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2021 2 Door Rubicon Death Wobble

aldo98229

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Lol another funny guy!!! Love this group!!! Where did we find so many in one place?!?!
It is one funny fellow with multiple personalities...err...screen names! :LOL:
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DavidArmen

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As a data point.

At our office, one of the folks here bought a 2018 JLU sport.
No off road activity.
The Jeep is a DD.
At about 30,000 miles, on original tires and suspension, the death wobble event occurred.
Luckily, the death wobble did not result in an incident.

New tires, and a new steering damper, (maybe ball joints or tie rod ends... will confirm).
The death wobble was fixed.

Wobble.jpg
Tires, indeed, are one of the main reasons of death wobble. And many who have the issue would be surprised by how buying a set of new tires will fix their death wobble 98% of the time. And this does not mean re-balancing them, but actually replacing the tires for totally new ones.
This is coming from the founder of Dynatrac, sorry I forgot his name, I think it was Jim.
 

Thor64

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I am looking into buying a 2021 2 Door Rubi. Has Jeep actually fixed the death wobble? My 2004 wrangler X had it and it was so frustrating and scary. I see Jeep is claiming they've fixed the issue, however, I have read it's really just a solid front axle deal. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Happy trails
I had the death wobble on my 19 unlimited and the recall had the steering stabilizer upgraded—still death wobble. Installed Rough Country dual steering stabilizer with my lift and no more wobble.
 

Timmyjoe

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I wonder how much the "death wobble" & steering issues are driver specific, not Jeep specific.

Our 2019 JL Sport S 2-door drives perfectly fine in my opinion and I've had it all over this part of the country, on long highway trips and down many a dirt road in Iowa. But my teenage daughter, who usually drives our 2016 Honda CRV thinks it drifts all over the road when she drives it, to the point where she doesn't want to drive it anymore (which I'm kinda okay with, (I'm a horrible dad)). Same Jeep, two entirely different perspectives on how the Jeep performs.

One thing I will say, before I bought our JL I told the salesman I had to take it out on the highway and bring it up to 80 mph to check the steering before I signed any papers. He said "Sure." And it did fine.

Best,
-Tim
 

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multicam

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I wonder how much the "death wobble" & steering issues are driver specific, not Jeep specific.

Our 2019 JL Sport S 2-door drives perfectly fine in my opinion and I've had it all over this part of the country, on long highway trips and down many a dirt road in Iowa. But my teenage daughter, who usually drives our 2016 Honda CRV thinks it drifts all over the road when she drives it, to the point where she doesn't want to drive it anymore (which I'm kinda okay with, (I'm a horrible dad)). Same Jeep, two entirely different perspectives on how the Jeep performs.

One thing I will say, before I bought our JL I told the salesman I had to take it out on the highway and bring it up to 80 mph to check the steering before I signed any papers. He said "Sure." And it did fine.

Best,
-Tim
First of all, no you’re not a horrible dad- I will be a horrible dad because my kids aren’t going to drive my jeep except for when I’m teaching them how to drive stick!

Second, and I know you said “‘death wobble’ and steering issues” (emphasis added), but real death wobble is absolutely not driver-specific. You know it when it happens. If you’re not sure you’ve had death wobble before, you haven’t. If two drivers drive a specific section of the road the exact same way and one gets death wobble, the other will too.
 

Oilburner

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My old '02 Super Duty steering got pretty loose until I replaced everything (including the gear box) at it's worst it drove like a poorly lifted Wrangler = wife would not drive it. Perhaps the ladies aren't as good at 'counter-steer'? :turkey:
 

sourdough

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It was stock with the upgraded wheel package.
Upgraded? Wider Generic wheels not engineered for the Wrangler cause a lot of extra wear and tear. And extra expense not to mention all the cleaning required due to the tire outside the fender slinging crap onto the body. AEV has the only wheels I know of engineered for a Wrangler( both JK and JL).
All bigger than stock size tires are heavier and that also causes issues.

Before installing a lift for wider, taller tires I spent almost a year researching this modification to a JL. I believe I upgraded the suspension and steering as a complete system. Info to my build is linked and showcased.
 
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DavidArmen

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Upgraded? Wider Generic wheels not engineered for the Wrangler cause a lot of extra wear and tear. And extra expense not to mention all the cleaning required due to the tire outside the fender slinging crap onto the body. AEV has the only wheels I know of engineered for a Wrangler( both JK and JL).
All bigger than stock size tires are heavier and that also causes issues.
I agree with this statement and I would add that spacers are even worse on your axle and suspension than aftermarket wheels.
However, you can’t deny the fact that a vast majority of all Wrangler owners either get 1.75” spacers or wider wheels that almost always have much less offset than stock and wider tires up to 13.5” which makes the tires pop out of the fender by an inch or two (or three), but you don’t see everyone’s wrangler always breaking down, do you? They’re actually considered very reliable vehicles from everything I’ve heard and they’re the most popular overlanding vehicle, at least in the United States, and we all know how much you depend on reliability when you’re in the middle of nowhere with no reception of any kind.

Also, although my 2021 JLUR is still stock in terms of wheels/tires and suspension, I have personally driven 6 different JLs that had aftermarket wheels and 35 inch tires and i had no issues on the freeway and had no wobble of any sort. This may also be due to the fact that all my friends are very peculiar about always keeping their wheels healthy and aligned and balanced and rotated in a timely manner.
 

Blu bi Kong

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I could be wrong, God knows I've been wrong before. Not sure if I buy the idea that the cast iron steering box is the end all for those that have issues. As far as I know, all wranglers in the past have had cast iron steering boxes. At least the two I've had did, as well as a number of solid front axle trucks. Solid axle front ends will never drive like a vehicle with IFS.
That said I may be biased, I've had 2 Jeeps, to many Chevy's to count and 2 Ford's with solid front axles. They all drove different and felt different than the one Nissan Pathfinder I built.
For me the benefits of solid front axles far outweigh the different feel of stability offered in an IFS.
 
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JimmyZ

JimmyZ

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Upgraded? Wider Generic wheels not engineered for the Wrangler cause a lot of extra wear and tear. And extra expense not to mention all the cleaning required due to the tire outside the fender slinging crap onto the body. AEV has the only wheels I know of engineered for a Wrangler( both JK and JL).
All bigger than stock size tires are heavier and that also causes issues.

Before installing a lift for wider, taller tires I spent almost a year researching this modification to a JL. I believe I upgraded the suspension and steering as a complete system. Info to my build is linked and showcased.
The wheels on mine were the premium wheel and tire package offered directly from Jeep. No aftermarket parts whatsoever. Sorry for the confusion
 

DavidArmen

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“you don’t see everyone’s wrangler always breaking down, do you?”
Jeep Wrangler JL 2021 2 Door Rubicon Death Wobble clowns

Son, stay focused, DW is the thread. DW does not cause break downs on the side of the road. Pull over’s to clean ones shorts maybe.
Grandpa, death wobble was included as a part of my “breakdown issues” but I can state it better for you: You don’t see everyone’s wrangler having death wobble, do you? I and others I know certainly don’t.
 

Joe98

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If two drivers drive a specific section of the road the exact same way and one gets death wobble, the other will too.
Well no, mine is stock, so no death wobble.
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