blistovmhz
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Vancouver, BC
Okay, this question has been killing me for years, but because I've never experienced it, I've never asked. As I just haphazardly lifted my 98 XJ another 2" from 4.5-6.5", on my gravel driveway, in the rain, and I'm headed out on a trail run in a few hours, I figure now's the right time to ask (or like, 2-3 days ago).
What causes death wobble? I understand the concept but haven't ever seen it despite my numerous hacky lifts I've installed/built over the years. Some of the causes, such as worn/loose suspension components or poorly balanced tires or drive shafts, but I hear a lot of guys talking about poor alignment causing it, and I just don't understand this. Lots of people talk about setting the caster on each side individually but this doesn't make sense as the knuckles are welded at whatever angle they're welded at. I've heard guys telling people to set the caster of one side by preloading the control arms but this doesn't make sense as it means destroying your bushings. Same goes with camber. I've heard guys say it can change with a lift, but this makes no sense to me as I haven't changed the ball joints.
The reason I ask now is that after the lift, I sit about 20' in front of my Jeep and look at it head on and the drivers front wheel looks like it has a lot more camber than it should. It also looks toed out, but I've measured at several different points, drove forward to rotate and measured again and I'm always 1/16th in. Perhaps some sort of optical illusion caused by driveway slope combined with increased bumper clearance thus increased visibility of the front end? I dunno. Jeep was in for OOP VI a few months ago and they set my toe then, and I don't see how lifting it would cause the toe to change anyhow (unless the caster was way out of whack).
When I took it for a quick (low speed) test drive, the steering felt a little floaty. I know most guys will say that's a consequence of lift, but my 4.5", even with worn bushings and lose bolts, felt stiffer.
But, camber, as far as I understand solid axles and the mechanical properties of a steel straight axle, can't be adjusted without swapping out your ball joints or bending the axle right? I'm not concerned if the axle is bent because if it is, I've been driving it like that for 2 years and it doesn't seem to mind. With the old short arm (non-adjustable) RE kit, the front axle was clearly too far back, angles were horrible, but it drove fine. Only reason I swapped it out was because the control arms were too short for the lift and caused the coils to bow forward and run into other components when flexed, and all the bushings were destroyed due to improper (drunk) installation by the previous owner.
But, when I look at the front, that drivers wheel looks to be cambered in by at least 2 degrees more than the passenger side which looks almost straight.
Is there anything I could have done with the long arm installation that could cause increased camber? I can't think of anything.
Should I be worried about DW on my trip today, or is this just post-hacky-installation paranoia?
What causes death wobble? I understand the concept but haven't ever seen it despite my numerous hacky lifts I've installed/built over the years. Some of the causes, such as worn/loose suspension components or poorly balanced tires or drive shafts, but I hear a lot of guys talking about poor alignment causing it, and I just don't understand this. Lots of people talk about setting the caster on each side individually but this doesn't make sense as the knuckles are welded at whatever angle they're welded at. I've heard guys telling people to set the caster of one side by preloading the control arms but this doesn't make sense as it means destroying your bushings. Same goes with camber. I've heard guys say it can change with a lift, but this makes no sense to me as I haven't changed the ball joints.
The reason I ask now is that after the lift, I sit about 20' in front of my Jeep and look at it head on and the drivers front wheel looks like it has a lot more camber than it should. It also looks toed out, but I've measured at several different points, drove forward to rotate and measured again and I'm always 1/16th in. Perhaps some sort of optical illusion caused by driveway slope combined with increased bumper clearance thus increased visibility of the front end? I dunno. Jeep was in for OOP VI a few months ago and they set my toe then, and I don't see how lifting it would cause the toe to change anyhow (unless the caster was way out of whack).
When I took it for a quick (low speed) test drive, the steering felt a little floaty. I know most guys will say that's a consequence of lift, but my 4.5", even with worn bushings and lose bolts, felt stiffer.
But, camber, as far as I understand solid axles and the mechanical properties of a steel straight axle, can't be adjusted without swapping out your ball joints or bending the axle right? I'm not concerned if the axle is bent because if it is, I've been driving it like that for 2 years and it doesn't seem to mind. With the old short arm (non-adjustable) RE kit, the front axle was clearly too far back, angles were horrible, but it drove fine. Only reason I swapped it out was because the control arms were too short for the lift and caused the coils to bow forward and run into other components when flexed, and all the bushings were destroyed due to improper (drunk) installation by the previous owner.
But, when I look at the front, that drivers wheel looks to be cambered in by at least 2 degrees more than the passenger side which looks almost straight.
Is there anything I could have done with the long arm installation that could cause increased camber? I can't think of anything.
Should I be worried about DW on my trip today, or is this just post-hacky-installation paranoia?
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