Death Wobble. Again.

[S2k Chris]

Sorry to introduce yet another DW post but at this point searching for it brings up information overload and it’s hard to sift through it all.

my Jeep: 21 Rubicon 4xe, completely stock as far as drivetrain/suspension goes. I’ve barely offroaded it, I take it off-road hunting but it’s just unpaved fire roads and the like, no rock crawling. I’ve got +/- 20k miles on it. Jeep has basically been babied, no significant impacts or anything like that.

I’ve always noticed somewhat loose suspension/steering at highway speeds. However the other day I hit an expansion joint at highway speeds and got DW for about 2 minutes until I was able to safely slow down to about 15mph by pulling into the shoulder. I’ve never had it that severe.

I went home, watched the YT videos and read some threads and then crawled under the Jeep. I put a wrench on every front suspension bolt I could find, and everything was snugged up tight. With a pry bar I could flex the front track bar on the axle maybe an 1/8th of an inch side to side? Could that be it? I cranked on the trackbar Bolt as hard as I could and I didn’t tighten it much if any.

I did notice my steering stabilizer was covered in grease (everything else was clean). A while back my dealership told me I needed a new one, said they ordered it, and then later on told me “oh no we messed up, we actually replaced it that day, we didn’t order it.” Smelled like BS then, wreaks of it now; clearly it is still the failed part and I need a new one. However I’ve also read that’s a bandaid not a fix, and a new stabilizer is likely to fail again anyways.

So, questions:

-anything anyone can suggest as a next course of action? Tighten some out of the way suspension bolt that wasn’t obvious?

-should I bother taking it to a dealer? My dealer is OK, not great, and I don’t have high hopes they’ll do anything beyond tell me I need a new stabilizer.

-should I take it to an off-road shop? Would they be better? I’m in Chicagoland if anyone has a go-to shop.

-stabilizer, should I get OEM replacement or something else? I’m under warranty so free is good but if a few hundred bucks is better I’ll spend it.

-tire PSI was a bit high, like 40ish all around. Is that a factor? Seems like most people talk DW in terms of low psi not high.

-should I insist on/go procure an alignment? Worth while? Waste of time?

Any other thoughts??

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[JeepSleep]

- Purchased used 2021 JLUR in May 2022
- Found oil spot in driveway on day 3, failed steering stabilizer (dealer replaced, 6 weeks later...)
- Aug 2022 - DW occurred 6-10 times (subsequently joined this forum)
- Created the attached doc from various posts and information on this forum (THANK YOU to original authors on this forum)
- Returned to dealer with this document, reported DW and asked them to check every part in doc ~ Sept 2022
- Dealer "aligned" wheels and stated they could not find any issues, checked everything
- Did not put many miles on Oct - March (maybe 250)
- March 2023 - DW again, multiple times
- Took to my local mechanic, whom I have been a customer for 25 years. Explained situation, reviewed document, he found loose track bar in 20 minutes, said "needs to be replaced under warranty, < 2 yr old vehicle with 13k miles should not have play in the track bar"
- (Think i now understand why vehicle was traded in, although, no notes/details on Carfax or VIN)
- Back to dealer with information
- Dealer replaced track bar under warranty
- No DW since ?

I purchased the AEV/Bilstein stabilizer, but did not install until DW was corrected due to warranty refusal/aftermarket BS claims.

Good luck!

 

[Jamrock]

Death wobble is often the result of worn suspension parts.

Ask someone to sit in the Jeep and turn the steering wheel from side to side. Lie under the Jeep and look for any components that seem to be loose.

If the part is worn, tightening it will not resolve the issue. Some people choose to replace the worn parts with stock parts. Others choose to replace them with more robust after market parts.

Watch the first 30 seconds of this video.





The suspension used on Jeeps is great for trails and bad roads. It sometimes takes a bit of effort to get it right for regular roads.

 

[VKSheridan]

What David said. If your tie rod ends are worn a few thousandths, it seems like it equals a few inches out at the tire.

Once a jolt gets the tires to playing ping pong with each other, slowing down is the only sensible option.

My ride has 37’s on it and after damaging a bracket for my steering stabilizer, I removed it to drive home. That was the first time I encountered DW. After I repaired the bracket and put the steering stabilizer back on, DW went bye bye. Having felt it though, I think DW is still there, just suppressed so it’s my belief a faulty SS isn’t helping ya and I’d fix that first.

 

[azwjowner]

- Purchased used 2021 JLUR in May 2022
- Found oil spot in driveway on day 3, failed steering stabilizer (dealer replaced, 6 weeks later...)
- Aug 2022 - DW occurred 6-10 times (subsequently joined this forum)
- Created the attached doc from various posts and information on this forum (THANK YOU to original authors on this forum)
- Returned to dealer with this document, reported DW and asked them to check every part in doc ~ Sept 2022
- Dealer "aligned" wheels and stated they could not find any issues, checked everything
- Did not put many miles on Oct - March (maybe 250)
- March 2023 - DW again, multiple times
- Took to my local mechanic, whom I have been a customer for 25 years. Explained situation, reviewed document, he found loose track bar in 20 minutes, said "needs to be replaced under warranty, < 2 yr old vehicle with 13k miles should not have play in the track bar"
- (Think i now understand why vehicle was traded in, although, no notes/details on Carfax or VIN)
- Back to dealer with information
- Dealer replaced track bar under warranty
- No DW since ?

I purchased the AEV/Bilstein stabilizer, but did not install until DW was corrected due to warranty refusal/aftermarket BS claims.

Good luck!

Thanks for compiling all the info in that document! While I hope to never have death wobble, I'm saving it just in case.

 

[Old Jeeper]

Sorry to introduce yet another DW post but at this point searching for it brings up information overload and it’s hard to sift through it all.

my Jeep: 21 Rubicon 4xe, completely stock as far as drivetrain/suspension goes. I’ve barely offroaded it, I take it off-road hunting but it’s just unpaved fire roads and the like, no rock crawling. I’ve got +/- 20k miles on it. Jeep has basically been babied, no significant impacts or anything like that.

I’ve always noticed somewhat loose suspension/steering at highway speeds. However the other day I hit an expansion joint at highway speeds and got DW for about 2 minutes until I was able to safely slow down to about 15mph by pulling into the shoulder. I’ve never had it that severe.

I went home, watched the YT videos and read some threads and then crawled under the Jeep. I put a wrench on every front suspension bolt I could find, and everything was snugged up tight. With a pry bar I could flex the front track bar on the axle maybe an 1/8th of an inch side to side? Could that be it? I cranked on the trackbar Bolt as hard as I could and I didn’t tighten it much if any.

I did notice my steering stabilizer was covered in grease (everything else was clean). A while back my dealership told me I needed a new one, said they ordered it, and then later on told me “oh no we messed up, we actually replaced it that day, we didn’t order it.” Smelled like BS then, wreaks of it now; clearly it is still the failed part and I need a new one. However I’ve also read that’s a bandaid not a fix, and a new stabilizer is likely to fail again anyways.

So, questions:

-anything anyone can suggest as a next course of action? Tighten some out of the way suspension bolt that wasn’t obvious?

-should I bother taking it to a dealer? My dealer is OK, not great, and I don’t have high hopes they’ll do anything beyond tell me I need a new stabilizer.

-should I take it to an off-road shop? Would they be better? I’m in Chicagoland if anyone has a go-to shop.

-stabilizer, should I get OEM replacement or something else? I’m under warranty so free is good but if a few hundred bucks is better I’ll spend it.

-tire PSI was a bit high, like 40ish all around. Is that a factor? Seems like most people talk DW in terms of low psi not high.

-should I insist on/go procure an alignment? Worth while? Waste of time?

Any other thoughts??

Grease (oil) on the SS...may be going bad, REPLACE it NOW ASAP.

RULE ! At the first sign of DW, immediately (IF NOT SOONER) replace your SS.

There I was rolling down I 10, cross an expansion joint and DW raised its ugly head. I knew there was a NAPA store at the next exit, I took it, bought a SS and borrowed a couple of tools from the Store and swapped out my SS for a new one, right there in the parking lot. The longer you go on a DW SS the more prone you are to do damagee to your entire front suspension system....

 

[Gregj]

@S2k Chris no one has mentioned it yet but the Mopar LCA’s will help with the “loose feeling” at highway speeds.

68322798AA x2 will make a huge difference
Gregj

 

[CenTX JPR]

Ball joints.

 

[jaymz]

Not that any sort of wobble is good or acceptable, but are you certain that it was "death wobble?
The reason I ask is that driving for 2 minutes is a really long time to drive a vehicle that is experiencing it.

 

[silverooby]

Sorry to introduce yet another DW post but at this point searching for it brings up information overload and it’s hard to sift through it all.

my Jeep: 21 Rubicon 4xe, completely stock as far as drivetrain/suspension goes. I’ve barely offroaded it, I take it off-road hunting but it’s just unpaved fire roads and the like, no rock crawling. I’ve got +/- 20k miles on it. Jeep has basically been babied, no significant impacts or anything like that.

I’ve always noticed somewhat loose suspension/steering at highway speeds. However the other day I hit an expansion joint at highway speeds and got DW for about 2 minutes until I was able to safely slow down to about 15mph by pulling into the shoulder. I’ve never had it that severe.

I went home, watched the YT videos and read some threads and then crawled under the Jeep. I put a wrench on every front suspension bolt I could find, and everything was snugged up tight. With a pry bar I could flex the front track bar on the axle maybe an 1/8th of an inch side to side? Could that be it? I cranked on the trackbar Bolt as hard as I could and I didn’t tighten it much if any.

I did notice my steering stabilizer was covered in grease (everything else was clean). A while back my dealership told me I needed a new one, said they ordered it, and then later on told me “oh no we messed up, we actually replaced it that day, we didn’t order it.” Smelled like BS then, wreaks of it now; clearly it is still the failed part and I need a new one. However I’ve also read that’s a bandaid not a fix, and a new stabilizer is likely to fail again anyways.

So, questions:

-anything anyone can suggest as a next course of action? Tighten some out of the way suspension bolt that wasn’t obvious?

-should I bother taking it to a dealer? My dealer is OK, not great, and I don’t have high hopes they’ll do anything beyond tell me I need a new stabilizer.

-should I take it to an off-road shop? Would they be better? I’m in Chicagoland if anyone has a go-to shop.

-stabilizer, should I get OEM replacement or something else? I’m under warranty so free is good but if a few hundred bucks is better I’ll spend it.

-tire PSI was a bit high, like 40ish all around. Is that a factor? Seems like most people talk DW in terms of low psi not high.

-should I insist on/go procure an alignment? Worth while? Waste of time?

Any other thoughts??

I had wobble and it turned out to be the track bar. I installed a track bar support at the drivers side connection and eliminated the wobble completely. I was not able to detect any movement in the track bar crawling under the Jeep, so if you say you have 1/8”, I’d be very suspicious. I takes very little to cause the problem.

 

[Headbarcode]

An eighth inch of side to side movement at either end of the track bar is an eighth inch too much. A stronger aftermarket track bar would be my first point of attack.

I'd also replace that stabilizer. OEM or aftermarket? As much as I don't care for the former, it's still free and good enough for the time being. An aftermarket one will cost a few hundred, and could easily snowball into new steering linkages in order to relocate the pricier stabilizer up higher and protected.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

You might also road force balance your tires. I never got full DW, but I got very close after hitting a pothole on the freeway…. Rebalancing my tires remedied the situation.

 

[AirplaneWrangler]

I am also in a similar situation. I feel like at this point I should just upgrade all three parts, drag link, tie rod and track bar. It feels awful to spend as much as we did on a new 4xE but I feel long term I’ll be more satisfied and confident on the road and trail. I’m going with the steer smart XD upgrades, I don’t trust a dealership replacement.

 

[Slick2021]

Sorry to introduce yet another DW post but at this point searching for it brings up information overload and it’s hard to sift through it all.

my Jeep: 21 Rubicon 4xe, completely stock as far as drivetrain/suspension goes. I’ve barely offroaded it, I take it off-road hunting but it’s just unpaved fire roads and the like, no rock crawling. I’ve got +/- 20k miles on it. Jeep has basically been babied, no significant impacts or anything like that.

I’ve always noticed somewhat loose suspension/steering at highway speeds. However the other day I hit an expansion joint at highway speeds and got DW for about 2 minutes until I was able to safely slow down to about 15mph by pulling into the shoulder. I’ve never had it that severe.

I went home, watched the YT videos and read some threads and then crawled under the Jeep. I put a wrench on every front suspension bolt I could find, and everything was snugged up tight. With a pry bar I could flex the front track bar on the axle maybe an 1/8th of an inch side to side? Could that be it? I cranked on the trackbar Bolt as hard as I could and I didn’t tighten it much if any.

I did notice my steering stabilizer was covered in grease (everything else was clean). A while back my dealership told me I needed a new one, said they ordered it, and then later on told me “oh no we messed up, we actually replaced it that day, we didn’t order it.” Smelled like BS then, wreaks of it now; clearly it is still the failed part and I need a new one. However I’ve also read that’s a bandaid not a fix, and a new stabilizer is likely to fail again anyways.

So, questions:

-anything anyone can suggest as a next course of action? Tighten some out of the way suspension bolt that wasn’t obvious?

-should I bother taking it to a dealer? My dealer is OK, not great, and I don’t have high hopes they’ll do anything beyond tell me I need a new stabilizer.

-should I take it to an off-road shop? Would they be better? I’m in Chicagoland if anyone has a go-to shop.

-stabilizer, should I get OEM replacement or something else? I’m under warranty so free is good but if a few hundred bucks is better I’ll spend it.

-tire PSI was a bit high, like 40ish all around. Is that a factor? Seems like most people talk DW in terms of low psi not high.

-should I insist on/go procure an alignment? Worth while? Waste of time?

Any other thoughts??

Were you able to resolve the DW?

 

[S2k Chris]

Yes. Dealer replaced the steering stabilizer and it went away.


Then I returned the leased vehicle

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