Death Wobble, got estimate what do you think?

[Bnelsonjax]

Im still a Jeep newbie so please forgive if this is a stupid question. Last weekend, I almost got rear-ended by RV because my Jeep did the "death wobble" on the Highway. I took it to a local mechanic who said it needed:

• Tie Rod
• Drag Link Inner
• Steering Drag Link
• Square Neck
• CLAMP
• TIe Rod Adjusting Sleeve

Total cost including labor was $1859

I guess my question is, does this seem like a decent price? i saw a YouTube video on the replacement, and it said it was about a 2-3 hour job. Meanwhile, i have a mechanic friend who said if I bought the parts, he would install them for a case of beer. So my second question is if i buy the parts, does anyone have suggestions for what mfg to get? OEM?

Rant: every one i spoke to said its very common on wrangler to do death wobble, if its so common why isnt it considered a design flaw and Jeep come up with a fix for it?

Edit: I need to mention i dont offroad with it, so i dont need some rugged stuff.

Thanks for any assistance

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[Fish]

I just installed a Teraflex kit on my dad's jeep and it took us maybe 2-3 hours for everything from tearing it apart and installing. I personally use steer smart. I think your quote is pretty expensive, this can be done by a novice with some tools. Tackle it yourself or have your buddy do it. IF you're going to wheel it then upgrade if not throw stock stuff back on or Teraflex.. I’d also check balljoints and wheel bearings while doing this.

 

[azjl#3]

I bet ball joints are iffy as well.

Do you have the aluminum steering box?

Not sure on your quoted price, might be low actually, seems like maybe using cheap parts. Now would be the time to buy the bulletproof parts. Is the shop a jeep shop, as in you saw other jeep[s there? Ask a local parts supplier like Napa who they would use for jeep work.

get an alignment when done. I use Firestone, use their lifetime alignment. Take it in every year for free from then on. Unless I trade...

 

[Bnelsonjax]

I just installed a Teraflex kit on my dad's jeep and it took us maybe 2-3 hours for everything from tearing it apart and installing. I personally use steer smart. I think your quote is pretty expensive, this can be done by a novice with some tools. Tackle it yourself or have your buddy do it. IF you're going to wheel it then upgrade if not throw stock stuff back on or Teraflex.. I’d also check balljoints and wheel bearings while doing this.

What kit was it? did you install because of the death wobble?

 

[redsyphon]

Seems expensive to me.

Death Wobble can become a rabbit hole if you don't keep things simple.

If you trust this mechanic, then ask them to give some input as to why replacing the drag link, tie rod, etc., is required... Is it blown ball joints?

It could be as simple as a loose nut or two, and require 20 minutes of checking bolts/nuts for torque spec.

If you don't do anything but pavement driving, and you haven't "upgraded" your tires to something beyond stock (or above 33s), then the OEM linkage should be fine.

There's nothing wrong with over engineering and installing beefier components, but I would caution at blindly throwing $2k at it as a first step.

This really is a good chance to learn more about your steering setup in the front of the Jeep. It's a pretty simple system at the end of the day, and I'm a firm believer that anyone with basic tools and a decent torque wrench can fully fix most death wobble as well as perform an "alignment" at home... or more commonly in a parking lot as we tend to do lol.

Note: The steering stabilizer trick also won't last long term, but I'm sure you'll read that somewhere else too if you already haven't.

 

[yokramer]

If you arent planning on off roading and got 6 years out of what you have now just get factory style replacement parts and add ball joints. No reason to spend a bunch of money on performance parts when stock style replacement ones will get you another 6 years likely.

 

[Maverick909]

lets start with how many miles on your jeep. D W can be caused by a lot of different things. anything from tierod and rag link joints failing to bad alignment to bad caster angle. I just put on both tierod and draglink 1 ton setup from metal cloak for 750-800 bucks for parts and shipping. hardest part was getting the stock Pitman arm ball joint to break loose. took about 2 hours in total. Thus the stuck ball joint is was took most of the time. ( yes i know the stabilizer isn't bolted in place. as i took it to have it rebuilt and the bracket changed to the bigger sized tie-rod

 

[Maverick909]

If you arent planning on off roading and got 6 years out of what you have now just get factory style replacement parts and add ball joints. No reason to spend a bunch of money on performance parts when stock style replacement ones will get you another 6 years likely.

good theory but the cost of the stock parts vs a 1 ton aftermarket setup is pennys on the dollar for longer longevity

 

[Fish]

What kit was it? did you install because of the death wobble?

Yes it was installed because of death wobble I have personally had 2 jeeps with it + my fathers, What you need to know is death wobble is not a design flaw.. It is factory parts wearing out like any other front end will. Death wobble is only possible with a straight axle a lot of people with IFS (independent front suspension) are driving around with worn out bushings etc because you ultimately can ignore early signs unless you are inspecting the vehicle when its jacked up.

Your Death wobble can because of the following Rated most likely to least likely.

1. Ball joints / Loose bolts on Track bar
2. Draglink, and or Tie rod / Loose bolts on these causing excess play
3. Control arm bushings
4. Factory Aluminum Steering box/Pitman Arm

The best thing I would say to do is buy a box of beer for your mechanic friend and drive the jeep over to him slowly below 50 mph normally it starts around 50-58 mph. If you have death wobble before that you need to not drive your jeep as something is very likely to fail and rip itself apart.

Have your friend inspect the front components, Or have your significant other, or neighbor turn your steering back and fourth while you look at the individual joints in the front end look for excess play and that will be your culprit.

Message me with any questions.


https://teraflex.com/jl-jt-hd-forged-drag-link-kit-hd-chromoly-tie-rod-kit-0-6-lift.html
I personally do not like Teraflex, I'd go with Steersmart, Synergy, Metalcloak, or even cavfab for steering if you're offroading, if not 100% i'd go OEM.

 

[Jaym]

I got really bad DW after a lift install on a new jeep after a lot of Moab trails and mud on the rim rocker trail. I torqued things down more in Moab and hosed off the wheels. I’m pretty sure it was caused by mud caked on the wheels causing a wheel imbalance.

 

[ym0bc1]

without listing the brand of new components, it is impossible to tell if it's a decent price.

 

[wibornz]

I just installed a Teraflex kit on my dad's jeep and it took us maybe 2-3 hours for everything from tearing it apart and installing. I personally use steer smart. I think your quote is pretty expensive, this can be done by a novice with some tools. Tackle it yourself or have your buddy do it. IF you're going to wheel it then upgrade if not throw stock stuff back on or Teraflex.. I’d also check balljoints and wheel bearings while doing this.

I use Steer Smart. They are a great company with awesome customer service.

 

[gek]

If you have a sport and want to try a factory tie rod/drag link with about 20k on them, I had no issues when I took them off, you can have my old ones. I'm only about an hour and a half or so from Omaha.

My guess is your Ball joints are probably crap though. I changed mine at 16k and while I wasn't having any issues they already felt pretty worn.

You can also have someone turn the wheel while you look at all the joints and make sure there isn't any play in the steering components to possibly narrow down the issue. If you do see some make sure to torque the connectors down and try again. If it is still there after that joint and whatever it's attached to need replaced.

 

[gek]

Also the "steering stabilizer fixed mine" fools must not be early risers. Kudos to everyone in here so far for not giving garbage advise that only covers up the underlying issue.

 

[desmo2]

My Jeep is a '21 JLR, completely stock, with 20k miles.

Since I am retired, most of my driving is local and on 2-lane roads. I had noticed a bit of steering wheel shimmy when I drove over a bridge transition, so I knew some fixes were imminent. My wife still drives on the 4-lanes twice a week, and this week she was driving the Jeep. Tuesday she reported significant shudder when hitting the bridge transitions. Yesterday, she had full-on Death Wobble that forced her to slow and steer toward the shoulder. It stopped at 40 mph. She called me and was pretty shaken up, but continued on to work.

I called a friend of mine and put a plan in action to order a steering stabilizer, and when we install that we would check everything else.

My wife's plan was different. The Jeep dealer in the town she works was a two week wait for service, but they did say it would likely still qualify as a warranty repair due to a class action lawsuit (I know nothing about that). We bought the Jeep 20 minutes farther away, but they were able to not only get her in right away, but when they determined the steering stabilizer needed to be replaced, they had a Fox unit in stock and installed it while she had lunch. This dealership said it SHOULD have been under warranty but that tab wasn't available on her screen for our Jeep (we will be in contact with Jeep Cares, lol). She said it was an entirely new and fresh ride on the way home.

I would rather have done a bit of research on which unit to go with. My friend and I will still put it on a lift next week and check out the rest of the components.

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