Finally fixed my death wobble!!

[Zandcwhite]

Because they had a cool thread pattern.

My E rated general grabber 35" mt's on my truck are 77lbs, was that 90lbs with the wheels?

Sponsored

 

[DexterJeeper]

If reusing the factory axle shafts, simply shift the t-case to 4h and the FAD motors shift fork will hold the coupler to where you'll feel the splines engage during reassembly. No need to remove the FAD motor unless you're also upgrading axle shafts.

That's a much smarter way than what I did. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Wsg1970]

I know there are cheaper options but I REALLY didn't want to do it again ?

Was this the rebuildable ball joints they offer?

 

[Headbarcode]

That's a much smarter way than what I did. Thanks for the tip!

Just passing on a great tip that I learned from another member. This is a great community to be a part of!

 

[DexterJeeper]

Was this the rebuildable ball joints they offer?

Yup, that's the one I installed

 

[KNN]

Thank you for sharing your experience. So much good input from everyone. I just got DW after installing a Clayton 3.5” lift. Will go through this thread very carefully to troubleshoot the issue.

 

[gato]

The tube length as it is is perfect as you install the single adjust side all the way in for the short axle; or install it out for a long axle.

I'm sorry, not trying to be picky, but the tube length can not be "perfect" for two axles of different widths. Either it is too long for the narrow axle or too short for the wide one (which is the case).

Even having that much thread exposed is unnecessary and not ideal. Yes. If you take extra time to measure, adjust, remeasure, readjust you can make it work. If you ever in the future take the vehicle to an alignment shop, you also need to make sure they are that perfect as well. Not Synergy's finest.

 

[gato]

Opening up the FAD isnt bad. Taking off the C clip is easier with small pliers.

I have a Hard Rock skid over mine. What C clip?

 

[gato]

If reusing the factory axle shafts, simply shift the t-case to 4h and the FAD motors shift fork will hold the coupler to where you'll feel the splines engage during reassembly. No need to remove the FAD motor unless you're also upgrading axle shafts.

Thanks for that confirmation.

I now officially had death wobble this weekend while hitting a highway/bridge expansion joint at around 70MPH. Had to slow down to about 30MPH, on the left lane as I watched the SUV behind me get close to my bumper. Not fun. All my links are torqued to spec or a bit more. That leaves the clicking ball joints (or more likely the ball joint to aluminum knuckle attachment as the only suspects left).

 

[Rodeoflyer]

I tossed my synergy trackbars for metalcloaks mainly due to the OD (hollow vs solid) 1.5''/1.25''.

A balljoint swap is next on my list if I can keep a job now with the H1B visas flooding in.

 

[gato]

I’ve learned so much from this forum so I'm glad I was able to give back a little! To answer your question, I did have trouble putting it back in without opening up the FAD because the coupler slides out of place once you remove the outer shaft so there's no way to get it back in without opening the FAD. This is the part that all the YouTube people don't show you! But don't worry, it's very easy. Take the skid off, unplug and take off the four 13mm bolts and you're good to go. Just remember to put something below to catch the little bit of oil that comes out and go easy when you remove the back of the FAD so you don't damage the gasket.

Thank you for the tip, in case I forget to put in 4HI or hit any other snag.

 

[Dainbramaged]

TLDR: if you have a shimmy, a mini-wobble or full on death wobble, check your factory ball joints!

I know a lot of you guys are having unsolved shimmys, mini-wobbles, or full blown wobbles so I wanted to share my experience on how I fixed my particular issues with the community. Hopefully this will help some of you out and save you from spending a bunch of money needlessly!

My 19 JLUR is currently at 48k but the first time I felt a shimmy was when I hit a man hole cover, coming off a highway at 14k miles. I had done a mopar lift at 500 and put on 37s. Other than that, I had all factory steering components. At first I ignored the problem but it got progressively worse so I decided it was time to upgrade. I did the usual checks, caster, tire pressure, ball joints, alignment, torque, etc. Nothing felt loose or unusual but I decided to upgrade my steering components anyway. After doing some research, I went for Synergy and did the track bar, tie rod and drag link. I also ordered the trackbar/sector shaft brace at the same time and did them all at once.

After all the parts went in, I went for a test drive and to my shock and disappointment, the mini-wobble was still there. I reached out to synergy and they recommended that I over torque some of the clamp bolts. The reason was I found a little bit of play on the drag link due to how far you need to extend it. I tried it and it felt a bit better but the wobble was still there.

The next thing I tried was to replace all of the Mopar lift with a MetalCloak 3.5GC, along with 6pak shocks. Since it came with a track bar, I put the MC cloak one on just to see if that helped. I also set all the control arms to exactly the specs that came with the MC kit. At this point, I'm at around 30k miles and the problem didn't get worse but it still didn't get better. So the hunt for my root cause continues.

My next thing was to get outside help. I live about 2 hours from Dr. Death Wobble. So I thought what the hell, couldn't hurt right? I reached out, scheduled an appointment and got my Jeep in his shop. He spent about a week going over everything. At the end, he ordered a new clamp for the drag link and adjusted my toe settings from toe in to toe out. He also advised turning off the esteer. So $500 later, I went to my trusty death wobble trigger spot and F*** the wobble was still there!!

Not ready to give up at this point, a friend recommended the new synergy trackbar relocation kit along with a drag link flip. I'm at 3.5" lift so why not! I'm willing to try anything at this point. I got the kit installed & took the jeep for a drive. The roll center change definitely made the Jeep drive better over bumps but the GD wobble was still there!!

Finally, I was driving to Chicago one day and I hit a bump on the onramp and BAM! Fully on death wobble. No more little shimmys, bump steers or mini-wobbles. I'm talking the crazy ass scary shakes that doesn't go away until you come to a full stop. I've had enough at this point and decided to go for the biggest beef and change the only thing I haven't: the ball joints. I ordered the Dynatrac ball joints and the RPM 2.5ton steering gear and went to town on the front end. Wouldn't you know it, this combination completely fixed my wobbles.

So what's my theory? I believe on the JLs, the standard crowbar ball joint test doesn't reveal the underlying problems. I believe the plastic "bushing" inside the factory joints wear out quickly with the bigger tires but even if you can't detect play, they are still damaged. I did put my old synergy steering stuff back on first just to isolate the problem. The wobbles definitely came from the ball joints since i had none with the Dynatrac joints.

My rig drives like a brand new Jeep now. The steering feels just as solid and composed as my wife's Grand Cherokee--WAY better than stock. It's still a solid axle so I'm not expecting the same level of sensitivity though. I have to say both Dynatrac and RPM make some beautiful parts with the best tolerances I've ever seen.

What has been your experience? Would love to hear about your journey on this!

Thanks for sharing, a lot of your experience mirrors what I've experienced with our 2021 JTR (3.5" Clayton, 37 KM3's, Synergy Stabilizer relocation kit). I'm going to look at these ball joints as a potential near term upgrade for sure

 

[entropy]

I have a Hard Rock skid over mine. What C clip?

Werent you talking about opening up the fad and pulling out the collar.

 

[gato]

Werent you talking about opening up the fad and pulling out the collar.

I thought the C-clip needed to be removed only to pull the inner half-shaft. Or are you referring to the C-shaped folk that moves the collar? If so, I got it.

 

[DexterJeeper]

Thanks for sharing, a lot of your experience mirrors what I've experienced with our 2021 JTR (3.5" Clayton, 37 KM3's, Synergy Stabilizer relocation kit). I'm going to look at these ball joints as a potential near term upgrade for sure

Yeah, not saying my problems are the same as everyone else's but if you've gone through everything else, ball joints are worth a try. It was the highest effort compared to the other parts but it does feel good to not have DW anymore. Especially after trying to solve it for almost 3 years.

Sponsored