Death wobble

BB98xj

BB98xj

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2010
Location
King
Hey guys,

After wheeling this weekend I acquired a nice death wobble at any speeds. Any large bump will send it wobbling. I checked over all control arms, drag link, trac bar, shocks and all looked okay. Can a worn out gear box cause death wobble? I cant tell if I am being superstitious but I feel like I have more play in the wheel after this trip, especially for having a brace, etc.
 
I've had it happen to me on my TJ, only thing that cured it was some toe out. Being an XJ I'd be checking for a loose track bar bracket, steering box, or cracks in the "Frame"
 
Did you check your ball joints?
 
Chris_Keziah said:
I've had it happen to me on my TJ, only thing that cured it was some toe out. Being an XJ I'd be checking for a loose track bar bracket, steering box, or cracks in the "Frame"
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10-4! Ill double check the steering box isn't loose, and @NickMaul alluded to an alignment as well.
 
Inspect the frame between the steering box and track bar bracket carefully.. that and check all steering/TB components with someone jogging the wheel 60-90* sharply back and forth, you'll find it.
 
I really think it’s an alignment job away from smooth sailing. That’s my old front end. It didn’t have many miles after I put brand new spicer everything on there.

If the toe is off I can bet you’ll get some sort of death wobble. Never fails. The trac bar bracket has a brace as well :D




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NickMaul said:
I really think it’s an alignment job away from smooth sailing. That’s my old front end. It didn’t have many miles after I put brand new spicer everything on there.

If the toe is off I can bet you’ll get some sort of death wobble. Never fails. The trac bar bracket has a brace as well :D




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If everything is nice and tight I’d lean towards alignment as well, after I initially lifted mine I had death wobble, which I expected, hadn’t got my alignment done yet at the time, made sure trac bar was nice and tight, still had it, after my alignment it went away.
 
Anybody DIY the toe on a TJ or XJ inverted Y steering? I recently did mine on jack stands but because it is an inverted Y I think I need to check it with the weight on the tires. My YJ didn't have that problem so this might be the only reason I would take the TJ in to be aligned. It would kind of be a PITA to do with the weight on the tires. My guy says it costs the same cause he has to go through all the trouble to put the plates on.

FYI for the OP. If your toe has changed then you bent something. Is your steering wheel straight? My recent DW problem was a loose track bar on the frame end. Really had to rock the jeep to see it.
 
One thing I would also check, did you replace the aluminum steering box spacer that comes on xjs with a steel one? That and a steering box brace made a big difference on mine.
 
Tradarcher said:
Anybody DIY the toe on a TJ or XJ inverted Y steering? I recently did mine on jack stands but because it is an inverted Y I think I need to check it with the weight on the tires. My YJ didn't have that problem so this might be the only reason I would take the TJ in to be aligned. It would kind of be a PITA to do with the weight on the tires. My guy says it costs the same cause he has to go through all the trouble to put the plates on.

FYI for the OP. If your toe has changed then you bent something. Is your steering wheel straight? My recent DW problem was a loose track bar on the frame end. Really had to rock the jeep to see it.
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Thanks for the info! I am taking in for an alignment on Thursday, hopefully that will help. I checked it all over again last night and made sure all was tight. Ill hit the trac bar bracket again, I just did the bar itself.

Wheel has been off about 25 degrees until last night. Fixed that and readjusted the drag link. No dice!

junkxj said:
One thing I would also check, did you replace the aluminum steering box spacer that comes on xjs with a steel one? That and a steering box brace made a big difference on mine.
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Yeah I have the ironman4x4 kit. This made a huge improvement from before, but something happened on the trip, still hoping its an alignment but I have until Thursday to beat my head against the wall ha!

I did notice on a left turn the wheel turns fine, when i am making a right it doesnt "grab" for a while, the wheel really rotates before it starts turning... Like i almost ran a lady off the road.
 
I have done alignments on stands at ride height. Pull wheels, bolt on rotors tight. Using a straight edge on both sides (4ft is what I used), measure front/rear and adjust. Stock I went for 1/16" in 4ft. You can also set up two Targets and use a laser level on the rotor. Set the targets equal distance (10 ft, 20ft) from the axle to make it easier. Then additionally you can center the steering wheel by getting guide marks from the rear and centering the rotors, then the wheel adjustment. I've done the laser method on 4 wheel alignments with great success. (That the alignment shop couldn't get right... Fiero. It was worth while.)
 
BB98xj said:
I did notice on a left turn the wheel turns fine, when i am making a right it doesnt "grab" for a while, the wheel really rotates before it starts turning... Like i almost ran a lady off the road.
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That is the one weakness of the over the knuckle steering inverted t or whatever they call it. There is a nylon spacer at the tie rod end of the drag link that tries to cancel the “dead spot” you are describing. It takes some getting used to but that shouldn’t be causing death wobble, but more just a steering sensitivity.


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NickMaul said:
That is the one weakness of the over the knuckle steering inverted t or whatever they call it. There is a nylon spacer at the tie rod end of the drag link that tries to cancel the “dead spot” you are describing. It takes some getting used to but that shouldn’t be causing death wobble, but more just a steering sensitivity.


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Gotcha. I probably notice it more now that I am looking for something!
 
a_kelley said:
I have done alignments on stands at ride height. Pull wheels, bolt on rotors tight. Using a straight edge on both sides (4ft is what I used), measure front/rear and adjust. Stock I went for 1/16" in 4ft. You can also set up two Targets and use a laser level on the rotor. Set the targets equal distance (10 ft, 20ft) from the axle to make it easier. Then additionally you can center the steering wheel by getting guide marks from the rear and centering the rotors, then the wheel adjustment. I've done the laser method on 4 wheel alignments with great success. (That the alignment shop couldn't get right... Fiero. It was worth while.)
Click to expand...
If my jackstands were under my axle tubes then I guess I was at "ride height". I guess any difference that would result from the tires being on the ground is negligible. It's kind of a pain to do it with the tires on so I plan to try it again but use this method.
alignmentcombinedvertical-jpg.115
 
When you visually inspected everything, did you have someone turning the wheel while you looked? When i had a ZJ that developed death wobble above 45, I couldn't find any signs of failure until I had my wife turn the wheel back and forth while I was under the ZJ. When she did that, I could see that the track bar bracket cracked near the weld. without movement, I couldn't see the crack.
 
The first run i didn’t check the bracket and had the Jeep lifted when my wife turned the wheel. Second round I left it on the ground and checked the bracket... 1/4-1/2 inch movement. Also found a steering box bolt a tad loose so I replaced with 1/4” longer bolts to compensate for the stiffeners. Drives like a dream and the wheel is straight.

All is good for now... until next time. Thanks!!
 
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