Death Wobble

[FishPOET]

I have been able to fend off the mighty death wobble with a BB, F>R swap and 4-1/2" RE/JKS lift. I am up to 4-1/2" now with ACOS and I cannot go over 40mph without death wobble rearing it's ugly head. I have these new parts in the last year. JKS adj trackbar w/KOR Super Durometer bushings, ORO steering w/TREs, OME steering stabilizer, new hubs. I rotated the tires yesterday along with checking the torque on all front end bolts. I'll be replacing the ball joints next week. What else do i need to check? I have Clayton's LAs on order, but I'm not sure that will help the death wobble.

[Materdaddy]

I have been able to fend off the mighty death wobble with a BB, F>R swap and 4-1/2" RE/JKS lift. I am up to 4-1/2" now with ACOS and I cannot go over 40mph without death wobble rearing it's ugly head. I have these new parts in the last year. JKS adj trackbar w/KOR Super Durometer bushings, ORO steering w/TREs, OME steering stabilizer, new hubs. I rotated the tires yesterday along with checking the torque on all front end bolts. I'll be replacing the ball joints next week. What else do i need to check? I have Clayton's LAs on order, but I'm not sure that will help the death wobble.

I'm no expert, but have done a lot of reading... re-balance your tires a hundred times until it goes away. Alignment...? Bad caster can cause it. There's a hundred things with a hundred fixes. Looks like you've tried a few. Good luck, let us know what it ends up being!

[Davisrats]

I second the tire balance, and the Caster. Recheck that everything is tight, put a tire against the curb and have someone wiggle the steering wheel back and forth.

[dr.dirty]

i had the death wobble on my tj and it ended up being broken belts in the tire bought a new tire and it never acted up again

[CRASH!]

I keeping getting the dreaded wobble on my TJ and it's always been due to tire balance. (I'm on a first name basis with my tire guy)


But can anyone elaborate on why it only effects lifted vehicles? Why doesn't a stocker get the wobble when a wheel goes out?


Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

[Materdaddy]

I keeping getting the dreaded wobble on my TJ and it's always been due to tire balance. (I'm on a first name basis with my tire guy)


But can anyone elaborate on why it only effects lifted vehicles? Why doesn't a stocker get the wobble when a wheel goes out?


Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

I had it on my jeep. I also have a thread in here about it. My STOCK TJ has done it since Calico. I think I chunked the tires/wheels enough that one is off-balance enough now. I also think it has more to do with the tire size when lifted than the lift. An out of balance 33 or 35 is throwing around a lot more weight than an out of balance 29 or 30. A weak steering stabilizer can probably hold a 29's vibes to a small shimmy but not a bigger tire.

[RAT]

But can anyone elaborate on why it only effects lifted vehicles? Why doesn't a stocker get the wobble when a wheel goes out?


Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

Because it can??

I beleive it's because the geometry changes when you lift the vehicle. The solid front axle/suspension is different from a conventional suspension with independent travel. Longer springs and shocks, Bigger tires (more sprung weight out board of the springs) means more mass rotating, and longer springs and shocks flex more. Any small alignment quirks, missing wheel weights, improper balance, improper inflation, you name it add to the chaos the suspension has to deal with. And if you wheel alot, the wear and tear can get to the suspension alot quicker than normal. But, like Matterdaddy said, even the stocker can get it.

[scottjk]

Just had it on my stock TJ Unlimited. Took it in for an alignment (tire wear/camber issue) and they "forgot" to balance the tires. Once they took care of the tires, it went away for awhile. However, they basically did the front-rear tire rotation. This is supposed to be the best method for the newer generations of tires. For my tires, it just kept tires with the same wear patterns on the same side with the same problems.

I "X'd" my tires - problem gone. Of course, I am in desperate need of new tires...it is a race between when my tires wear out and when I have enough money to buy new tires in conjunction with a lift.

We'll see.

[xjkevin]

i never had it till i did the beadlocks, the added weight was to much, and my front end is pretty tight i couldnt figure out where it was coming from so i just started replacing parts 1by1, 1st was balljoints, helped but still there next was axle side trackbar bushing, it still looked good but i changed it anyways, and that took care of it completley, for know....you just never know???

[Elusive]

In my experience, here are the top reasons for DW listed in order.
1. tires out of balance
2. loose track bar bolts
3. loose steering components
4. alignment toe
5. worn ball joints
6. caster angle incorrect

It's usually a combination of several of these that will give you the shimmies. I had to take my beadlocks off of my TJ because it was not driveable with them on due to tire balance and D/W. I have also had D/W after loading the jeep up for a trip. It unloads the front and changes the angles.

You might want to try putting a stock type steering drag link/tie rod and see if anything changes.

I have had to toe in or out some to keep the wobblies away as well.

[Kodiak Spirit]

replace your coils with leafsprings, and the death wobble will be gone!

[Materdaddy]

replace your coils with leafsprings, and the death wobble will be gone!

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/tech_faqs_death_wobble.asp

Aren't broncos leaf? I just love the video on that page... it helps show people who've never actually had death wobble why it's called that. It could also be renamed brown wobble.

Anyways, leaf sprung vehicles are subject to death wobble just like coil sprung ones. It's something much more common with solid axle vehicles, regardless of coils vs. leafs.

[Elusive]

replace your coils with leafsprings, and the death wobble will be gone!

I had a CJ with a full width chevy 60 in the front with leaf springs and it had horrible death wobble.
it was caused by loose kingpins.

[Kodiak Spirit]

gosh guys I was just foolin' and jokin'...

[Materdaddy]

gosh guys I was just foolin' and jokin'...

Yeah..yeah, you square headlights people...jeez