Bump steer or death wobble?

[kah.mun.rah]

Agreed but I thought I read he upgraded his track bar. Could have read it wrong. What I am saying is I find it hard to believe a SS ‘causes’ DW. A worn or defective SS could do nothing to mask it but it in itself is not the cause/problem.

I was in that camp myself but after two cases where the stabilizer was the issue, my opinion has changed.

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[dragoneggs]

I was in that camp myself but after two cases where the stabilizer was the issue, my opinion has changed.

So you are truly saying the SS caused DW? Did you take it off and run it without any SS to see if it was cured?

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Gonna give it a shot this week to take off the SS then and see what the jeep does.

I know the stock steering stab is weak but i recall a video from steersmarts showing off their steering, and running no SS without death wobble.

I do also wanna check the alignment just to be sure as well.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

update:

@Roky thanks for the suggestion of touching it. Helped a lot actually link below.

So what I found, I think my tie rod is tired but not totally shot yet. But I was hearing a small clunk, touched the drag link and felt it. Coming from the TRE connecting to the pitman arm. The other layer to this is that the pitman arm rubbed against my swaybar for a bit until the sway bar self cleared itself. Sway bars been on for 2 years now too though.

Either way, it has up and down play, and thunks a bit. So i’m now going to operate under the assumption that my drag link is the cause. Thank you all for the suggestions.

Next just gotta figure which steering system I wanna order, local shop wants to recommend teraflex, but gonna see if they will order rpm for me. They won’t install customer supplied parts sadly. But the teraflex set up doesn’t look half bad either.

 

[dragoneggs]

I suggest you replace both your drag link and your tie rod. If one bushing is worn, it will accelerate the wear on the rest of the bushings.

People make the mistake of replacing maybe just the worst offender, only to have moved the cause of the problem to the another worn joint.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

I suggest you replace both your drag link and your tie rod. If one bushing is worn, it will accelerate the wear on the rest of the bushings.

People make the mistake of replacing maybe just the worst offender, only to have moved the cause of the problem to the another worn joint.

No of course, it’ll be pricy but I’m gonna do both. Figured it was already time either way, 72k miles in stock steering, 50k with 35s. Was a matter of time when it would first start showing signs.

For now leaning towards TF as of now, I’m digging the idea of being able to tighten the joint, and prolong use, and then it’s also swappable.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

So you are truly saying the SS caused DW? Did you take it off and run it without any SS to see if it was cured?

Yes, IMO a defective SS can cause it (when there is not equal right to left pressure in the SS). Removing the SS will allow equal pressure (no pressure both directions) so it may or may not cause DW with it removed. Rather than taking the SS off, a great way to test it is if a person thinks they have a defective SS and are getting DW, put the suspected bad SS on a friend's Jeep. If the DW then happens on that Jeep as well, it is pretty clear that it is the SS and not a matter of "masking" the same suspension issue on both Jeeps.

On my 2018 the Jeep was brand new when the DW was happening and worked fine for the next 50K miles I owned it after the original SS was replaced.
On my 2021 after less than 500 miles of the the TeraFlex stabilizer bracket breaking the DW started. The bracket was replaced and I have driven it over 50K miles since the bracket has been replaced with no DW.
Whether the new SS and the new SS bracket in those two scenarios was the fix or just a mask, at the end of the day the DW is gone and all of the other suspension joints are healthy.

 

[GaryToo]

On Previous Jeeps I did not use a SS after installing aftermarket steering components. Mainly because I did not want it to hide an issue. I'd rather feel and fix an issue early rather than cover it up

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Just a friendly update: Holy shit the jeep feels phenomenal. Teraflex tierod, drag link and falcon 2.2 and it feels tight as can be. The front end is officially built minus the knuckles which will come next when it’s time to rebuild the BJs.

Off to an alignment shop tomorrow morning and it’ll be better. It kinda darts around on whatever it’s af right now

 

[gek]

When my 2018 OEM stabilizer was defective I had the wobble which went away after upgrading to a Fox. On my 2021 the TeraFlex stabilizer bracket broke, wobble started, and went away after the bracket was repaired. As far as the other suspension is concerned, a loose Track bar connection is typically the culprit to check before the drag link and tie rod.

So the stabilizer failed and stopped masking it, so you replaced it with a better one and it masked the issue again. Then the bracket broke and once again the stabilizer wasn't masking it until the bracket was fixed so the stabilizer could mask it and you blame it on the stabilizer.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

So the stabilizer failed and stopped masking it, so you replaced it with a better one and it masked the issue again. Then the bracket broke and once again the stabilizer wasn't masking it until the bracket was fixed so the stabilizer could mask it and you blame it on the stabilizer.

Haha! Can I ask what you feel is being masked? If you read my comment you will notice that the two scenarios were on two separate JLs. Neither one had/has issues with suspension connections, ball joints, or tires. The first JL was brand new and came with a defective stabilizer from the factory. The 2nd JL was completely fine until the day an aftermarket stabilizer bracket broke. As I have said before, the stabilizer is not always the root cause and can possibly hide issues in other defective suspension parts; however, a bad stabilizer by itself can be the root cause.

 

[dragoneggs]

As I have said before, the stabilizer is not always the root cause and can possibly hide issues in other defective suspension parts; however, a bad stabilizer by itself can be the root cause.

Please explain how…

 

[gek]

Haha! Can I ask what you feel is being masked? If you read my comment you will notice that the two scenarios were on two separate JLs. Neither one had/has issues with suspension connections, ball joints, or tires. The first JL was brand new and came with a defective stabilizer from the factory. The 2nd JL was completely fine until the day an aftermarket stabilizer bracket broke. As I have said before, the stabilizer is not always the root cause and can possibly hide issues in other defective suspension parts; however, a bad stabilizer by itself can be the root cause.

I saw it was two different JLs and it doesn't make any difference. The stabilizers only purpose is to minimize oscillations in the front end. It is literally just a shock for your steering.

In both of your scenarios it wasn't able to do that because it was worn out or broken. Stabilizer not stabilizing means it can't hide whatever is causing the oscillations.

Please explain how a stabilizer can cause oscillations to happen and also explain how the hundreds of thousands of vehicles (like service trucks) with solid front axles and no stabilizers can possibly manage to drive down the road.

If everything was perfect on your Jeep you wouldn't need a steering stabilizer at all. I still have the stock one on my wife's 2018 and my 2021. Both have been modded and wheeled. Mine was even hit it's dented and scratched.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

I saw it was two different JLs and it doesn't make any difference. The stabilizers only purpose is to minimize oscillations in the front end. It is literally just a shock for your steering.

In both of your scenarios it wasn't able to do that because it was worn out or broken. Stabilizer not stabilizing means it can't hide whatever is causing the oscillations.

Please explain how a stabilizer can cause oscillations to happen and also explain how the hundreds of thousands of vehicles (like service trucks) with solid front axles and no stabilizers can possibly manage to drive down the road.

If everything was perfect on your Jeep you wouldn't need a steering stabilizer at all. I still have the stock one on my wife's 2018 and my 2021. Both have been modded and wheeled. Mine was even hit it's dented and scratched.

Gonna chime in with shock in your steering

I didn’t realize how weak the stock one was. Jeep feels so much smoother over bumps where I normally expect some bump steer it’s totally absorbed now. So yes it does mask it heavily.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

I saw it was two different JLs and it doesn't make any difference. The stabilizers only purpose is to minimize oscillations in the front end. It is literally just a shock for your steering.

In both of your scenarios it wasn't able to do that because it was worn out or broken. Stabilizer not stabilizing means it can't hide whatever is causing the oscillations.

Please explain how a stabilizer can cause oscillations to happen and also explain how the hundreds of thousands of vehicles (like service trucks) with solid front axles and no stabilizers can possibly manage to drive down the road.

If everything was perfect on your Jeep you wouldn't need a steering stabilizer at all. I still have the stock one on my wife's 2018 and my 2021. Both have been modded and wheeled. Mine was even hit it's dented and scratched.

There is a big difference between no stabilizer and one that works in one direction and not the other. Your odds of dw are a lot lower if there is equal freedom or equal restriction both directions. If one direction flows freely and the other is bound, that inconsistency or binding can cause residual issues though the suspension which can start a dw, as I have discovered in two difference scenarios. At the end of the day, if repairing my stabilizer was a fix or simply "masking", the dw is gone and everything else has been fine on my suspension for the past 50K+ miles on both JLs, so either way, call it what you want, I still call it a win.

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