Help me diagnose this front end wobble
- Thread starter Braxtonsag
- Start date
RockinAZJK
Caught the Bug
I mean they are and they aren’t. When most people think beadlocks they think of the traditional rock ring on the outside lip. So if it doesn’t have that many people don’t think twice about it.
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Braxtonsag
Member
Its still doing it. New tires, Ball joints are tight, joints on track bar are good and tight, joints on tie rod are good and tight, same with drag link. No play anywhere when the jeep is shook side to side.
Is it possible that my stock steering stabilizer just isn't enough to remove the oscillation anymore? When the tires start to oscillate it moves the axle back and forth in the opposite direction. With the heavier axle, maybe the factory stabilizer just cant handle slowing down the movement of a pr44 moving opposite of 2 38s on beadlocks.
I have 7* caster as well. About to just get a better stabilizer and be done with this
its also worth noting it doesn't do this on EVERY road. only shitty county roads that are extremely uneven. on nice smooth roads its completely fine.
Is it possible that my stock steering stabilizer just isn't enough to remove the oscillation anymore? When the tires start to oscillate it moves the axle back and forth in the opposite direction. With the heavier axle, maybe the factory stabilizer just cant handle slowing down the movement of a pr44 moving opposite of 2 38s on beadlocks.
I have 7* caster as well. About to just get a better stabilizer and be done with this
its also worth noting it doesn't do this on EVERY road. only shitty county roads that are extremely uneven. on nice smooth roads its completely fine.
WJCO
Meme King
Guaranteed it's not the stabilizer. Sure a new one may hide it, but that won't fix the problem.
Have you checked that your unit bearings don't have play? Drag link and tie rod adjuster sleeves tight? And pitman arm nut tight? Which track bar bracket did you get when you got your prorock? And is it welded on or bolted on?
Have you checked that your unit bearings don't have play? Drag link and tie rod adjuster sleeves tight? And pitman arm nut tight? Which track bar bracket did you get when you got your prorock? And is it welded on or bolted on?
Braxtonsag
Member
I am not sure that my unit bearings don’t have play but they didn’t before I swapped the prorock on. Drag link and adjuster have 0 play. Pitman arm tight as well. The bracket is synergy weld on and is welded extremely well. I totally get that the stabilizer isn’t CAUSING it, I’m just wondering if it’s hitting spots in the road just right to cause a very slight oscillation, and instead of the stabilizer deadening the oscillation rapidly like it’s supposed to, it grows and just can’t handle that much weight opposing each other. That’s really all I can think of. Literally nearly everything is new and tight with more than enough caster. The only things that could be questionable would be the unit bearings but they were perfectly fine before
TrailHunter
Hooked
My opinion... remove the Stabilizer and disconnect the sway bar... then go drive it. Now there is nothing masking the problem. Once you fix the wobble, reconnect the sway bar and re-install the stabilizer. How did you check your ball joints? Best way I found is to jack up the axle so one tire is about 1.5” off the ground... then shove a 2x4 under it and something under the 2x4 close to the wheel to create leverage.... then pry on it and watch the ball joints... if they move up & down 1/16” or so... its your ball joints. The lowers are probably shot.
Braxtonsag
Member
They’re brand new teraflex adjustables lol they have 300 miles on them
TrailHunter
Hooked
Oh.. nevermind. Lol
rubiDave
Active Member
You initially described a speed dependent shimmy - not death wobble. Are your symptoms still the same even after new tires? Sounds like the new tires aren't balanced.
Or you're missing something. Are you sure you're not mistaking driveline vibes. The pinion/caster angles you mention don't sound right.
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USMC Wrangler
New member
You mention an oscillating type shake. Isn’t that generally driveline? It sounds like you think it’s definitely in the front end, right? What driveshaft do you have and how old is it?
If having the new tires and it’s still there, I’d take a wild guess and say not tires. I’ve never had beadlocks, but any chance one is damaged somehow?
I didn’t measure it but my unit bearings barely had any play when I replaced them. Seeing the movement was difficult. It was night and day afterwards.
If having the new tires and it’s still there, I’d take a wild guess and say not tires. I’ve never had beadlocks, but any chance one is damaged somehow?
I didn’t measure it but my unit bearings barely had any play when I replaced them. Seeing the movement was difficult. It was night and day afterwards.
Braxtonsag
Member
The beadlocks are new as well, the driveshaft is an adams 1350 and you guessed it, also brand new lmao. I had A buddy wiggle the wheel back and forth and the stabilizer didn’t look like it was resisting shit at all, the tie rod was flexing slightly but no play at any connections.
I did get it up to 70 earlier and it doesn’t always do it unless conditions are right but it will only start to wobble between 45-55 or 65+. When I say wobble I say this very loosely. It’s enough to move the front end side to side very slightly but nowhere near a death wobble. That’s what I mean by oscillation. It’s more than a vibration but less than a full blown wobble.
It’s nothing driveline related though, the wobble matches wheel speed, it’s not a fast vibration like the driveline would make.
Is it possible to have too much caster? I checked earlier and I’m at a 6.5* - 7*. I just don’t have adjustable uppers and the lowers are completely threaded in.
Last edited:
USMC Wrangler
New member
Well shit. Hope you find it.
A.J.
Active Member
I had a similar problem after my Axle swap. It doesn't seem right that your lower control arms are threaded all the way short and your still at 6.5-7.0 deg caster but that's ok if it's correct. Get your tires balanced. I screwed around for days trying different caster settings and rechecking every nut and bolt over and over. The very slight wobble in the steering wheel I could feel at 45-55 was so minor I didn't think I needed to balance them but if I hit a sharp bump especially on the passenger side it escalated immediately. When I balanced the tires the R.F. was the worst one. I balanced them all and moved that one to the rear. Problem solved. Put my steering stabilizer back on after I got it right and been smooth sailing ever since.
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TrailHunter
Hooked
Can an unbalanced tire cause wobble at low speeds when a bump is hit? Or will it feel solid until a certain high speed is reached?
A.J.
Active Member
Tire/wheel imbalance causes slight shimmy. Hit just the right bump at that particular speed and the wobble increases and turns in to death wobble type condition.
It can feel solid at lower speeds and higher speeds. It’s just that range where the balance starts the shimmy and the bump makes it worse.
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A.J.
Active Member
If you want to really have some fun fill one of the front tires 1/2 full of water and go drive it. Seems fine until about 45mph then all helll breaks loose! Lol! If you can drive through it eventually it will smooth out with speed.
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jdofmemi
Active Member
You can only know that through experience, so I have to ask, why?
There has to be a story
A.J.
Active Member
Joke we used to play on managers that came to our store for a meeting. One of them actually drove his truck an hour and a half back to his store that way. Said he almost couldn’t steer it at 40-45 then it smoothed out on the highway until he got back. Tape weights on the driveline are fun too!
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