dyn0mitemat
Member
Double check track bar bushings and that the bolts are torqued to spec and are not sliding around in the mounts (as the factory has the holes a bit sloppy, oversized).
Having a hard time with death wobble 2020 Gladiator
- Thread starter Limpinlobster
- Start date
Limpinlobster
Member
I'll double check that as well.
Limpinlobster
Member
I've been out of town, so haven't been able to get a toe measurement yet, but I did do a little deep dive and found the old posts about death wobble with the early JL and JT models. Was there any definitive answer to wether or not the temp played a role in the death wobble or steering feel. It was in the 60s in vegas today and driving around I almost want to say it felt a little better driving it around.
A.J.
Active Member
I noticed that
I noticed you and WJCO both mentioned returning to stock stabilizer. I have been hearing some chat/rumors about aftermarket stabilizers not working well with the electronic steering in the JL/ JT’s . The explanations I have heard were something to do with pressure fluctuation causing DW. It didn’t make much sense to me. Locally I have had a couple friends with completely different brand components experiencing DW and going back to the factory stabilizer was part of the solution. So I’m curious what prompted both of you to suggest this. I apologize if it has been discussed on another thread. I haven’t been on much lately so I may have missed it . It’s hard for people often times to take “upgraded” parts off to solve a problem after spending a fair amount of $ on them. Can anyone elaborate on this?
WJCO
Meme King
A member here, doubletapdaddy, who is mechanically inclined, had a shit ton of death wobble issues with his JL. He had done a bunch of mods at once. He double and triple checked everything. This went on for months and he stopped driving his Jeep because of it. The ultimate fix for him was removing his fox stabilizer and putting the OEM one back on.
You can read the whole saga here (this link points to the post where it finally went away) : https://jlwrangler.com/threads/dbltaps-mojito-jlur.1899/page-39#post-61554
LOL - holy fuck... welcome back from like JUNE!!!
That said, maybe you should try "noticing" the part where I say "for now...", as in, just to see if it makes a difference.
A.J.
Active Member
Yeah it’s been awhile. Life’s been busy. New Granddaughter and all. Kinda weird I don’t feel like a Grandpa. Lol!LOL - holy fuck... welcome back from like JUNE!!!
That said, maybe you should try "noticing" the part where I say "for now...", as in, just to see if it makes a difference.
The steering stabilizer thing is interesting. I don’t quite understand why it would/could cause DW but it seems to be the common denominator for a lot of people dealing with it. Chrysler obviously has been fighting with it too between the recall and TSB’s about it. I was hoping you had a better understanding of why some brands of stabilizer’s don’t play nice with them. Just doesn’t make sense to me. I am getting the JT bug pretty bad so time spent now researching will hopefully save me some headaches later.
ScoobyCarolanNC
Active Member
On my JL I'd let the track bar get loose by not checking it. The bolt hole got slightly wallowed out and that was some of the "noise" I'd experienced. Your first post says adjustable uppers, but you're running stock lowers on the front? Maybe head to an actual alignment shop versus the dealer and see what they say. I'm not sure the the reading should be on your angle finder, but I had to get longer lower control arms to fix my caster after about 3" of lift.
Mike Pierson
Hooked
I had the same problem with my JL with the updated OEM steering box. I smashed my stock stabilizer so I “upgraded” to a Fox and synergy relocation kit. The wobble and erratic steering was pretty bad. Eddie and the guys suggested trying a new stock stabilizer and it solved the problem.
ScoobyCarolanNC
Active Member
Its so weird. I ran the fox 2.0 SS on my JL and now on my JT, BUT I'm only on 33's. I like it. I'm about to jump up to 35's and might have to keep an eye on it. It definitely felt lighter after I switched it out, but I didn't have any increase in wobble when I hit railroad tracks or bridge joints. Maybe it can't handle much more in terms of tire.
To be clear, a steering stabilizer will NOT "cause" DW but one versus another CAN do a better job of preventing the kind of oscillation that WILL. The JL/JT is a different animal in that is uses an electric steering pump and has/had an aluminum steering box that is known to cause problems so all things being equal, I always recommend going back to OE just to see if it makes a difference and while you're trying to figure things out. At least on a JL or JT.
I can't speak for anyone else but I personally noticed more steering issues when it was cold out. I do know of others who experienced the same. I have NOT had any problems what so ever since installing the Synergy track bar reinforcement/sector shaft brace.
Limpinlobster
Member
I had that synergy sector shaft brace installed before I lifted the Jeep. Had it removed so I could get the steel steering box installed. Steering felt the same with it off but I only drove around for a few weeks before having the steering box replaced. At the moment, I haven't put it back on yet.
Limpinlobster
Member
Had some success today. I haven't been able to get a toe measurement yet. Don't have a great method of getting a measurement by myself. But, I was able to replace my front tires with a set of 37" Nitto Trail Grapplers. Replacing the Milestar Patagonias it made a HUGE difference. Before I had the wheels replaced, I checked torque on all the components, and also tried replacing my Fox stabilizer with the OEM one. It did feel better and had less of a tendency to start wobbling. Just like that dude Doubletapdaddy. It wasn't 100% better, but it was an improvement. After I had the tires replaced, I proceeded to "send it" over all the little bumps and dips that caused DW before and I couldn't get the jeep to DW. In some instances I was able to get the steering wheel to wiggle just a bit, but never into full on DW. I did drive the jeep on the new tires with the fox and oem stabilizer, and the fox stabilizer seemed slightly better. So for now, the fox stabilizer stays on. If I had to score my steering I would give it an 8.5 out of 10. I know I still have some fine tuning to do, and I think I'll be getting one of those at home jeep alignment sets that bolt up in place of the wheels. Or maybe I just have to watch the wayalife youtube video on adjusting the front end again. Thanks everyone for your input, and I'll keep updating as soon as I do anything new.
Limpinlobster
Member
That is pretty cool, thanks for sharing.
Mike Pierson
Hooked
Great idea, thanks. I see you have the axle on jack stands, do you believe you’re getting an accurate measurement? I know some say there needs to be weight on the knuckles for the measurement to be accurate. I’m curious because I’ve wanted to buy or build a set of these too. Thanks!
CalSgt
Hooked
Whether you buy them or make them I can’t think of a safe way to put the weight on the knuckle with this type of tool. Seems to be a accurate enough. I do set my stands today be as close to ride height as possible. Toe and steering wheel
seems to get knocked out of whack a little on every hard wheeling trip I do
I have cross checked by scribing a line on the tires and using a tape measure or I also tried a toe gauge (bar with uprights) like they used to align cars before they had laser alignment racks. The toe gauge doesn’t seem to be designed for 37” tires, the spot you line up with the scribe marks is near the bottom of the tire. I think it was more designed for passenger cars and smaller trucks.
I have also done an alignment using strings on each side of the Jeep but that was after doing the long arm conversion to check the thrust angle and a few other things
Mike Pierson
Hooked
Nice, I think I’ll make a set of these then. Thank you.
sunnysideup
Active Member
be sure to check the pitman arm bolt.... I had the new steering box put in and it was awesome... then a couple months later the steering starting wandering terrible. checking around the large nut on the pitman arm was finer tight allowing the track bar to flex! I put blue locktight on it and tightened it to 190 foot pounds. Since then I have heard of several other trucks have the same experience (pitman arm nut loose). It's not easy to get 190 foot lbs on it in its location. So -I'm guessing shops are just using a crescent wrench on it or something.