Death Wobble Fix

WCURoverd90

Active Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2008
Location
Lake Wylie, SC
I need to get the death wobble fixed on my XJ. It gets it bad at about 25mph and will damn near break my arm. With so many places around charlotte wheres the best place to go. I can trailer it anywhere around charlotte metro area if someone has a good place to go. Although I have had this jeep for a couple years, and now just getting the title issues worked out, i am ready to start modding and getting a few thigns straightened out on it

Thanks in advance
 
check the bushings and the castle nuts on the track bar. infact, check all the nuts and bolts related to steering.
 
BigRedB2 x2
just got mine fixed the other day! it was a loose/ too small of a bolt. and also get it aligned. have someone turn the wheels left to right and look for something loose or moving
 
thanks guys. Im gonna try to get this thing back on the trails soon and meet some of you all face to face
 
death wobble

4bangertj said:
i youre steering stabilizer is older go ahead and replace it, a nitrogen charged will work better
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x2 mine was doin the same thing. ended up replacing all tie rod ends, stabilizer(upgraded) and make sure they are greased up.....makes a difference
 
my DWs went away after I replaced my aftermarket LCAs with different (same length) aftermarket LCAs. Must have been the bushings, but they felt tight. I had replaced about everything else before this, chasing DW's.
 
I replaced all the bushings on the front axle, replaced all the control arm bushings, trac bar bushings were good, tie rod ends were good, balljoints were good. All bolts are tight, nothing is bent. Replaced the blown steering stabilizer and I still don't think I've completely cured the death wobble.

Let me know what you figure out with yours.
 
I had one bad tire that was the cause of mine. rotate them and see if it helps.

tighten everything, make sure its aligned right
 
as stated above...make sure all the steering and suspension is tight! check your caster and play around with the tire pressure.

i had a base case of th DWs after i put on the 40s. found a loose pitman arm and that helped. after that....changing the tire pressure helped quite a bit. it had been suggested to run a lower pressure (18 or so) on the road to help with the DW. that made it a little better, but still around 25lbs or more was best for my rig.

good luck. DW is no fun!
 
Replace the Rubber control arm bushing that is mounted in the housing. Upper Control Arm, Driver Side at axle end. that one typically gets oil dripping on it and Oil degrades that rubber bushing. Most people neglect to replace it, cause it's mounted in the housing, not the control arm.
 
I will look into all these. Thanks a lot guys. I keep the jeep at my parents house which is about 45 mins away and haven't had any time to go and mess with it.
 
When did this start? What changed on the Jeep, Did it start after wheeling it? or did it just start one day? or was it after a part was installed?

Just trying to narrow it down.


Mine had a DW I added more caster to the front and the DW is gone, Enough caster will over come the DW.
 
burrellsjeep said:
When did this start? What changed on the Jeep, Did it start after wheeling it? or did it just start one day? or was it after a part was installed?
Just trying to narrow it down.
Mine had a DW I added more caster to the front and the DW is gone, Enough caster will over come the DW.
Click to expand...

strange. I always thought I had too much. I had a few alignments done and I was at the top end of max, 8deg IIRC. I have longer LCA's and stock uppers, been meaning to shorten the lowers a couple turns to pull caster closer to the center of factory spec...havent got around to it yet.
 
burrellsjeep said:
When did this start? What changed on the Jeep, Did it start after wheeling it? or did it just start one day? or was it after a part was installed?
Just trying to narrow it down.
Mine had a DW I added more caster to the front and the DW is gone, Enough caster will over come the DW.
Click to expand...

It was a problem when i got the jeep. The guy that had it before me put the lift and tires on and then parked it and maybe drove it a couple times a year etc. It had the DW when I got it.
 
WCURoverd90 said:
It was a problem when i got the jeep. The guy that had it before me put the lift and tires on and then parked it and maybe drove it a couple times a year etc. It had the DW when I got it.
Click to expand...

What do you have for control arms in the front? Are they adjustable? Did the lift replace the control arms or are they the stock ones?

Sounds like it could be caster, If you have checked and every thing is tight. When you lift a jeep the axle rotates due the larger springs which puts the caster at the wrong degree, which will can make the jeep unstable on the road.
 
RenegadeT said:
strange. I always thought I had too much. I had a few alignments done and I was at the top end of max, 8deg IIRC. I have longer LCA's and stock uppers, been meaning to shorten the lowers a couple turns to pull caster closer to the center of factory spec...havent got around to it yet.
Click to expand...

The only issue with running too much caster is it will put the pinion at a bad angle, If your pinion angle looks good, then don't worry with it.
 
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