Stock '97 Wrangler Death Wobble

Johnny C!

New Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Location
Western North Carolina
I had this post typed out perfectly & embellished in great
detail last night, but it got lost when I submitted it. So this
is the condensed version...

This wobble has occurred maybe twice with hard breaking, i.e.
to make an almost missed turn. It happens more regularly approaching 55 mph, but is more connected with startegically spaced ripples in the asphalt. Hard breaking will quell the episode.

98K miles, most of which were apparently while being pulled behind a motor home.

When I stand on the front bumper & release it, I get what
appears to appropriate dampening, but they may have a little
sponginess in the middle. I am quite sure it's a front axle harmonic.

New shocks? Special ones? Sensomatics???

I had the tires & wheels rebalanced & they said everything in the front seemed tight.

Input appreciated...

Johnny C!
 
Balljoints? Alignment?
 
Ok, I did a search last night for DW & found nothing. Now
at the bottom of my post, I see 6 threads about it. I will
go to an alignment shop & get it checked out thoroughly.

Please remind, which is caster? I haven't had to think about
such things since I sold my '42 Ford 10 years ago. I miss that
little thing...

Thanks!

Johnny C!
 
Something has to be loose in the front end. With the Jeep sitting on the ground, turn the wheel from side to side and have someone else check the steering linkage. Pay extra attention to the drag link end at the pitman arm and the track bar mount at the axle end. If you feel any movement when you put your hand on them, replace them and get an alignment.
 
So it happens when braking? Or just after braking? If when braking, see if the rotors are warped. When I bought my 4runner the rotors were so warped I thought something was loose in the front end. But for $25 or so the cheapest thing to try was turning the rotors.
 
paint,
It has happened a couple of times as a result of hard
braking, but it is not the rotors. It brakes smoothly under normal braking conditions.

A friend of mine who has been heavily customizing a
rock crawler said he will look at with me. He should
be able to spot any failed components.

Tony,
Are there any flat head Fords still available
these days?

Thanks for the input! I'll let you know what
I find.

Johnny C!
 
Here's my two experiences with DW.
1. I replaced an axle on my 97TJ. At the same time I did a 2.5 OME lift and RE track bar. The first time I drove it I got DW. Pull back in the garage and check the track bar and it is loose on the axle end. Tighten it (very tight) and no problems since. I did not fix the caster or the toe in. I have oversized tires. I should have at least fixed the toe.
2. Added a 2" budget boost to a friends TJ. Did not change caster but he did add bigger tires. I also did not fix the toe in. A month later he tells me he has DW. Also tells me that he had the dealer replace the steering stabilizer and it has not reappearred since then.
 
bad trac bar bushing is my guess, have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you are looking at the front end and you should be able to see what is moving.
 
When i lifted my jeep i put an OME and later put 2" spacers ontop of that but did not get all of the components i needed to make it a complete deal so my bushing at the bottom of the pitman arm and the drag link wore out. That is what was causing my dw but it took no time to replace the end link and put in a drop arm and that fixed it.
 
A steering stablizer is just a bandade on a problem that could become worse and bring meaning to the phrase
 
I'm looking for a front end bushing kit,
to replace everything in the front end.
I looked a Daystar, but I didn't see a
kit like that. Who sells a kit for stock
configuration like this? If I can't find a
complete kit, how can I get list of every-
thing I need for this job?

Thanks gang!

Johnny C!
 
tracbar mount at axle end has silly small bolt, we have swapped this out to bigger grade 8 bolt on two TJs
 
Thanks guys. I haven't gotten to work on it
yet, but I intend to this Saturday.

I did look at the anti sway bar bushings, and
the right side bushing looks almost non-existant.
I'll just have to work my way through the front
end. I will definitely get the trac bar bushing to
start with.

Thanks again for all of the great input!

Johnny C!
 
I went to Autozone today & was dissapointed
to find that don't sell just the bushings.
Only the complete members with the
bushings vulcanized in place. The Trac
Bar was $88, the stabilizer links were $33
each. Where else should I look for bushings?


Johnny C!
 
I bought my track bar bushings at advanced auto, $3 I think. Go on a different day and see if you can talk to someone else, they don't work there because they are the brightest people around...
 
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