your diagnosis

jeep9mm

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Charlotte, Wilmington
I go to school in wilmington, so i do not have a lot of tools to do any work here so I am prolly gonna let a shop do this but I wanna know what you guys think it may be to see if its something I can take to the dealer and have them fix under warranty or if its something I caused by offroad use. 2004 TJ, 2 inch coil lift, 31s.
My jeep has been doing this for a looong time (6-8 months), but I have just put up with it...at 32mph to 40mph if my jeep hits a bump or the road is uneven it will start shaking violently and the steering wheel also shakes and it is impossible to control, but it is easily solved by braking to about 20mph...that completely kills it and then I keep on driving normally hoping i wont hit a bump. At first I feel the problem in my steering wheel very lightlly and then the shaking gets worst and the whole jeep does it until I slow down.

This does not happen all the time, it prolly happens once a day . Also, it never happens at high speeds...it has never happened at 55-70, it is always a 30mph-42 mph thing. The reason why I need your help is that if it is something caused by offroad use or my lift, then Ill take it to a place cheaper than the dealer, but if its something else...its still a 2004 so I will let Jeep fix it
 
the death wobble...

usually caused by a couple things:

1. front tires not aligned
2. tires not balanced
3. something in front suspension not tight (very often the track bar)


there are some other odd reasons, like excessive mud in the brakes, wore out TRE's, etc...but if you go through the three items listed above, you usually fix it...

Greg
 
Not certain what works your steering on the jeep but my wifes 95 ford explorer done the same thing after I flat towed it but I was told it was the rack and pinion steering unit going bad. Any ways a guy suggested that I bleed the system , done that and no problems since I suppose It got some air in it while towing it. Hope that helps.
 
oh man really? see I had always heard death wobble was somethign that happened all the time and usually only in really modified vehicles

I can have the tires aligned and balanced, but if that doesnt help it and it is something like the track bar...would the dealer fix it under warranty? or was this caused by my small lift or offroad use?


Thanks!
 
The dealership could blame your lift for changing your geometry and causing death wobble. I agree with Greg. Go through that list first. Especially the front track bar bolt on the axle. I had to really crank on mine to get death wobble to stop happening.
 
jeep9mm said:
I can have the tires aligned and balanced, but if that doesnt help it and it is something like the track bar...would the dealer fix it under warranty? or was this caused by my small lift or offroad use?
Thanks!
Click to expand...


if it's "something like the track bar"...it'll usually just be something that needs to be tightened, not something that is broken...

no need to fool with the dealer...just tighten both ends of the track bar, and the front control arms...

Greg
 
One other thing that cures the death wobble alot on these Jeeps when they have a small lift installed is to add a set of aftermarket lower arms, they put the castor angle back in check some. You could also use a set of cam bolts, but stronger arms are always a good idea anyway.
 
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