Metal cloak 3.5 and death wobble

[Roky]

Shop tells me there is some play in the tie rod and drag link. I dont know, just doesnt make sense that it only started after the lift. Tie rod and drag link have not changed at all.

If i were to upgrade them, what would you guys recommend? I already have a MC lift, should I go with their tie rod and draglink? Or should i consider some other options?

They’re all comparable imo, If you can’t decide, just get both, that’s what I did. .......

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[SmoothJeepOperator]

So the shop really didn't want to adjust the caster to 6.5 because of the pinion angle. I insisted because that's what mc was insistent on over the phone. When I went to pick it up, they told me the the problem has gotten worse with the higher caster but they did what I told them. Drove it home and it felt a lot better. Drove it a bunch more and it continues to be much improved. Still some really slight shimmies over big pot holes but nothing that concerns me. I'll give it some time before I say the problem is gone. But the added caster is a lot better so far.

 

[Jeep&dogs]

So the shop really didn't want to adjust the caster to 6.5 because of the pinion angle. I insisted because that's what mc was insistent on over the phone. When I went to pick it up, they told me the the problem has gotten worse with the higher caster but they did what I told them. Drove it home and it felt a lot better. Drove it a bunch more and it continues to be much improved. Still some really slight shimmies over big pot holes but nothing that concerns me. I'll give it some time before I say the problem is gone. But the added caster is a lot better so far.

Pinion angle really doesn’t come into play on the Jl. The FAD disconnects the front driveshaft so unless you are in 4W it will never vibe. I have ran mine as high as 8* just to see if it helped

 

[SmoothJeepOperator]

Pinion angle really doesn’t come into play on the Jl. The FAD disconnects the front driveshaft so unless you are in 4W it will never vibe. I have ran mine as high as 8* just to see if it helped

Yup. Although I may have issues when I go into 4 wheel drive. If I don't have to get a tie rod and drag link the drive shaft may be my next upgrade. Probably should have just done it with the lift from the beginning.

 

[Roky]

Yup. Although I may have issues when I go into 4 wheel drive. If I don't have to get a tie rod and drag link the drive shaft may be my next upgrade. Probably should have just done it with the lift from the beginning.

For me that’s the sweet spot. If you get up to 7-8 then you also bring spring bow and bump stop alignment into the mix when flexing. Glad it’s driving better, that’s awesome.

 

[SmoothJeepOperator]

Fingers crossed that it keeps up.

 

[RockyMtJL]

I had DW after installing my 2.5” GC. Nothing seemed to fix it until I replaced the tie rod and drag link with steer smarts. Drives amazing now but spent a lot of time trying to figure it out.

 

[SmoothJeepOperator]

I had DW after installing my 2.5” GC. Nothing seemed to fix it until I replaced the tie rod and drag link with steer smarts. Drives amazing now but spent a lot of time trying to figure it out.

I'm thinking about doing this too. Any reason you went with steer smarts over mc?

 

[RockyMtJL]

The local jeep shop I was working with suggested either steer smarts or rpm. They specialize in steering. I can’t think of one person I’ve met who hasn’t been happy with their steer smarts so that made the decision easy. Their products are really well made and super beefy. Just my two cents

I'm thinking about doing this too. Any reason you went with steer smarts over mc?

 

[MMcClain]

Had similar problem... changed out the track bar hardware from OEM to 9/16... wobble disappeared. Cheap to try, can’t hurt.

 

[rayzjeep]

@MMcClain So did you go with a fully threaded 9/16's with about the same type of thread? And did you replace both axle and frame side? Going to try this myself...

 

[Jeep&dogs]

@MMcClain So did you go with a fully threaded 9/16's with about the same type of thread? And did you replace both axle and frame side? Going to try this myself...

The fully threaded is still a little sloppy, a 4” 9/16 shouldered bolt will have enough shoulder to fit completely through the bushings. Make sure to get fine thread and get 4 nuts. The 4” is a little longer than what you need so if you thread a nut on and cut the bolt to the length you need you can pull the nut off and clean up the threads. The passenger side nut is tight to get to, I welded a flange to the nut like the factory, you could also get in there with a line wrench if you have the right size.
Fine threaded 9/16 grade 8 you can torque to 150 ft lbs.

 

[MMcClain]

9/16” grade 8 shouldered bolt. I used 3”, give enough thread for up to 2 washers and nut plus 2-3 thread engagement through. Hope it helps... the bit of slop that is taken up is very very small... but definitely needed.

 

[Zaskar]

So the shop really didn't want to adjust the caster to 6.5 because of the pinion angle. I insisted because that's what mc was insistent on over the phone. When I went to pick it up, they told me the the problem has gotten worse with the higher caster but they did what I told them. Drove it home and it felt a lot better. Drove it a bunch more and it continues to be much improved. Still some really slight shimmies over big pot holes but nothing that concerns me. I'll give it some time before I say the problem is gone. But the added caster is a lot better so far.

Doing this soon. I'm just under 6 degrees right now.

 

[SmoothJeepOperator]

Doing this soon. I'm just under 6 degrees right now.

The caster adjustment really did help it drive better. There is still more shimmy than I would like over bumps so I am going with steer smarts for the tie rod and drag link, hopefully that helps. I did have 1 full on death wobble after the caster adjustment which was really weird. The Jeep was riding smooth. I hit a dip in the road and it lost it. After that I found my sway bar end link nuts were only finger tight on each side. Im not sure if that could have made the wobble happen but after tightening them up everything has been really good. I get the steer smarts stuff on tomorrow and new tires the day after that. Let's see how things are with those changes.

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