JL Death Wobble Tips

[jamesj242003]

Judging by your ownership history, you undoubtedly have a lot experience with Jeep Wranglers. However, there are a lot of newbies out there, who are (or would be) ecstatic being new Jeep Wrangler JL owners. Of the thousands of Wranglers sold by FCA, only a few hundred have reported steering and/or wobbling problems. It seems to be more pronounced at higher speeds, such as highway driving. If the complaints are reasonably accurate (and I have little reason to question the testimony of these new JL owners), new, low mileage, stock vehicles should not function in a manner that has been described by these owners of new Jeeps. As a matter of fact, drivers of these vehicles are not only endangering themselves, but other drivers and pedestrians as well. Regardless of whether these new Jeep JL owners are experiencing the "Death Wobble" or not, the severe vibration and difficulty in controlling the steering at high speeds is not a design/engineering quality any person should want in a vehicle they're operating on the road. FCA appears to be making an effort to address the problem(s), through recalls (e.g., poor track bar welds), TSBs, etc, but this steering/wobbling problem seems to be surfacing on JLs at much lower mileages (10 miles to 2,000 miles in several cases) than previous generations of Jeep Wranglers. Let's hope FCA figures it out soon and corrects the problem before owners sustain serious injuries or worse.

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[jeremyjeep]

I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'm sure there are many new JL owners who do not have steering and/or wobbling issues, which is what I would expect in a new vehicle sold by any car company. At the same tine, I should also be mindful of the other JL owners who have been less fortunate in buying their new Jeep JLs that are experiencing steering and/or wobbling issues on their low mileage, stock vehicles. If I have the confidence that FCA has a real handle on this issue within the next couple of months, I will have no reservation in taking delivery on my new 2019 Rubicon JLU.

Here is an example of a 2019 with steering related issues https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/steering-wheel-wobble.16577/page-27#post-472227

 

[jeremyjeep]

Its not “death wobble” . Its a bunch of people who never drove jeeps until the JL mischaracterizing a design flaw that will hopefully be corrected.

A few weeks ago, while I was waiting for my oil change at the Jeep dealership, I was talking with a random sales guy killing time. I mentioned the shudder that some are reporting. He said "you mean death wobble?" I said, "no, shudder." I showed him one of the videos someone posted on the JL forum where the steering wheel was slightly, but fast, shuddering back and forth. He said "that's death wobble". Then I showed him a video with a real death wobble and he said "oh, that's death wobble too, but the first video is death wobble as well, just a different level". lol When I asked, he said he has worked at the Jeep dealership over 8 years. So both noobs and non-noobs are mixing things all into one lump categorization. This gave me some insight into why so many people are incorrectly categorizing shimmy vs death wobble.

 

[jeremyjeep]

I am starting to think the issues on the JL has something to do with the drag link, tie rod and possibly the aluminum knuckles.

No I shouldn’t have to do this and it would be nice if FCA figured it out, but I love my JL and the death wobble is my only complaint so I’m willing to fix it myself if I can find a solution.

I went through almost all part numbers related to the steering components and compared 2018 vs 2019, such as the track bar, drag link, upper and lower control arms, stabilizer bar, link rod, power steering pump, pitman arm, stabilizer bar bushing, left knuckle, right knuckle, ball joints, stabilizer link, etc. This is what I found:

All steering related part numbers that I checked (I didn't check any steering related circuit boards or wiring) are the exact same part number comparing 2018 vs 2019, except:

1. Steering Box: The 2019 JL has the -AD version, and people who had their steering boxes replaced on their 2018 JL now have the -AD version. I don't know if/when any of the late production 2018s have the -AD version or not.

2. Steering Damper / Stabilizer: The 2019 JL has the -AD version, and people who had the bad date codes replaced now have the -AD versions. I don't know if/when any of the late production 2018s have the -AD version or not.

3. All of the above steering related parts are also showing good for 2018 - 2020, except the following parts are n/a for 2020, which means there will probably be different part numbers for these 3 steering related components in 2020:
a. Left knuckle
b. Right knuckle
c. Ball Joints

If your theory is correct, maybe putting 2020 ball joints and knuckles (if compatible) on 2018/2019 JLs will fix it. 2019 owners are just now complaining about steering related issues. It will be interesting to see if more do as well. Also, if only a small percentage of JLs have steering related problems, then it must be fixable with OEM parts vs a design flaw or having to use beefier aftermarket steering components, especially when many with the steering problems have stock tires, no lift, etc.

 

[Spartan99]

DW can easily happen on a brand new Jeep and any other vehicle with a solid front axle. Something as simple as an unbalanced tire can create a vibration that is unnoticed, effects other components and becomes a shimmy, then one day evolves into death wobble if not corrected. Jeep front ends are very sensitive to any imperfections. Remember, Jeeps are offroad vehicles masquerading as on road vehicles. There might be only three consumer trucks left being sold with front axles in the states because of their harsh ride and propensity for DW. These front ends are designed to excel at crawling over terrain.

 

[jamesj242003]

"Remember, Jeeps are off road vehicles masquerading as on road vehicles." This is the first time I've ever come across someone conveying that, but well said. If I was using my 2019 Rubicon JLU primarily for rock crawling and off-roading, there is no other vehicle I'd rather have than a Jeep Wrangler. But, since I plan to use the vehicle for highway driving as well, there are many other vehicle options that appear to be more safe. It seems that Jeep Wranglers greatest strength ("These front ends are designed to excel at crawling over terrain.") may also be its greatest weakness if an owner decides to drive down roadways at speeds greater than 40 mph. Let's hope FCA truly finds a solution to the steering/wobbling problem that afflicts so many new JL/JLU owners. Only then will the Jeep Wrangler truly live up to its crowning as Motor Trend's "2019 SUV of the Year."

 

[Spartan99]

"Remember, Jeeps are off road vehicles masquerading as on road vehicles." This is the first time I've ever come across someone conveying that, but well said. If I was using my 2019 Rubicon JLU primarily for rock crawling and off-roading, there is no other vehicle I'd rather have than a Jeep Wrangler. But, since I plan to use the vehicle for highway driving as well, there are many other vehicle options that appear to be more safe. It seems that Jeep Wranglers greatest strength ("These front ends are designed to excel at crawling over terrain.") may also be its greatest weakness if an owner decides to drive down roadways at speeds greater than 40 mph. Let's hope FCA truly finds a solution to the steering/wobbling problem that afflicts so many new JL/JLU owners. Only then will the Jeep Wrangler truly live up to its crowning as Motor Trend's "2019 SUV of the Year."

Motor Trend is paid advertising. Their car of the year awards and what not mean nothing. DW will always be a possibility with this legendary off road configuration. To change it to an IFS would officially destroy the brand to its loyal buyers. What makes DW prevalent are two things: 1) Newbies aren’t aware that they are driving essentially, a tractor, at highway speeds. So they don’t know that you must check the front end constantly for any imperfections even when driving it as you would a Camry. Go offroad or hit a curb or whatever and you deginitely need to go through it afterwards carefully if you intend to drive it on the streets and not get DW one day.. 2) Chrysler, Fiat, or Chrysler / Fiat = junk. Each on their own builds garbage, so together they built garbage lol. The components are of low quality, and so is the build quality, so a minor vibration low tire pressure in one of the front tires can turn into DW over time.

 

[J_Mac]

“Did you really just call that death wobble?”

Just another reason for an old crusty Wrangler driver to get a shot in at the new found, exponentially larger population of new Jeep owners perhaps?

“That band was so much better before they went mainstream. They’re sellouts.”

 

[Hdravesky]

Anybody who has fought death wobble on prior Jeeps knows that the steering stabilizer is not the problem. If, and that's a big if, you get a reduction in the issue after installing a new stabilizer, it's because the stabilizer was a band-aid masking the true problem.

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out, because I'm guessing it is going to go deeper.

The new stabilizer di

Have you seen all those news reports lately about 'Death Wobble' problems in the 2018 JL Wrangler? Not sure what it is, or how to deal with the problem?

HERE is what you should know.
​

-Alex

New stabilizer installed by the dealership did not fix my issue. My Jeep only has 4K miles. First started around 3k.

 

[jeremyjeep]

The new stabilizer di



New stabilizer installed by the dealership did not fix my issue. My Jeep only has 4K miles. First started around 3k.

Many of us have found finger tight ball joints on our JLs. Are the cotter pins on the 4 front ball joints perfectly bent on your JL or do they look mangled like a human bent them? If they look perfect bent from the factory then the torque has not been checked.

 

[xpsruler]

I've had both my drag link replaced as well as the steering stabilizer. Still have it :-(.

 

[OffRoadWarehouse]

People still need to be checking their frame welds to see if those are cracking or flexing, alloting there to be more front end movement then normal. The Defective Stabilizer issue has caussed some vibrations, and should be replaced if you are affected, but make sure you check everything before spending money

 

[plex]

Many of us have found finger tight ball joints on our JLs. Are the cotter pins on the 4 front ball joints perfectly bent on your JL or do they look mangled like a human bent them? If they look perfect bent from the factory then the torque has not been checked.

Both my upper and lower ball joint castle nuts are tight, and they are marked with blue from factory.

 

[Fizzlepop]

Had death wobble since about april, bought in Feb and manufactured in January.

First occurance happened after an offroad trip. Damaged the stabilizer on a rock, and had full blown DW (you know, the type that wants to rip the axle out from under the jeep) on the way home. Because it happened to also be the maiden voyage of my lift, and the whole "stabilizers dont cure death wobble" mentality, I was positive it was a lift issue.

2 offroad shops, 2 dealers, 4 months, and $1500 in diagnostics and testing, and everything was spot on, save for the stabilizer. I was on my third stabilizer at this point(it would fix it for a few weeks until it slowly returned), getting them from shops as take offs.

In desperation, i dropped coin on a yeti drag link and tie rod. The death wobble is gone, but there is still shimmy over bridge expansions and bumpsteer on large potholes at slower speeds. This is without a stabilizer on at all.

I have 37" X-Comps on with a load rating of 4300lbs PER TIRE wrapped around 17" procomp steelies. I can't say with certainty, but I DO believe that the switch to aluminum knuckles paired with hollowed steering components has lead to a problem with the front end being able to self control the violence of the wheels, making the stabilizer far more important than previous generations. I've managed to control it quite a bit with steersmarts gear, but I cant fix the aluminum knuckles. I have a fox stabilizer on the way, and with as much time as my jeep has been in the shop, I'm comfortable saying the stabilizer will eliminate the rest of my play.

 

[DeVoTee]

Do you think you could have bent other "light weight" steering components on your maiden voyage and could this have contributed to shimmy and DW? Others like LiteBrite have experienced steering issues after severe damage to the steering stabilizer.

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