Aftermarket parts for DW

[Joe jl]

What aftermarket parts have people with shimmy/death wobble gone with that have “fixed” the issue?

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[Tritonman]

I have read that the full Yeti Steer Smarts front steering package fixes it. I personally only have the track bar but the drag link and tie rod are next to fix my issues, assuming Mopar can't fix it.

Drag link, Tie Rod, Track Bar.

 

[ChrispyJL]

Just watched a vid of the steersmarts YETI XD kit, they replaced track bar, drag link and tie rod and DW went away ( no steering stabilizer)
track bar was $249 iirc, tie rod and drag link were $400ish each, all 3 coupled with a fox or teraflex SS and steering is tight.

But before you go crazy, call the dealer, there is the upgraded track bar with better bushings available.

are you stock?
what trim?
My stock sport s had the wobbles, trying to get dealer to do trackbar and new SS to see if it goes away before I go further.

 

[Joe jl]

I have read that the full Yeti Steer Smarts front steering package fixes it. I personally only have the track bar but the drag link and tie rod are next to fix my issues, assuming Mopar can't fix it.

Drag link, Tie Rod, Track Bar.

Going back for 7th time the 1st to try and fix this. Whole Sahara rides like shit now with all the “fixes” they have tried. Zero issues on October 17 build before this but it’s been nightmare since

 

[Tritonman]

Going back for 7th time the 1st to try and fix this. Whole Sahara rides like shit now with all the “fixes” they have tried. Zero issues on October 17 build before this but it’s been nightmare since

I really hope I dont have to go through that. I dropped mine off today for some work to be done. New steering gear box, adjustable front control arms with my request they be set to 6 degrees. The dealership is having an engineer look at my jeep to see what can be done. Thankfully I have a fantastic relationship with the dealership and they really do the best they can to get me fixed.

 

[DanW]

I'm taking it one step at a time. It turns out my steering dampener that replaced the original was still not the latest part number, so they put the newest one on and are testing it. If it doesn't cure it, the drag link gets replaced. If still not satisfied, they'll go to the track bar. Today was promising. My service advisor has been driving it and he said there was marked improvement today. He drove it on a road where he was easily able to produce the shimmy and said he's been over it again three times now and no shimmy. Hopefully, that knocks it out. We shall see.

 

[jruss]

I have read that the full Yeti Steer Smarts front steering package fixes it. I personally only have the track bar but the drag link and tie rod are next to fix my issues, assuming Mopar can't fix it.

Drag link, Tie Rod, Track Bar.

Want irony....yeti’s parent company designed the factory stuff from what I understand. I really hope that this isn’t a case of planned obsolescence.

 

[Tritonman]

Want irony....yeti’s parent company designed the factory stuff from what I understand. I really hope that this isn’t a case of planned obsolescence.

If that's the case that is some serious irony.

 

[jruss]

If that's the case that is some serious irony.

It was a claim I heard from someone fairly (supposedly way) high up in the company. The parent company is an oem manufacturer for several companies. I would be interested to hear if someone else can substantiate this. I could be dead wrong.

 

[DanW]

If that is the case, I'll go Rancho if I wind up with aftermarket parts. I'm not too worried about that right now, though. It was great for 14k miles, so I'm expecting my dealership to get it solved.

 

[jruss]

If that is the case, I'll go Rancho if I wind up with aftermarket parts. I'm not too worried about that right now, though. It was great for 14k miles, so I'm expecting my dealership to get it solved.

You could flush money down the toilet too.
Oem stuff uses non serviceable tie rod ends and ball joints to make up the majority of the working parts in your steering. Instead of using metal on metal and grease it is common to se metal on metal with a non serviceable plastic sleeve.
The plastic sleeve or whatever they use to keep from using grease is ultimately what fails and causes death wobble. On jk’s this was 90% of what went wrong.
I’m not saying rancho makes crap (though they have in the past), I am simply saying it more than likely slack in a joint that it takes a trained (not dealership) eye to see.
I would be willing to bet that if steer smarts does design the factory stuff they are probably limited (as any manufacturer would be) by the fact that you can’t put a greasable serviceable rod end on anything anymore.

 

[DanW]

You could flush money down the toilet too.
Oem stuff uses non serviceable tie rod ends and ball joints to make up the majority of the working parts in your steering. Instead of using metal on metal and grease it is common to se metal on metal with a non serviceable plastic sleeve.
The plastic sleeve or whatever they use to keep from using grease is ultimately what fails and causes death wobble. On jk’s this was 90% of what went wrong.
I’m not saying rancho makes crap (though they have in the past), I am simply saying it more than likely slack in a joint that it takes a trained (not dealership) eye to see.
I would be willing to bet that if steer smarts does design the factory stuff they are probably limited (as any manufacturer would be) by the fact that you can’t put a greasable serviceable rod end on anything anymore.

The Ranch D2 joints on their JL track bar appears to be very stout and still allows for lots of flex. The steel on the bar itself is thick and solid, too. MUCH heavier than the OEM. Besides that, I've had very good luck with Rancho parts in the past. I'm not worried yet about the OEM stuff, though, once it is made right. My JK is at 130k miles with plenty of abuse, all on the stock components (other than ball joints that were replaced at about 90k miles), and it performs like new and feels tight. As for my dealership, they are pretty good and seeing the slack doesn't require a degree. It's pretty easy to see. Anyway, I'm not wanting to drop a dime into this until they've had a go at it. They are being methodical about it and I'm confident will ultimately solve it so I can put money toward some Baja Designs LP6 lights and either soft doors or half doors. Steer Smart stuff looks great, but is overpriced, IMO.

 

[jruss]

The Ranch D2 joints on their JL track bar appears to be very stout and still allows for lots of flex. The steel on the bar itself is thick and solid, too. MUCH heavier than the OEM. Besides that, I've had very good luck with Rancho parts in the past. I'm not worried yet about the OEM stuff, though, once it is made right. My JK is at 130k miles with plenty of abuse, all on the stock components (other than ball joints that were replaced at about 90k miles), and it performs like new and feels tight. As for my dealership, they are pretty good and seeing the slack doesn't require a degree. It's pretty easy to see. Anyway, I'm not wanting to drop a dime into this until they've had a go at it. They are being methodical about it and I'm confident will ultimately solve it so I can put money toward some Baja Designs LP6 lights and either soft doors or half doors. Steer Smart stuff looks great, but is overpriced, IMO.

You won’t see me argue about whether steer smarts is overpriced or not, they probably are. I’ve just seen it do the job. Rancho has just seemed to be superb at coming in under the radar of quality for the last 40 years worth of models. They may have suddenly turned it around though and that would be really great for them, but I need to see things last before I buy in.

 

[plex]

Steersmart is pretty much the Yeti cooler of steering, everyone marvels about it.

 

[jruss]

Steersmart is pretty much the Yeti cooler of steering, everyone marvels about it.

Tbh, not a big fan of the track bars.

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