Major front end shake with hitting bump!!!

[maps]

Title says it all. Have 100,000 on stock XJ (no lift) and front end/steering wheel shake uncontrollably after hitting a bump... especially railroad tracks. I know that the steering stabilizer is toast but is this what is causing the problem? What could have caused the steering stabilizer to fail or is it just normal wear?
Thanks

 

[dizzymac]

100k prob won't hurt to change it, did you check the obvious, all tie rod ends etc.?

 

[yardape]

The steering stabilizer is only a dampener but is not the source of your problem. As above, check all of your steering components.

 

[maps]

The steering stabilizer is only a dampener but is not the source of your problem. As above, check all of your steering components.

I figured there were more problems than just the steering stabilzer. I haven't jacked the truck up to check but when the truck is sitting on the ground the tie rod ends can be moved down towards the front of the vehicle and towards the back but not side to side. I have religiously greased (every oil change) all components of the front end.

 

[bshaw]

Double check everything again. Triple check your track bar, and control arms! If everything is still tight, I would start by getting an alignment from a place you trust. If it does not solve it, have them double check it again and ask for read outs! If it continues, I would suggest that one of your front tires is out of round. Check that by putting your rear tires on the front. Just my two pennies. Hope this helps!

 

[96 Cherokee]

I had the same thing a while back. It was getting progressively worse over the last several months. Replaced the shock absorber on the stabilizer bar, and all is well now. I know there are some other front end components that should be replaced to make it like new, but this Jeep now has 218,000 miles (mostly rural mail route miles), and it would be very costly to replace everything that is worn. Death wobble is gone, so we drive on. (did Johnny Cochran say that?)

 

[cwlongshot]

Do a search on DEATH WOBBLE.
This subject is beat to death on every board on the web!!!

Every question/ symption anyone could have, has been asked and answered.

I will add, that a worn track bar bushing/rod end, constitutes better than a 80% chance of being your problem. But there are at least, 50 other, "could be's".

Good luck,
CW

 

[Bounty Hunter]

I've seen worn front track bars and worn control arm bushings on 99% of the death wobble I've diagnosed.

 

[aardvark4x4]

If you know the steering damper is toast, change that first, caused mega death wobble on mine when it died.

 

[langer1]

If you know the steering damper is toast, change that first, caused mega death wobble on mine when it died.

There has been cases reported too when the new steering damper made things worse, I don't even have a steering damper at this time and don't have DW. A new damper may help but it's not the cause, the purpose of that damper is to prevent the steering wheel from being twisted out of your hands if you hit a rut or something, that's all it for.

 

[whw678]

also posted under "motha truckin death wobble", but it's an old thread and things are a little out of control over there...

Please, please, please, excuse my ignorance... But after wading through alot of the above posts, looking for some insight into DW, I still have to put my situation out there, I'll take the flame, just need to figure out what the blazes is going on under the XJ... If it helps, I'm a recent convert, and know very little about the XJ, or even solid axle front ends for that matter, money and time caused me to ditch the money pit pathfinder I was running. So, given I'm starting from scratch in the knowledge base, here's what I got... 99 XJ 4.0 with 3" of lift from Rusty's: new coils and shocks up front (way easier than a nissan), add-a-leaf and shocks out back (way harder than nissan)... Replace the hub/carrier bearings (they were SLIGHTLY loose), new rotors, calipers, pads, and tires (235/75 goodyears GSA's < won't make that mistake again but I got a tremendous deal on tires and wheels) and now any medium bump (railroad crossing) above 45 gives me the deadliest of death wobbles (discovery of wobble led to stop truck, clean out shorts, re-insert intestines). I know, I know, I regret saying this before I say it BUT everything seems tight, checked, double checked, buddy checked, shop checked. So know I'm looking into what else to try... all the drag link - control arm - tie rod stuff is stock, no signs of trouble before lift... given the three inches of lift, I was under the impression that factory should be sufficient, but the wobble never lies... so let the wild rumpus start... Thanks in advance, no golf balls going in my tires...

 

[langer1]

also posted under "motha truckin death wobble", but it's an old thread and things are a little out of control over there...

Please, please, please, excuse my ignorance... But after wading through alot of the above posts, looking for some insight into DW, I still have to put my situation out there, I'll take the flame, just need to figure out what the blazes is going on under the XJ... If it helps, I'm a recent convert, and know very little about the XJ, or even solid axle front ends for that matter, money and time caused me to ditch the money pit pathfinder I was running. So, given I'm starting from scratch in the knowledge base, here's what I got... 99 XJ 4.0 with 3" of lift from Rusty's: new coils and shocks up front (way easier than a nissan), add-a-leaf and shocks out back (way harder than nissan)... Replace the hub/carrier bearings (they were SLIGHTLY loose), new rotors, calipers, pads, and tires (235/75 goodyears GSA's < won't make that mistake again but I got a tremendous deal on tires and wheels) and now any medium bump (railroad crossing) above 45 gives me the deadliest of death wobbles (discovery of wobble led to stop truck, clean out shorts, re-insert intestines). I know, I know, I regret saying this before I say it BUT everything seems tight, checked, double checked, buddy checked, shop checked. So know I'm looking into what else to try... all the drag link - control arm - tie rod stuff is stock, no signs of trouble before lift... given the three inches of lift, I was under the impression that factory should be sufficient, but the wobble never lies... so let the wild rumpus start... Thanks in advance, no golf balls going in my tires...

Upper and lower control arms? Did you get new ones? You need longer ones or at the very least you need to add caster shims.

 

[firehazzard]

meh mine does it too the tie rod ends are new,track bar is new steering stabiliser is new, pitman arm is good,ball joints are new, wheel hubs are new, I do have a 4'' lift on it tho; the alleinment is good, just mainly does it with the 32'' tires I just learn to hold on tight and when wobbl'in eather mash on the brakes in a strait line and come to almost a complete stop or I swerve from side to side to cancel out the wobble. sure opens people's eyes when im comming towards them with the wheels wobblin like that

 

[whw678]

Haven't done anything with control arms other than inspect for wear or looseness... Guess I'll have to break down and get the darned thing aligned and hope they can shim the dickens out of it, because as fire hazard stated... others on the highway seem to be more scared by the wobble than I am (some poor fella actually pulled off to the side today...)

 

[langer1]

Haven't done anything with control arms other than inspect for wear or looseness... Guess I'll have to break down and get the darned thing aligned and hope they can shim the dickens out of it, because as fire hazard stated... others on the highway seem to be more scared by the wobble than I am (some poor fella actually pulled off to the side today...)

As you add more than 2" of lift you must add shims or longer lower control arms. As you go higher the axle turns upward and you loose all your caster. Caster is easy to think of if you picture a Motorcycle front fork. Yours the fork in now stright down. Bet it don't want to go back to center by its self either.

 

[firehazzard]

thats probably my problem too. I know for a fact that mine is out.

 

[kradek]

Someone in this discussion made the point that the SOURCE of the wobble is probably unbalanced tires. I have a 2000 XJ that developed the wobble recently. Low mileage and no mods except taller tires. Front wheels were balanced fine. I swapped tires with my 99' XJ and could not get the wobble back. Even though the wheels are balanced, something is up with the tires. I am running them at a lower pressure just to change the system. So far, I haven't found the wobble yet.

 

[langer1]

Someone in this discussion made the point that the SOURCE of the wobble is probably unbalanced tires. I have a 2000 XJ that developed the wobble recently. Low mileage and no mods except taller tires. Front wheels were balanced fine. I swapped tires with my 99' XJ and could not get the wobble back. Even though the wheels are balanced, something is up with the tires. I am running them at a lower pressure just to change the system. So far, I haven't found the wobble yet.

What seems to happen is the tires can start the wobble but are not the cause of it.
If everything up front is tight a tire or bent rim will feel like a vibration but will not start a wobble.
To put it a different way. There are two parts that come together to cause wobble.

Tire balance, and bump, rough roads, rail road tracks is all part one, it”s what starts the wobble. Part two is some thing is loose and allows the wobble and that’s control arm bushings or stabilizer bushings, why do you think is called a stabilizer?

 

[wilcharl]

I had the same exact problem.. fixed it with new control arm bushings....

 

[jeepdriver05]

yeah I had the DW for a while too. The steering stabilizer would probably help, but the thing that helped the most for me was that I took it and got it aligned at work and it turned out the the toe angle was way out of whack. Haven't had any problems with it since then.