Death wobble?

M

matttaylor1976

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Grass Valley, CA
Is death wobble normally on one wheel or both? I installed a new lift a few weeks back, and since then, i've had the pass front tire act like i had a flat tire twice. First time scared the crap out of me, and once i pulled over it went away. Everything is tight up front, and angles look good so i'm at a loss.

I know my shocks are toast, and new ones will be here tuesday, as well as a new steering damper. Would shocks be enough to cause this?

Lift consists of - 7" RE springs, new to me adj trackbar, and uca's. Out back is a bastard pack. LCA's will be swapped out in about a week or so once i get back to Sac and grab Blondejohn's old ones.

Considering the amount of lift, and short arms, the XJ rides great and other than the 1.5 times i've had the shaking up front i'm really happy with the lift. Any ideas?
 
your problem is the steering stabalizer and lower control arms. It happened to me also. I get anxious to drive my Jeep without all the parts too. My 2cents is wait til you have all the lift before you put it on. cause DW is not fun.
 
Thanks! I know the stabilizer is toast, so i ordered a new one with the shocks.....cant wait to get it on. And i am the most impatient person...so i've been putting the parts on as i get them. Bar none, the trackbar made the most difference. Steering feels so much smoother and even. i think i'm going to shorten the uppers today back to stock length and see if that helps until i get the lowers. I set the uppers to lift length, which i think made it worse.
 
I have found that lower control arms and trac bars have the biggest effect on death wobble. Worn components allow death wobble to happen but sometimes you never notice it till lots of components start to wear a little and then finally you get dw. I've been getting it since the last time I went wheeling so I threw new bushings in my control arms and cleaned and adjusted my flex joints on the control arms which made it go away. I found having mud stuck on your rims tends to set off DW when you hit bumps and you've gotta do the whole slow down or pin it and speed up thing to make it go away. I'd check your steering, wheel bearings and ball joints as well.
 
lcas
trackbar
outta balance tires
 
trackbar is perfect, new joint, and solid as can be. I noticed a huge difference with the new one over stock. Tires might be out of balance, i'll have to take them in. And i'll have new lca's next week. You get them off yet blondejohn?
 
gettin the one jeep outta the garage today, and ill be starting the long arm install real soon
.
i didnt know if you installed the new trackbar yet or not.

also, youre sure the frame side bolts on the tracbar mount are nice and tight?
and that the axle side hole is not wallowed out a bit?
and tires way outta balance with bad steering tres can do it
how are your steering tres?
same goes for ball joints, check those out
other than control arm bushings, trackbar and mounts, ball joints and tires, steering, theres not alot i can think of.
what about making sure the steering box is all good and bolted up tighyly?
 
are your tires really worn or are they fairly new?
 
Tires are only about 4 months old but they are feathering because of bad shocks. TRE's and ball joints are in good shape, no slop or movement when the axel is off the ground. Trackbar bracket and steering box are tight, and none of the trackbar bolt holes are wallowed. The lca bushings are shot, but i had zero issues until i went from 4" to the current 7". Since i'm replacing the lca's soon, i'm not going to dump money into the stockers.

I'm fairly confident the issue is the castor angle and blown out steering damper. Specifically the castor angle, as the death wobble was not nearly as common when i still had the stock uca's on. i'm going to shorten the uca's tonight and see what happens. Then tomorrow i'll have new shocks all around and a new steering damper, that should make a big difference.

I am still open to ideas, i'm sure im missing something.
 
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Typically feathering is caused by a toe issue so if all the tread lugs are wearing in the same pattern but have little raised edges or if you run your hand across the tire and its smooth one direction and grabs the opposite directing then i'd have your toe set once you've got all the parts in and the lift is done. Also check the steering with the vehicle on the ground. Have someone wiggle any play in the steering wheel back and fourth and look at all the tie rod ends, drag link etc...for ANY movement. Look and see if they are moving up and down in their sockets or look and see if the dust boots compress side to side. Try not to work the steering to hard but just have the person feel the play, obviously its a wiggle, don't go lock to lock. A little play in the pitman shaft is normal but any joints with play I'd replace. As for getting an alignment, ask the shop to set it toed in a little. The tires wont feather and the car will wonder less and track better down the road, also the steering wont be overly sensitive on the highway. Problem is that alignment specs set up the car while its static and the angles are determinted by the engineers so when the car is in motion then everything will be in spec while driving. But anytime you change ANY thing like wheel size or back spacing then it changes an angle called scrub radius and that is what affects your toe while in motion. As for caster that angle technically should not affect death wobble because that angle is mainly for steering wheel return and road crown compensation BUT I could understand how it might contribute to DW if other things are worn and other angles are out of spec. Basically there is no for sure one cause of death wobble but i'd definitaly start with LCA's, steering and toe setting. Also do what Jon says and check all your bolts on both ends of your control arms and make sure their tight. I've found some after market control arms might have a joint or bushing with a larger hole then the stock bolt so fitment is sloppy. you may have to get the next size larger bolt so everything is a snug fit. Dont under estimate any little movment because it all transimits to large movements under load.
 
Looks like i'll be measuring toe tonight. I like the idea of not having to shorten the ucs's. The tires are feathered in the front, but wear is pretty even. and the jeep does wonder a bit on the freeway. So we'll see what happens. I did check for loose front end components last week, and everything is tight and in good condition. I'll report back tonight.
 
i bet on bad lcas bushings.
ill get mine pulled asap
 
It's definitely possible, i think the extra lift and newer better components have finally killed the stock lca bushings and are making things worse. I can head down there next Wednesday after work, so no rush on pulling them. I would get down there around the same time as my last trip. Just let me know.
 
HOLY OUT OF ALIGNMENT BATMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:firedevil

My toe was to far in in the front, there was almost 3" of difference between the front of the tire and the rear, 4' 2" in the front, and 4"5 in the rear. No wonder my tires were wearing so badly! Since i'm running the 242 tcase, from what i've read i should have 1/4" difference, and that is where i'm now at. Just running up and down the street, i can feel a HUGE difference. Tomorrows drive to work will reveal the benefits. Sheesh, who would have thought 3" of lift could make that big of a difference.
 
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thats alot of toe !
crazy man!
ill take my time with the lcas then, but i also want to get my long arms on asap!
 
Dont take your time man, LOL, cant wait to get them on and fix the lca bushings. Besides, you need to get them long arms on, then follow me and my buddy's up to Eagle lakes. We'll put those LA's to the ultimate test on drive line evil laugh on: MUAHAHAHAHAHA
 
im down for that run for sure!!!!!!
i started the wj booster swap last night
hopefully will finish it tonight
and then start bolting up the belly pan for the LA
and this rate ill have those lowers off by tues no prob
hopefully by this fri
 
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