Death Wobble Virginity, Gone

[Krawler]

So I have a rancho track bar with about 5K miles on it. I replaced first before the synergy came out. Do you think there is a possibility that bushing is bad? Seems fast considering I haven't wheeled it since before and just daily driving to and from work. Debated spending the 275$ for a new synergy track bar just so everything matches. Feels like a waste but whatever at this point.

Stock jeep - no wobble, little wander
new track bar - no wobble, less wander
new tie rod, drag link, flipped stabilizer - Bad wobble, same wander
new alignment, retorqued everything, new stabilizer, less wobble, same wander

Ball joints are good. torqued and no movement. took cotter pins off tie rod ends and checked torque, all good. Some suggest caster can help. You don't think so? There aren't that many moving parts. so dumb.

Do you still have all your original components? Maybe it makes sense to go back to stock and start over. The caster will help your steering/wander issue. There will always be a little bit of wander, these things don't have the steering precision of a Porsche 911.

My installer was adamant about not upgrading/changing any components to fix issues as the original (with low miles) should drive perfectly fine. I was skeptical, but he was right. My issues had nothing to do with components as I alluded to earlier.

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[Will]

After 15 years of bouncing perfectly good Jeeps off of rocks, I have run into a handful of death wobble issues. There were a few instances where loose steering components or worn out bushings were the cause. Typically replacing components takes care of those issues because they have new bushings and are typically torqued to spec when they are installed properly. But if you have death wobble, the cheapest and easiest place to start is to inspect all the steering linkage/track bar/ front control arm bolts and torque to spec to make sure there is no play.

90% of the death wobble issues that I have seen ended up being contributed to tires and balancing. The bigger and heavier the tire that you go with, the more susceptible they are to vibration and then wobble. For my personal instances, It typically would show up after a wheeling trip; I'd either knocked off a wheel weight or mud had dried behind a wheel spoke where I couldn't get to it and that would throw off the balance. Also, I've seen a couple of guys go cheap on their tire brands and they were never able to get them balanced correctly. They were just so poorly balanced from their castings that they would never ride right so then the guys finally bought a good brand and never had wobble after that. Today it seems to be getting better: there are some cheaper brands that are actually making good products. At least a lot of people seem to be having good luck with Milestar. Tires are one thing that I make sure to buy a trustest brand on, especially when you are jumping up into big sizes. You want to make sure you get something that can balance out. You have to be wary of cheap wheels these days as well.

Just remember, Jeep uses solid axles up front for durability and not comfortability. They also accommodate more flex than today's typical IFS setup. But they also make your Jeep ride like a covered wagon. I'm glad that Jeep is staying with it. For me, it will be a sad day when they have to break from tradition, but it may be happening with the next model Wrangler. I'm sure they are tired of the death wobble complaints as much as the current owners. It's just something you have to live with on a solid axle vehicle.

Good luck!

 

[Adam 4248]

After 15 years of bouncing perfectly good Jeeps off of rocks, I have run into a handful of death wobble issues. There were a few instances where loose steering components or worn out bushings were the cause. Typically replacing components takes care of those issues because they have new bushings and are typically torqued to spec when they are installed properly. But if you have death wobble, the cheapest and easiest place to start is to inspect all the steering linkage/track bar/ front control arm bolts and torque to spec to make sure there is no play.

90% of the death wobble issues that I have seen ended up being contributed to tires and balancing. The bigger and heavier the tire that you go with, the more susceptible they are to vibration and then wobble. For my personal instances, It typically would show up after a wheeling trip; I'd either knocked off a wheel weight or mud had dried behind a wheel spoke where I couldn't get to it and that would throw off the balance. Also, I've seen a couple of guys go cheap on their tire brands and they were never able to get them balanced correctly. They were just so poorly balanced from their castings that they would never ride right so then the guys finally bought a good brand and never had wobble after that. Today it seems to be getting better: there are some cheaper brands that are actually making good products. At least a lot of people seem to be having good luck with Milestar. Tires are one thing that I make sure to buy a trustest brand on, especially when you are jumping up into big sizes. You want to make sure you get something that can balance out. You have to be wary of cheap wheels these days as well.

Just remember, Jeep uses solid axles up front for durability and not comfortability. They also accommodate more flex than today's typical IFS setup. But they also make your Jeep ride like a covered wagon. I'm glad that Jeep is staying with it. For me, it will be a sad day when they have to break from tradition, but it may be happening with the next model Wrangler. I'm sure they are tired of the death wobble complaints as much as the current owners. It's just something you have to live with on a solid axle vehicle.

Good luck!

I concur that unbalanced wheels are a main cause. I have a 1948 Power Wagon. Solid front axle, 11 leafs per side, all new steering components, bushings, bearings, etc... it also had death wobble, which is somewhat common for these trucks. A factory rim and tire weighs 140 pounds! and it would take a lot to balance one of those... Several of the Power Wagon forum guys use 10 or 11 ounces of balance beads inside the tube. Balance beads are also used on big rigs. These might be a solution for jeeps with oversize/aftermarket rims & tires. The beads must be free to spread out, do not just throw the pouch of beads into the tire casing. Many reviews on Amazon state this is what they did and the shaking was worse....duh!

 

[Halstem1]

Do you still have all your original components? Maybe it makes sense to go back to stock and start over. The caster will help your steering/wander issue. There will always be a little bit of wander, these things don't have the steering precision of a Porsche 911.

My installer was adamant about not upgrading/changing any components to fix issues as the original (with low miles) should drive perfectly fine. I was skeptical, but he was right. My issues had nothing to do with components as I alluded to earlier.

I do still have the originals. Well I threw the track bar away but I have the tie rod and drag link. I debated going back. I'm to try a couple of other things first. I honestly changed components to upgrade to something stronger and more durable for offroad use. I was hoping the steering would get better, however, would be happy if it stayed the same. I am super familiar with solid axles (4th wrangler) and definitely don't have unreasonable expectations. This wobble or shimmy is new to me though. I've never had this happen with any of my wranglers.

I might get to do the lower control arms this weekend. I'm super curious what that will do. I ordered a new synergy track bar so that all the components are made to work together. I bought the track bar/sector shaft brace as some insurance. Then I do want to have my tires re-balanced. I found that one of the wheels has a loose wheel weight. However, with rotational force, I wouldn't imagine that would be able to move at higher speeds... maybe not. I also didn't think tire balance could cause that much shimmy in the wheel but maybe based on some comments. We'll see I guess. I'm not ready to put that stock tie rod back on yet though. The synergy one is so much beefier and reliable with 37" tires.

 

[Halstem1]

I can confirm after driving over the weekend that the wobble is 100% gone. Zero vibration in the steering wheel. It's actually a pleasure to drive again.

Hey dude. Did you ever have any wobble come back?

 

[Krawler]

Hey dude. Did you ever have any wobble come back?

Nope. All good.

 

[Halstem1]

Nope. All good.

Ok. good! and reading back, yours was mostly a tire issue, right? I should have done sooner, but I'm finally getting re-balanced tomorrow. People kept telling me the tire couldn't cause what I was having but I've checked everything else.

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