Experienced my first Death Wobble

[rohdawg]

Chasing down DW can be a real pain, but like @Tank the Jeep said, the trackbar is a usual suspect and very often the cause. Absolutely the first place to check.

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[YJdude]

99% chance it's the track bar.
With the engine off, have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you inspect the track bar. If there is any play at at all between the track bar and frame or axle that will be the culprit. If not, then tie rod, ball joints, etc.

Edit: Do this with tires ON THE GROUND and not jacked up.

 

[Asuriyan]

Funny. When I read about stroking the fox steering stabilizer, I thought he was being snide. But turns out to be a serious thoughtful comment. I still giggled.

Pet the nice doggie...

 

[oldcjguy]

With that many miles and bigger wheels, I'd really suggest checking your ball joints anyway. Big, heavy wheels and tires are rough on ball joints. Just part of 4x4 life

 

[JKS Manufacturing]

I just had my first ever death wobble while driving out for lunch. Went over a manhole and everything just started to shake violently so I had to pull over to the side to get it to stop. I have a 2019 JLU Rubicon that I've owned since Nov 2018. I lifted it with the 2" Mopar lift kit back in Sept 2019. No issues or whatsoever up until today. The only difference was that I just installed a Fox 2.0 TS steering stabilizer last night. Now my question is could it actually be the new steering stabilizer itself? I've heard of people saying that steering stabilizer often masks the death wobble issue so could it have been the OEM stabilizer masking the issue? I would be surprised because I would assume an aftermarket stabilizer would stronger and thus mask the death wobble issue even better.

What's the next step I should take to figure this out? Should I ask Fox for a replacement unit?

TIA!

I just talked to our lead tech. in our jeep department and you are right the OEM stabilizer does mask the death wobble issue that the 2019 wranglers have and when you put on the TS stab it is 50/50 valving compared to the OEM which has 100% positive pressure valving. I would say your solution would be to put the OEM one back on or buy the FOX stab. below in the picture which is linked to our site if you wanted to look at it.

I hope this helps!

 

[JKS Manufacturing]

I just talked to our lead tech. in our jeep department and you are right the OEM stabilizer does mask the death wobble issue that the 2019 wranglers have and when you put on the TS stab it is 50/50 valving compared to the OEM which has 100% positive pressure valving. I would say your solution would be to put the OEM one back on or buy the FOX stab. below in the picture which is linked to our site if you wanted to look at it.

I hope this helps!

I just want to clarify that this could be the solution if this only happened after you changed to the TS steering stabilizer.

 

[cns721]

Just took a video of me turning the steering wheel back and forth. I noticed some slight lateral movement with the track bar but I’m not sure if it’s not normal or not since several other parts are moving as well. Does anyone notice anything out of the norm in the video?

 

[Roky]

Just took a video of me turning the steering wheel back and forth. I noticed some slight lateral movement with the track bar but I’m not sure if it’s not normal or not since several other parts are moving as well. Does anyone notice anything out of the norm in the video?

This how much the track bar should move…..none, lol….I’m moving but track bar isn’t, lol… try and focus on the track bar, and the bracket, I’m a little shaky with my video…..lol.

 

[cns721]

This how much the track bar should move…..none, lol….I’m moving but track bar isn’t, lol… try and focus on the track bar, and the bracket, I’m a little shaky with my video…..lol.

So it looks like your track bar plus the bracket and surrounding parts aren't moving at all. If you watch the bracket where the track bar connects to in my video, everything is moving. I'm guessing that's not normal. I'll go ahead and replace the track bar. Any suggestions on which one I should go for?

 

[cns721]

So it looks like your track bar plus the bracket and surrounding parts aren't moving at all. If you watch the bracket where the track bar connects to in my video, everything is moving. I'm guessing that's not normal. I'll go ahead and replace the track bar. Any suggestions on which one I should go for?

Is it worth getting the poly bushings?

https://www.quadratec.com/p/steer-s...CQOibkgcHlfK3o8I4qH8LIrgRHSVOSLEaAtnaEALw_wcB

 

[Roky]

Is it worth getting the poly bushings?

https://www.quadratec.com/p/steer-s...CQOibkgcHlfK3o8I4qH8LIrgRHSVOSLEaAtnaEALw_wcB

Nah, you don’t need the poly bushings…..
But if you see flex in the bracket as well, you should look into getting the track bar brace also….. there are a few different ones out there….. you can see mine in the video, it’s gray…..look at a couple videos about the track bar sector shaft brace, it’s the best way to understand it…..

 

[Roky]

Here’s a better pic of it….

 

[hoag4147]

Is it worth getting the poly bushings?

https://www.quadratec.com/p/steer-s...CQOibkgcHlfK3o8I4qH8LIrgRHSVOSLEaAtnaEALw_wcB

You can get the Pro series Yeti through Northridge for same price with forum discount ??

 

[Northridge4x4]

You can get the Pro series Yeti through Northridge for same price with forum discount ??

Thanks for the shout-out.

The Steer Smarts Track Bars are definitely beefy!

https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/track-bars/75033001-steer-smarts-yeti-xd-adjustable-track-bar

Another item that may be of interest is the Steer Smarts Sector Shaft - Track Bar brace:
Rubicon:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...-w-frame-side-track-bar-reinforcement-bracket

Non-Rubicon:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...ts-yeti-xd-sector-shaft-reinforcement-bracket

Forum discount code: jlwranglerforums

 

[jlcalifornia]

Wow, scary. Did you have to come to a complete stop to stop it, or did it stop at a lower speed prior to a complete stop?

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