Death Wobble Suddenly, First Time, No Warning!!! Is this Normal?

[zouch]

the fact that your vehicle handles different when it's been sitting overnight and when it's been driven for a little bit points to the tires; they're the only thing that change while it sits. once they warm up, they're going to perform differently; nothing else changes like that.

a steering stabilizer *might* make your perceived symptoms change; what it will do for certain is put some money in a shops pocket.
i've driven my rig quite a bit without a SS while in the process of building things up and never had a "shimmy" or DW, so my firsthand experience is that if everything is right, a SS is not necessary for anything except to change the resistance turning the steering wheel. (i have an adjustable SS now, and it's set very low most of the time.)
no crack, poppycock or lies involved; my rig drives different than stock, but better than stock. this is amazing to me considering where all it's capable of taking us, but it's a result of having upgraded many parts.

i didn't catch any of your relevant details (how many miles on your J**p, what kind of "lift" you did and what parts were replaced/upgraded, what kind of tires you're using and what pressures you're running them at), but it sounds like your rig isn't done, and needs some attention in places it hasn't gotten yet.

my first bet is on the tires from your description. but assuming all your bushings are good and your "lift" was done correctly, you're possibly looking at needing different Front Control Arms to get past 6º of Negative Camber, and you may need to swap out the cheesy stock factory Ball Joints.

Interestingly enough, I am having a mild to moderate shimmy that is most prevalent when the vehicle has been sitting overnight. In the morning, I hit two curves immediately out of my subdivision at 45-50mph and it's really bad there. I can come back and drive it after driving for 15 minutes and it's not as bad or non-existent.



I've had 3 wheel balances, 3 alignments, two "shake down" services and everyone says, "everything looks good" except for this last time. The shop in Fort Collins CO, Bullhide 4x4, said I needed to replace the steering stabilizer, that's what's wrong. So, when everyone says the steering stabilizer is just covering up for the real problem, I say poppycock!

I firmly believe that anyone who says, "after my lift, it drives better than stock!" is either lying or smoking too much crack. This Jeep drove amazingly when it was stock, night and day difference over the JKUR. After a lift it drives like a 1732 Jeep with 2 wheels and no steering wheel. I'm convinced I'm going to die in this thing and have almost crashed once already due to a pothole/rough road.

I definitely do not enjoy driving my Jeep anymore, it's more of a white knuckle stress fest where previously it was fun, laid back, relaxing, enjoyable. fun times.

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[zouch]

it's normal for things to wear out. and it may take a while for you to encounter the exact conditions necessary to initiate a resonance that we'd call "Death Wobble". so yes, this can appear to come on suddenly.

nothing fishy about it; your rig is 5 years old already, and things have been wearing out for 5 years already. you nailed it when you stated "Coincidentally".

I have read many stories about the dreaded Death Wobble. But until today I never experienced it. And it occured suddenly and without any indication that anything was worn out or getting there. Is this normal?

I Have a 2018 JL Sahara that is stock. It had the Steering Damper replaced under an early recall. It is just over 50K miles on it now.

Coincidentally, it occurred when I took it to the dealership this morning regarding a U-Connect update recall.

Up until today, and oddly enough, on the drive to the dealership, she drove as steady and smooth as ever, at speeds up to 65 MPH.

Upon leaving the dealership, (after their failed attempt to do the U-Connect update because their wi-fi was busted) I got on the highway headed home and at about 55-60 MPH, upon crossing a seam in an overpass, she started shaking insanely, and would not stop until I got her down under maybe 25 MPH.

Sped back up to around 50-55, hit another seam, and started shaking again. At this point I returned to the dealership never exceeding 45 MPH.

Asked them what they did to my front end while they were trying to do a "U-Connect Update". explained what happened. They looked at me like I was nuts.

Told me "Death Wobble" can come on suddenly. Seems fishy to me.

Interestingly enough, they found another recall, regarding an extension to the Steering Damper warranty, that they said nothing about until I went back and reported this issue! Again, fishy.

So does "Death Wobble" just come out of nowhere, with no indication beforehand that something is failing? Or is this them blowing smoke?

Maybe somebody upstairs is looking out for me, since we are/were supposed to take the Jeep on a long road trip this weekend.

 

[Bluerhino]

Similar problem here. I have owned my Sahara JLU since March 2018. A few months in I had a shimmy when going over expansion joints on bridges etc. The dealership didn't have an answer as it was so new to them. Then the recall came out of for the stabilizer. Shortly after the recall for the aluminum steering box. I had those both changed an no more problem. Was great for years.

Earlier this year I replaced my springs and shocks with Rubi take offs and added 3/4; spacers. Then the shimmy came back. Much worse than before. I had the wheel alignment adjusted and two separate shops check the ball joints etc. All good. They couldn't find an issue.

After much research on this forum, thank you contributors, I decided to install a Steer Smarts Yeti track bar, Steer Smarts steering brace and a Falcon stabilizer. I did this just a couple weeks ago.

Night and day difference. Shimmy is gone. But the main point is the steering is tighter, smoother and just seems to track and drive so much better. If I would have known I would have done it years ago. Drives better than new.

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