I've got the Death Wobble

[flywaterguide]

My DEATH WOBBLE FUN ZONE!!!

I’ve had death wobble again and again over the year that I’ve had my jeep. Not real fun by any stretch of the imagination. Back in October I went from 33’s to 35’s. Started getting DEATH WOBBLE, time and again. Took it in for an alignment. It really fixed it.

So, Thursday night I rotated the tires for the first time. Note that I haven’t had any death wobble at all since the alignment. Anyway, as soon as I started driving it… BAM! Death Wobble!! So a fooled around with the alignment, and I don’t know if I made the toe-in better or worse. I do know that as soon as I got up to about 40 mph, it was Death Wobble city! I would have to stop and pull over.

I took it in for an alignment, since I though that I screwed mine up, and it didn’t help. Then they re-balanced all the tires. One tire was about a pound out of balance and another one was about half a pound. It seems to be much better, but it doesn’t feel like it did before. Everything feels tight up front.

I have a Full Traction 4� lift, and (just off the top of my head) I think it has an adjustable front track bar. I’ve ordered all new steering, so hopefully this will permanently solve my death wobble problem. I’ll keep you posted. It does look like Death Wobble happens a lot!

Best,

Flywaterguide

[Black & Tan TJ]

Well, an update on the Sarah Edition wobble...
Then....I swapped the front axle this weekend and put some Tera lower CAs on and the jeep doesn't wobble anymore. This confirms my suspicion that caster is as much at fault as something loose.

I've been fooling around with my caster via adjustable upper control arms for awhile. Never really had the death wobble just a slight shake after hitting bumps, driver side mostly. Toe-in and trackbar adjustments all good and everything's tight. At present the adjustable control arms are maybe one turn out from the shortest adjustment and the shake for the most part is gone. Caster does seem to be a major player here too. When I go for a re-ballance I'll have them put it on the rack and tell me where my caster is. I've heard it should be around 5.5 degrees w/4" lift.

For those of you with adjustable uppers how are yours adjusted?

B&T TJ

[tjrubicon]

for those of you with adjustable uppers how are yours adjusted?

B&T TJ

I'm running mine at 3/8" over stock length, per the instructions for my lift. Seems to be ok, haven't found a place that will align it so I can have it checked though?

[Venomized]

This is a good list of what to check for when the DW sets in.

Kevin' Offroad DW article

A DW discusion thread at NAGCA.COM

DW Thread @ NAGCA.COM

DW is caused by a multitude of problems and it may not just be 1 solution. Check EVERYTHING first, repair second. I lifted my Grand 2.5 inches and had no DW issues. That was after a new SS , but before an alignment, new front trac bar and slighlty warn balljoints. All but the ball joints has been taken care of and it is still smooth with no DW at speeds up to 100 mph. I have taken RR tracks at 75mph and no ill effects with DW.

Check first, repair second. Jeep does not have to mean Just Empty Every Pocket.