Death Wobble at 6400 miles

[jruss]

There is a service bulletin for stabilizers below a certain number, can’t remember what it is. Air bubbles in the cylinder causing steering shimmy. I think a lot of people confuse death wobble with shimmy - if you have had seat wobble in a JK you know it is very violent and requires you to come a complete stop, slowing down or driving slow will not stop death wobble.

That’s shocking (pun intended).

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[jruss]

I had my stabilizer replaced at 7300 miles and I still have the issue. Granted, it is somewhat better, it is still there. So at least in my case, the stabilizer was a bandaid. It is back in the shop now...

I am going to go out on a limb here and say something is loose or has failed. Chasing death wobble with stabilizers just leads to more broken stuff down the line. Eventually it gets to the steering box and damages the sector shaft then stuff starts getting pretty pricey. I hope they can get you straightened out under warranty.

 

[TheJoyceIsYours]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say something is loose or has failed. Chasing death wobble with stabilizers just leads to more broken stuff down the line. Eventually it gets to the steering box and damages the sector shaft then stuff starts getting pretty pricey. I hope they can get you straightened out under warranty.

Totally agree. On the second time I brought it in, the service tech said that it would only be a bandaid as well... Then he was told to replace the stabilizer...

 

[FrankieFJL]

Here is the bulletin

Can you tell me where you got this? I want to show it to my dealer.

 

[Swanny297]

Can you tell me where you got this? I want to show it to my dealer.

Found it posted on a JL Facebook forum

 

[TopPinArcher]

The issue is exaserbated if the caster is off or ball joints are worn or of course something is loose. Mine wobbled after a going around a corner and hitting a pothole at 41mph but I could not replicate.. everything checked out good.. just waiting on the New Teraflex Falcon 2.1 stabilizer, Fox was backordered out til December. Once I get it back I’ll post all the specs.

I had my stabilizer replaced at 7300 miles and I still have the issue. Granted, it is somewhat better, it is still there. So at least in my case, the stabilizer was a bandaid. It is back in the shop now...

 

[DirtRoad1981]

Anyone have the Torque specs for the JL? And point me in the right direction for them.

 

[SpringsJL]

I had horrible DW from 30-40mph where had to slow down so bad it loosened up my Mopar Lift. After rebalancing 20x35 wheels, multiple alignments nothing seem to fix the wobble UNTIL I added the Falcon 2.2 adj Shock and bam no more feeling every bump in my steering wheel or wandering on uneven pavement. My factory Stabilizer failed me, do yourself a favor and upgrade this part if you haven’t figured out your Death Wobble situation. Love it so far

 

[bumpit]

Stop drinking the steering stabilizer koolaid. If your shit is setup right you won't have death wobble, simple as that. Something is wrong. If your taking it to a dealership 90% of the time I've seen them throw that bandaid at it only to fail again. Learn to fix it or check for the problems yourself or take it to a reputable offroad shop. Most dealerships aren't very well versed in offroad suspensions let alone troubleshooting them.

I'd start with the tires and wheels since they're beadlocks they could have messed something up since most shops dont see them a lot (unless they're the jeep beadlocks and they didnt actually install them as a beadlock). Then start checking torque settings and work your way down the list of things to check.

For example I once took a 2 door jk on a test drive with the wife for her. She was driving it about 50 and it was so bad she had to pull over and refused to drive it anymore. It happened to me too. We got back to the dealership and I was explaining that it was dangerous and had a violently bad death wobble. Their response was yeah we know it needs a new steering stabilizer. We left and never came back.

 

[neonpoke]

Stop drinking the steering stabilizer koolaid. If your shit is setup right you won't have death wobble, simple as that. Something is wrong. If your taking it to a dealership 90% of the time I've seen them throw that bandaid at it only to fail again. Learn to fix it or check for the problems yourself or take it to a reputable offroad shop. Most dealerships aren't very well versed in offroad suspensions let alone troubleshooting them.

I'd start with the tires and wheels since they're beadlocks they could have messed something up since most shops dont see them a lot (unless they're the jeep beadlocks and they didnt actually install them as a beadlock). Then start checking torque settings and work your way down the list of things to check.

For example I once took a 2 door jk on a test drive with the wife for her. She was driving it about 50 and it was so bad she had to pull over and refused to drive it anymore. It happened to me too. We got back to the dealership and I was explaining that it was dangerous and had a violently bad death wobble. Their response was yeah we know it needs a new steering stabilizer. We left and never came back.

Seriously. Stabilizers only mask the problem, they don't fix it. It's scary how many people are suggesting this as an appropriate fix.

 

[Blackwing 55]

I have a Mopar Lifted since new JLUR with 37’s and Beadlocks, violent wobble this morning generated at 41mph. Goes in to the shop tomorrow to asses. Haven’t experienced this since my 2010 built JKUR. Not going to speculate yet, just wondering who else has has their JL wobble.. I still love my JL and this is the first real issue

I now have 9,000 miles on my JLUR with the Mopar 2" and still running the stock tires and wheels, I haven't had the death wobble but the colder the outside temp is the more I get a steering wheel shake when I hit a bump just right and it doesn't seem to be speed related, I have a Teraflex Falcon 2.2 on order and from all the research I've done I'm hoping this will take care of the problem especially since I plan to run 35s or possibly even 37s in the near future.

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