Death Wobble Fixed...for free???

[cosmokenney]

"The NHTSA has investigated, and determined that it does not pose a significant safety risk."

In short, ain't nobody died, so we don't care. You gotta love the government.

I will say that on the interstate at over 70 mpg's when mine hits that perfect bump you can feel a slight wobble. It's nothing disconcerting, but I think I can figure out how an owner feels when they have the full blown thing. As my dear old Daddy used to say, "That would scare my mule".

I have what I call a baby wobble. It doesn't scare me at this point. But what does concern me is how bad will it be 5 years from now when all the bushings and everything else in the suspension have loosened up?

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[melendez69]

Just got under it again and my bulge is on top . It's on upside down, will go back to dealership. Thanks for the info!

It's definitely installed wrong.

Dont know but just stating that according to that article, its for all JLs. The user I quoted thought it was only for 2018 JLs

The wording is:

"A Jeep spokesperson said an internal study found that only the JL Wrangler, introduced for the 2018 model year, requires this particular fix."

Which might make it seem as though its saying the 2018 Model Year JL only. But its just saying that the JL was introduced in 2018 and the fix is for any JL. Had there been no comma between Wrangler and Introduced...then I would say its just for the 2018 JL.

Not being a grammar police, just clearing that up for anyone who thought the same and were bummed out they would miss out on a fix.

Anyone, who's not sure, should check the part #
(see what I did there?)

580 AC is the recalled stabilizer
580 AE is the replacement

*No, that's not my sausage link of a thumb.

 

[Wanted33]

I have what I call a baby wobble. It doesn't scare me at this point. But what does concern me is how bad will it be 5 years from now when all the bushings and everything else in the suspension have loosened up?

I'm hoping we'll be OK Cosmo. We're just now at 3500 miles on our road trip, and everything still feels good. I think the "baby wobble" (good name BTW) is just going to be the nature of the beast. A solid front axle is just going to act differently than the IFS when hitting bumps. As I said, it's not every bump we hit. It seems to be the ones that run at an angle when I'm running at interstate speeds (70+). Anything under that the tires are solid to the road.

 

[cosmokenney]

I'm hoping we'll be OK Cosmo. We're just now at 3500 miles on our road trip, and everything still feels good. I think the "baby wobble" (good name BTW) is just going to be the nature of the beast. A solid front axle is just going to act differently than the IFS when hitting bumps. As I said, it's not every bump we hit. It seems to be the ones that run at an angle when I'm running at interstate speeds (70+). Anything under that the tires are solid to the road.

You are probably right. Though my YJ never had a wobble, neither did my Cherokee or Liberty (not sure if they are solid axle)

 

[Wanted33]

You are probably right. Though my YJ never had a wobble, neither did my Cherokee or Liberty (not sure if they are solid axle)

I'm sure the older ones had the solid front axle also. I didn't even think of that when I offered up that opinion. So, I guess we'll just have to fall back on hoping everything will be fine with age. I'm not gonna worry over it though. I'm just gonna drive it, and enjoy the ride.

 

[ryan2100]

Just sent this info to dealer, they agreed it's upside down and want me to bring it back.
Thanks guys!

I just took my jeep in for the recall on the steering damper as well. I was having no issues but figured I would just get it replaced. However, after the recall service I started to get the death wobbles. Ironic that a recall to prevent the death wobble actually caused it. I went and inspected and they had also installed my steering damper upside down with the "front of vehicle" arrow pointing to the rear. Took it back in today and they confirmed it was installed incorrectly and upside down. It seems like the death wobble is gone

 

[Martindfletcher]

It needs to be put on the proper way. It may be upside down but the proper way across the Jeep, but apparently there's some sort of valve that requires the sticker to be facing down, and the arrow point towards the front.

I hope my fox one is not directional..

 

[melendez69]

I hope my fox one is not directional..

The Fox stabilizer is... the thicker bushing should be face-down.

And...

 

[Greg H]

I just took my jeep in for the recall on the steering damper as well. I was having no issues but figured I would just get it replaced. However, after the recall service I started to get the death wobbles. Ironic that a recall to prevent the death wobble actually caused it. I went and inspected and they had also installed my steering damper upside down with the "front of vehicle" arrow pointing to the rear. Took it back in today and they confirmed it was installed incorrectly and upside down. It seems like the death wobble is gone

the instructions for the dealer state it will not work properly if installed upside down. That's why it caused the issue. It also states it may damage the damper. Since you drove it with it mounted upside down, you should have made them replace it with a new one because it may have been damaged.

 

[Martindfletcher]

985-24-173 I have the fox one like stock didn’t notice any difference in the bushings. There is screw or vent on the body that is either top or down.

 

[ArmorAPLarry]

If you are still having issue there are some upgrades like Fox or Steer Smarts.
-Larry
Armor Auto Parts
https://armorautoparts.com/collections/steering-jl

 

[melendez69]

985-24-173 I have the fox one like stock didn’t notice any difference in the bushings. There is screw or vent on the body that is either top or down.

I have the ATS... I checked the instructions and the thicker bushing face-down only applies to the ATS (983-02-148).
I probably should have done that first

 

[Martindfletcher]

I have the ATS... I checked the instructions and the thicker bushing face-down only applies to the ATS (983-02-148).
I probably should have done that first

Honestly my eyes suck and enjoy a few pints working on the rig. Wouldn’t surprise if I missed something like that..

 

[ryan2100]

the instructions for the dealer state it will not work properly if installed upside down. That's why it caused the issue. It also states it may damage the damper. Since you drove it with it mounted upside down, you should have made them replace it with a new one because it may have been damaged.

Well I drove it again today and still had the death wobbles, it may be slightly better, but still there. I also noticed that they changed the air pressure on my tires. I have 34" tires that I chalk tested and run them at 28psi... It looks like the same guy who put my damper on wrong also decided my tires needed to be inflated to 45 psi. I will put them back to 28 and see how it rides. I think I will take your advice either way and have them replace the damper. Where did you see the info that it can damage it if installed upside down? it would be nice to have some documentation to get them to replace it again.

 

[Greg H]

Well I drove it again today and still had the death wobbles, it may be slightly better, but still there. I also noticed that they changed the air pressure on my tires. I have 34" tires that I chalk tested and run them at 28psi... It looks like the same guy who put my damper on wrong also decided my tires needed to be inflated to 45 psi. I will put them back to 28 and see how it rides. I think I will take your advice either way and have them replace the damper. Where did you see the info that it can damage it if installed upside down? it would be nice to have some documentation to get them to replace it again.

It was on post 148 of this thread https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/got-the-v41-recall-work-done.32867/page-10

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