Another death wobble...beating it to DEATH!

[KarlN]

OK, I know this has been covered a million times over but really?? I have a 2021 4XE Rubicon with only 9000 miles on it...

At about 1000 miles I had professionally installed a Clayton 2.5 lift, Fox resident shocks and 35's on after market rims with slightly more offset. Very mild modifications..

8000 miles later with maybe 3K off-road I experienced severe death wobble several times between 60 and 70 MPH on I80 that severely shuttered the entire truck until getting town around 35MPH. Other cars on the road were getting out of my way one time so it must have even looked bad! May wife was very shaken(no pun intended) and didn't even want me to get back on the interstate to head home. I never imagined it would be so severe and always assumed others inflated the issue.

This all happened about 1000 miles after hearing a click at low speeds in the L/F. I couldn't find a problem then, took it into the dealer and ended up being charged for inspection and nothing found. They said because of the lift any diagnosis is not covered and the only issue was they felt I needed a drop pitman arm which after research is ridiculous for a 2.5 lift... Mopar themselves don't even make one for there lift.

After the issue I called a different dealer and they said they would replace the steering damper and that it "fixes 90% of them'.

Thinking about this...why would anyone want to chance a repair with the same part that MAYBE caused a severe issue at 9000 miles. After all, at this point the wife doesn't even want to get back in it.

I checked all bolts...tight, did find some slight play in the drag link at the pitman arm which was perhaps the clicking too..It could not be seen but felt when your hand is on it and the wheel is turned 10 to 2 o'clock

Jeep knows almost everybody mods their Jeep so the warranty becomes a joke. Pis on that and fix it right.

Long winded but here is my thing...WHY ON EARTH would they put such cheep crap steering parts in an iconic off-road truck that boasts rugged capability costing over 65K loaded? I mean plastic sockets and not even able to grease?

Today I ordered perhaps overkill but I don't want this issue again!

1.CavFab 2.5 ton 7075 alum steering kit
2. TMS dampener bracket and relocation bolt
3. Fox ATS adj. dampener
4. re-align rotate and balance

Hope it works, out of warranty next month anyway unless I buy extended but if they don't cover anything why?

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[evo8904]

I wouldn’t even waste my time with the dealership. They are completely incompetent especially when it comes to “death wobble”. Vast majority of dealers will act like they have never heard of death wobble.

I would go ahead and swap out the ball joints along with the other parts you have. I go a little overboard with parts too. I use issues like my steering wheel minor shake as an excuse to buy parts.

https://metalcloak.com/jl-wrangler-ball-joint-set-upgrade-kit.html

https://www.polyperformance.com/dyn...ep-wrangler-jl-2019-current-jeep-gladiator-jt

 

[Herson]

I installed a rubicon 392, which in my setup the jeep gained about 2”. My wobbles started after I installed the fox TS stabilizer. Eventually I installed a clayton 3.5” lift and the wobbles were worst. I started by adding the synergy steering brace, rpm steering 2.5 ton draglink and tierod, front and rear trackbar relocation brackets and teraflex HD ball joints. After all this I still had some wobbles. I decided to swap the Fox TS stabilizer for the Fox ATS and adjusted it to 20 clicks. That solved my problem and after all those upgrades, the Jeep rides better than new. I know people say wobbles is not a stabilizer thing. However, in my case, after all the upgrades and correct geometry, I still had them. It was a bad stabilizer. I would say, ho for all the upgrades you can if you can afford them.

 

[Nokones]

I would check your front toe. In my opinion, you can care less about the turn-in and corner push vs. rear-oversteer like on a race track. I would try Zero Toe in order to keep the wheels straight as possible when the front wheel(s) articulate(s) when you travel over the bumps.

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