chose to sell you something you didn't need instead of just offering you some good advise.
BBG
New member
Lol ....They were tighten to the proper specs and so was the new one I put in.........I guess your right you are the professional .....I know m my work ethics and I always double check my work and never deviate from the instructions, but that's why I'm on here now so that you can show me the way (no joke) thanks Eddie just know imma be bugging the heck out of you about all my jk issues.....lol
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LOL at professional!! All I do is run a website and share what I know. Being that I wasn't the one who worked on your Jeep or the one who checked your work, I can't say one way or another what was done or if things were done right. Were you still using the factory track bar or were you using one made by Rough Country? If the later, could it be possible that the Rough Country track bar could of had issues? Let me ask you this, if it's so critical to have your axle centered under your Jeep to prevent death wobble, why is it that TeraFlex would sell a 2.5" lift kit that yields well over 3" and without an adjustable track bar? Fact of the matter is, a Jeep with a solid front axle will ALWAYS have an axle that is off center as soon as you load it up with a ton of gear and passengers or remove them. It's just the nature of the beast and how a track bar works. Please understand that I'm not saying you did anything wrong here - I'm just annoyed that a company like TeraFlex would SELL you something instead of helping you resolve a problem with accurate information. Of course, if your track bar was bad, had bad busing or was bending (something I have seen on some new track bars), maybe a new track bar was what you needed.
BBG
New member
Well you were one for one with my evo skid and muffler issue so I do hold your advice in the highest regard......everyday I learn something new about these jk's and pass my knowledge on to others and I want my information to be correct I'm in no way, shape our form saying that your info is not accurate I was convinced that that was the issue until you left that message it made me go out and look at my suspension on my new jeep lol
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