Is it DW?

[Materdaddy]

I've had a couple instances of death wobble, but I'm not convinced. I get a 'shimmy' quite often that strangely seems like it happens less with more weight in the Jeep (be it a passenger, or junk in the back). I torqued everything (track bar, front control arms) and everything seems tight and proper. When I was down there though, I noticed my steering stabilizer has a ton of oil leaking from it. Would a bad steering stabilizer give these effects? I only get the true 'wobble' every 10 or 15th time I get the 'shimmy'. Am I insane?

[Mtbikbob]

I've had a couple instances of death wobble, but I'm not convinced. I get a 'shimmy' quite often that strangely seems like it happens less with more weight in the Jeep (be it a passenger, or junk in the back). I torqued everything (track bar, front control arms) and everything seems tight and proper. When I was down there though, I noticed my steering stabilizer has a ton of oil leaking from it. Would a bad steering stabilizer give these effects? I only get the true 'wobble' every 10 or 15th time I get the 'shimmy'. Am I insane?

Stabilizer? Absolutely. I had to upgrade mine after the lift and the bigger tires. Eventhough the jeep was brand new it shimmied with the stock shock. I now have a Rancho in its place and no shimmy.

[medicmahem]

Yes the stock steering stabilizer is not up to the task of larger/heavier tires. Get a good quality aftermarket one.

[Materdaddy]

That's the thing... I don't have larger/heavier tires. I've ordered a new one, so I'm hoping it fixes any issues I have. Thanks for the input everybody!

[tjchad]

Hey Mat, You may want to have the tire checked for balance as well. When I had the stock tires on still I would tend to get DW more and more as they wore down. Of course they were REALLY worn... When I put new(er) tires on and balanced them as well as I could I haven't had an instance of DW since.

[blackZZR]

Only time I had death wobble the jam nut on my aftermarket track bar was loose, I tightened it up and it cured it.

[Materdaddy]

Only time I had death wobble the jam nut on my aftermarket track bar was loose, I tightened it up and it cured it.

By jam nut, I presume you mean the castle nut held in place with a cotter pin on the top end of the track bar? How does this tighten? Remove the pin, and torque her down? It seems the great fitting and whatnot on the bottom might spin like that... or am I wrong?

EDIT:
Like this pic:

[blackZZR]

By jam nut, I presume you mean the castle nut held in place with a cotter pin on the top end of the track bar? How does this tighten? Remove the pin, and torque her down? It seems the great fitting and whatnot on the bottom might spin like that... or am I wrong?

EDIT:
Like this pic:

no, on the Currie track bar, there is a nut near the center of the bar,
to adjust the length on side of the bar screws into the other and the jam nut is a large nut that you Jam up tight to this connection and it holds the bar tight.

as a side note, I had brought it to my mechanic when I felt the dreaded Death wobble. he immediately started to inspect my track bar, the connections on either end then the center where he found the lose nut. He told me that 95 % of the time D is caused by the track bar, either being not aligned properly or more commonly a loose connection. I have had no other issues since so he must know what he is saying.

[swbooking]

The jam nut should be at the top of your track bar buy the end that bolts to the "frame mount".

[Materdaddy]

That's what I thought a jam nut was, which is why I made sure to clarify. I have the stock track bar installed right now, so no jam nut for me. I have also heard that most DW causes are track bar related. Thanks for all the help guys!

[blackZZR]

The jam nut should be at the top of your track bar buy the end that bolts to the "frame mount".

thats it,

[xjkevin]

steering stabilizer will not fix a problem its just a dampner for your steering, d/w is caused by many other things, you can hide it a bit with things like a fresh stabilizer, or some do dual, but that is not fixing the prob just hiding it to be worse later. check this out, http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=50775

That's the thing... I don't have larger/heavier tires. I've ordered a new one, so I'm hoping it fixes any issues I have. Thanks for the input everybody!

[Mtbikbob]

steering stabilizer will not fix a problem its just a dampner for your steering, d/w is caused by many other things, you can hide it a bit with things like a fresh stabilizer, or some do dual, but that is not fixing the prob just hiding it to be worse later. check this out, http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=50775

Nice link.
ok..... :confused2
Not really confused, just a lot of words...only an engineer could come up with. Explains it well though.
Thanks Kevin.
come to think of it, right up Mat's alley.

[xjkevin]

i had it, had to reset my caster i tryed to remove a vibe from the front d/s, so i corrected it and it got much quieter, went for a ride and death wobble it was, put it back and it got noisy again but the d/w was gone..the joys of lifting.

[Materdaddy]

Nice link.
ok..... :confused2
Not really confused, just a lot of words...only an engineer could come up with. Explains it well though.
Thanks Kevin.
come to think of it, right up Mat's alley.

Ha, try this one:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showp...51&postcount=3
Which is actually just a repost from something at JA.

Kevin,
Thanks for the link. I've done tons of reading, but just find it hard to believe my tiny tiny tires can be very out of balance, and I'm too busy to get my Jeep to a shop for balancing. One of these days!