Death wobble???

[JACKO78]

ok, thanks guys, I will get a new steering stabilizer shock, my tires arent the greatest brand(kelly) but they are only 1 year old, there were just rotated and balanced, by a friend so I know they are right.
again thanks for the info.


JACKO

 

[89xj]

On the DW debate, when my Jeep was stock it had the same problem. Mine did it going over pot holes or coming back onto pavement from dirt roads and similar situations. I checked my entire front end and it was the steering stabilizer. I'd suggest doing that. And if you're tires are larger than stock, you should replace it to a stronger one as it is IMO.

As far as the LA/DB and 5 inches of lift, I have about 5" lift on stock arms and no LAs or DBs. Yeah the ride is rough But it doesnt bother me enough to warrant the immediate upgrade of either. If I happen to find someone selling eiter for a steal then I'd jump on it, untill then I can live witht he ride, to me it's like a SYE, some people live with a little vibrations, others start to feel it and think they HAVE to have it on a 2" BB. It's what ever you can live with if you ask me.

stock arms are not meant to be at that extreme angle. stock arms have been know to bend when at that angle. a good size pot hole could take one or more of those arms out.

not to mention, there is no way caster is within spec with stock arms at that height. sorry but i find your set up to be a little unsafe. the higher a lift gets, the stronger the suspension components need to be. lifting is the easy part, make it function safely and effectively is the hard part.

any chance your using 3" aluminum blocks in the rear?

 

[novice]

This was talked about on " Truck U" and they suggested longer lower front control arms.

 

[SPXJ]

MANY would dissagree with you on that one, people dont run stabilizer for the bling.

if it 'HIDES' the death wobble, and you never experience it again, i'd say it fixed it! lets not get too theoretical.

You need to get to the root of the problem. Steering geometry needs to be correct as well as track bar. If those are correct you should be fine, providing your ball joints are good. Putting a steering stabilizer on may cover up the problem, but the problem still exists. I found that once you solve the problem (mine was the track bar axle mount was sloppy) you don’t need a steering stabilizer as a band-aid. I have run my XJ without a stabilizer for 4 years with no issues.

Find and fix the real problem or it will haunt you!

 

[scottmcneal]

I found mine doing this after i change some stuff in the front..It didn't do it before so i knew to check the Alignment..I started with it out 1/4 ( \ / )in the front and then came back in 1/8 at a time...My 89 is dead on 1/4 when the wifes jeep sits at almost 1/8..I can run both without steering stabilizers but the wife wants hers on...HTH..

 

[kastein]

Not to get to far away But can bad ball joints cause death wobble ? Just replace the ones on my 98. Thinking that to fix it !

Yes, they can. I am pretty sure my ultra bad right-hand balljoints on my MJ are causing the one sided death wobble (yep, it's pretty freaky) if I hit the right bump at about 45mph... at stock height with stock wheels and tires.

stock arms are not meant to be at that extreme angle. stock arms have been know to bend when at that angle. a good size pot hole could take one or more of those arms out.

not to mention, there is no way caster is within spec with stock arms at that height. sorry but i find your set up to be a little unsafe. the higher a lift gets, the stronger the suspension components need to be. lifting is the easy part, make it function safely and effectively is the hard part.

any chance your using 3" aluminum blocks in the rear?

Nope, not that I recall from last time I saw his rig. It's not a piece of junk.

 

[JJacobs]

A steering stab. Won't cause wobble.....it will just cover up the real cause. Have a friend turn the steering wheel back and fourth while you check for play in the front end.

Come on.. you work at a Ford dealer and say that? You must not have gone around the block with wobbly 05+ F250s much yet?

 

[jcjeepnut]

I would look at uneven tire wear. take the tires and roll them on a flat surface (off the jeep) to see if they stay up right and straight. I had the same problem with a set of nobby tires. now they are offroad only.

 

[JJacobs]

people who planned their builds? theres an entire range of economic situations on this board, most people know their limits... except you it seems.
SOUNDS like you shouldve left it stock, if you cant afford the proper things to make it drive O.K. with a lifted suspension.

we know shits expensive, you dont have to tell us. SOME OF US, thought about this, and run less than 5.5 inches of lift, while others shoot for the moon, then bitch about all the parts they need. at 5.5, short arms arent good enough, pay up.

For what it's worth I once drove a 7" lift on 35's with no trace of wobble ever until an LCA bracket tore loose. Then experimenting with different offset wheels made it really, really unhappy.

That's it really- these XJ front suspensions are like a big, wound up set of springs- something out of whack sets them loose. Tie rod, ball joint, track bar end, too soft or worn control arm bushings, too much caster, not enough caster, loose steering box, wheel offset, tire balance and on and on. When you consider just how touchy they really are it's pretty asinine to say 'well all these parts can cause it but leave the damper off it's just a bandaid'. If anything ever needed a bandaid, it is an xj front end with the stock inverted-y steering.

Go inverted T over the knuckle and odds are it will be happy without a damper. Stock steering, no damper, do ya feel lucky?

 

[mini=man]

stock arms are not meant to be at that extreme angle. stock arms have been know to bend when at that angle. a good size pot hole could take one or more of those arms out.

not to mention, there is no way caster is within spec with stock arms at that height. sorry but i find your set up to be a little unsafe. the higher a lift gets, the stronger the suspension components need to be. lifting is the easy part, make it function safely and effectively is the hard part.

any chance your using 3" aluminum blocks in the rear?

Sorry, forgot to ad that I have RE adj uppers and lowers. And no blocks or even coil spacers all spring. I did the lift right, just havn't upgraded to LA's yet.