2000 WJ Death Wobble

jeep828

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Location
Hickory
long story short. WJ sat with bad motor for 2 years. I picked it up. Before I added oversized wheels and tires I had the wobble at 50. Installed a budget lift and larger wheels/tires. Wobble increased.

I’ve already ordered sway bar bushings to replace.

What other bushings should I be replacing?
 
Below are the things I would check first to see if there is any play.

Ball joints
Unit Bearings
All tie rod ends
track bar bushings
control arm bushings

There is probably something in one of those that is causing the issues. How well balanced are your new wheels/tires? I would assume it's something on your vehicle that's causing it since it's happening both before and after putting the new wheels and tires on.
 
Nailed it. Sway bar bushings don't have anything to do with it.

Incidentally, every Jeep I've seen with "uncurable death wobble" was fixed with a new track bar.
 
shawn said:
Nailed it. Sway bar bushings don't have anything to do with it.

Incidentally, every Jeep I've seen with "uncurable death wobble" was fixed with a new track bar.
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Thanks for your expert opinion. Should I need to replace the track bar entirely or just the bushings attached?

I noticed the sway bar bushing had long moved on when I installed the budget lift so it was in my best interest to replace.
 
Depends on what your time is worth. The entire track bar is $55, the bushings are $15. Is it worth $40 to you to not have to screw around with the bushings?

But to get back to the original post and the first reply, there is a list of things that you should check for play before throwing parts at it.
 
shawn said:
Nailed it. Sway bar bushings don't have anything to do with it.

Incidentally, every Jeep I've seen with "uncurable death wobble" was fixed with a new track bar.
Click to expand...
Thread
 
shawn said:
Depends on what your time is worth. The entire track bar is $55, the bushings are $15. Is it worth $40 to you to not have to screw around with the bushings?

But to get back to the original post and the first reply, there is a list of things that you should check for play before throwing parts at it.
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Gotcha. Thanks again for the guidance.
 
getstucksome said:
Below are the things I would check first to see if there is any play.

Ball joints
Unit Bearings
All tie rod ends
track bar bushings
control arm bushings

There is probably something in one of those that is causing the issues. How well balanced are your new wheels/tires? I would assume it's something on your vehicle that's causing it since it's happening both before and after putting the new wheels and tires on.
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Just to add a little bit more.

Ball joints/Unit bearings can be checked by jacking up one side and putting hands at 12 and 6 o clock on the tire and pushing/pulling the tire in and out (push top in, pull bottom out at the same time, switch directions, repeat). You may be able to physically see the play or at least feel it. I just did ball joints on an axle and I could physically see the upper ball joint moving and could 100% feel it when wiggling the tire.

The other things to check should be able to be identified with the vehicle on the ground and off; get someone to turn the steering wheel slightly in either direction. You should be able to see movement of a TRE/track bar/bushing. That, or put your hand on each component and see if you can feel any popping or play.

Whatever is loose or worn, that's the thing to start with first.
 
Update:

I got under it and had someone turn the steering wheel. Saw play in the tie rod ends on the pitman and whatever ya call the connection to right wheel. Replaced those components.

Got rid of the death wobble up until I went from Highway speed to stopping at a red light.

Going to check more components later this week.
 
jeep828 said:
Got rid of the death wobble up until I went from Highway speed to stopping at a red light.
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Was that the only time it occurred? If so, could be brake related and a separate issue from the other stuff.
 
jeep828 said:
Update:

I got under it and had someone turn the steering wheel. Saw play in the tie rod ends on the pitman and whatever ya call the connection to right wheel. Replaced those components.

Got rid of the death wobble up until I went from Highway speed to stopping at a red light.

Going to check more components later this week.
Click to expand...
Do the same thing and feel/look for ANY movement where the track bar connects to the frame and axle.
 
Best thing to do is have the car on so you have power steering and someone looking at everything while steering lock to lock. Block the rear wheels to make it safe, leave the car in park too. Look at every joint including the pitman arm to steering box and steering box to frame area
 
Another Update:

Replaced tie rod ends and still had wobble.
Just finished replacing track bar.
Had wife turn steering wheel and upper control links moving slightly. Everything else looks tight.
Looking for some bushings or upgraded links now to replace as well.
Will update after. Feel like I’m gonna have new steering and suspension under Jeep before it’s over. Have I mentioned it’s a 2000 model with seemingly factory components. Surprised it made it this long.
 
The upper and lower control arms are just as cheap to buy at oreilly with the bushings already in the compared to spending the ass pain to press out/in new bushing. The UCA bushings at the axle have to be done just as a bushing replacement and they are a PIA but can be done on the Jeep. Just lift the Jeep up and away from the axle as much as you can for extra work space.



Ask me how I know lol.
 
grapehead said:
Was that the only time it occurred? If so, could be brake related and a separate issue from the other stuff.
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2000 WJs have the bad caliper design. I wouldn’t be surprised if your front calipers are warped increasing death wobble under braking. I dealt with the same thing starting with a new trac bar. Then new TREs all around and an alignment which helped 95%. Got rid of all of it by doing a front brake job.

A budget boost is going to quickly expose loose joints on your front axle as well…good luck.
 
The 2000/2001 used the same crappy caliper design that hung up bad and warped rotors in the front. The ‘02 and up used an upgraded Akebono brand caliper that solved the issue. I swapped them out on my ‘01 by sourcing the front calipers from a junk yard and using them as cores at the parts house other wise the core charge is more expensive than the caliper itself. The rear calipers didn’t change and the none of the rotors changed either.
 
New track bar
New trailing upper control arms
New tie rod ends.

Dropped a couple tire sizes because the larger ones were rubbing.

Death wobble between 25-45 mph. If I’m in the gas I’m good. Drop to those speeds without easing into it and it gets the shakes. SUPER frustrating.

It’s going up for sale as soon as it’s fixed.

EDIT: Track bar still has play in bushings/mounts after replacing with new.
 
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jeep828 said:
New track bar
New trailing upper control arms
New tie rod ends.

Dropped a couple tire sizes because the larger ones were rubbing.

Death wobble between 25-45 mph. If I’m in the gas I’m good. Drop to those speeds without easing into it and it gets the shakes. SUPER frustrating.

It’s going up for sale as soon as it’s fixed.

EDIT: Track bar still has play in bushings/mounts after replacing with new.
Click to expand...

Is your track bar mount on the axle side ovalized? This is a fairly common occurrence from what I have seen, not necessarily on WJs but all others. Thin stock bracket wears out over time.

Check frame rail connections at the front corner on either side. Where it transitions to the front crossmember (what the radiator sits on).

Check motor and transmission mounts.

If you are wobbling at those slower speeds, you have something clearly off. I am confident you will find it sooner than later. I wouldn't throw the whole jeep away quite yet.
 
The metal bushings and the factory bolts are off just enough to cause play during movement. I tried shimming and torquing the bolts but still have play. About to head somewhere and try to find so new bolts that snug up this mess.
 
The factory bolt may fit the sleeves in the bushing of the track bar itself but the mount on the axle maybe slightly worn out or oblonged and can cause movement under steering or suspension cycle. The only way to correct that is to add weld washers over the factory tinfoil mounts and it will give you a more solid point to run the bolt in.

Also, the one and only WJ I ever owned caused me more pain in my ass when it came to the situation than any of the previous XJ or ZJ platforms I ran. I got mine as good as it can be to where it could drive down the road somewhat reliably without wobble and punted that turd down the road. I was able to drive it and be somewhat comfortable but I never felt comfortable putting my wife in the drivers seat knowing that at any given time it could cause issue or put her in an unsafe situation.
 
Factory bolt sleeves are fine. Took the Amazon track bar to auto zone to check tolerances against theirs. Metal bushing sizes were smaller than duralast brand. Bought the auto zone track bar. About to test.
 
Chinese tolerances vs chinese tolerances may yield chinese results. But what choice do we have anymore.

Not sure if you checked out the bolt holes on axle bracket, but for what its worth I know ironman has an axle bracket kit if its boogered beyond repair.
ironman4x4fab.com

D30 Axle Track Bar Bracket

We get asked weekly for a stronger replacement for the OEM Dana 30 track bar bracket. WE finally have a version and its the best on the market it our opinion. Made from 100,000 psi Steel so holes will never “ovalize” 3/16” Thick with multiple holes for adjustment Longer and Stronger than OEM...
ironman4x4fab.com ironman4x4fab.com

You can also just burn it and claim insurance.
 
If you have wobble in a certain window of speed like that, you likely have a toe in/out issue, on top of th etrack bar movement.
Again, ANY movement in the track bar and/or mounts will cause death wobble.
It seems you have a couple of contributors. Based on the description of the xx mph to xx mph wobble, verify the toe. Should be 1/8" toe in.
 
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