got a case of death wobble

bholder817

bholder817

Member
First let me apologize. I am not really computer literate and I am sure it is posted here already.

I have checked all torque on upper and lower control arms. They are and were up to spec.

Track bar at the axle is torqued to 125.
track bar at the frame is torqued on the bolt side at 125. but i thought it was nut side that needed to be 125. but i am just smashing the bracket trying to get the 125...

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1472751450.588897.jpg

so what else should i look at? i have the jeep jacked up right now.
 
Your track bar should have a crush sleeve on BOTH ends and they should prevent the collapsing of the mount. Can't tell in your pic but did you make sure the bushing is still in good condition? Is the crush sleeve still there? If so, you should be able to tighten the bolt to 125.
 
You need to look for movement as to what is causing it. You can use a video camera, but having a helper is way easier. With vehicle on ground and in park, start the engine. Have someone turn your steering wheel back and forth from 10oclock to 2oclock while you look at all steering and suspension components for movement. Even a 1/16" of play can cause DW. Watch your track bar ends, your tie rods, your drag link, etc.

While jacked up though, you can check your wheel hubs and ball joints. Put jack under the axle and keep the vehicle weight on the jack. Put a prybar or strong shovel handle under the tire and pry upward, watch the ball joints for movement. And lastly, to check wheel hubs for play, with vehicle jacked up, grab the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and rock it in and out. Any play there is a bad unit bearing.
 
Had the death wobble on both of my Jk and JKU. It was bad balls joints both times, my 2 door you could see it like WJCO explained. On my JKU you couldn't see or feel it with your eyes, it had 80k miles on it so changed them anyway and DW is gone.
 
Okay I was able to look at my wife's jeep. i can see that my crush sleeve is clearly jacked up now that i have seen a good one. Is that something that can be replaced by me or is a new track bar in order? same with the bushing? am i able to replace those myself? Thanks to this forum I try to do do as much as I can myself because i wanna learn about it.
 
Does anyone know if the bushing and crush sleeve are repairable in the track bar or do I need to buy a new one? If buying a new one would you go aftermarket or OEM?
Thanks ahead for any info!
 
I would go aftermarket so you have the adjustability if you need it!! Don't go cheap in buying an aftermarket one tho, spend the money the first time and you'll be happy! If you was on the east coast I'd give you a bunch of OEM ones as we but lifts on new jeeps and have a pile of stock parts!
 
I'd just replace the bushing and keep the stock track bar.

http://energysuspension.com/parts-search.html

with the BB you have you won't see any benefit with an aftermarket track bar - if you install a drag link flip kit in the future, you can still use the stock track bar.

I ran an adjustable with my 3.5" lift and when I installed the drag link flip, I installed the stock track bar.

All the adjustable track bar did was center my axle, no additional benefit over stock.

37's, beadlocks, PR44, PSC hydro steering - stock track bar
 
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Well after being on here researching my death wobble issue. Thank you Eddie for the death wobble stickie that I found today and also WJCO for your info yesterday! So the ball joints are shot. The unit bearing on passenger side is also got a lot of play. My trackball bushings are shot. Guess I have a bunch of parts to get and some work to do!
 
bholder817 said:
Well after being on here researching my death wobble issue. Thank you Eddie for the death wobble stickie that I found today and also WJCO for your info yesterday! So the ball joints are shot. The unit bearing on passenger side is also got a lot of play. My trackball bushings are shot. Guess I have a bunch of parts to get and some work to do!
Click to expand...

Glad to help. Good for you for diaging it rather than just replacing shit. You'll have much more pride in the Jeep and in yourself for finding the cause and then repairing it with the proper solution.
 
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