Plus one to the death wobble

[tzavaleta]

We have a 2019 Sahara Unlimited with ~45k miles. It drives fine most of the time, but occasionally, at high speeds, the steering starts to shake violently. The only way to make it stop is to hit the brakes and slow down. It's happening more and more frequently to the point we are scared to drive it. We took it to the dealership, and they changed the steering damper under recall. When the tech took it out to test drive after the change, the wobble happened to him (that never happens!), and we heard it scared him. Ya think? Now they've got the car and no idea what to do. This sucks because two years ago, it was in for a complete power failure, and the only way we got it fixed was because of the fantastic advice on this forum. I've been reading threads on what to do, but many discuss modifications and after-market parts. Since we are stock (and plan to remain so), where do we start?

This seems to be a thoughtful article. Still recommended? Any udpates? https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ble-an-algorithm-to-diagnose-the-issue.62313/

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[mwilk012]

Did they put the stabilizer on upside down?

Do they not know how to diagnose and repair vehicles? It’s a pretty simple task.

 

[PhoenixM3]

I’m following this as we’re new to Jeeps…..

 

[Flatties 4ever]

(Just an idea)
Since you want to remain stock, have the dealership order Mopar lower control arms (no springs) meant for the factory Mopar 2" lift. Perhaps the longer arms will put your caster close to 6 degrees solving your death wobble, while staying under warranty.

 

[tzavaleta]

Did they put the stabilizer on upside down?

Do they not know how to diagnose and repair vehicles? It’s a pretty simple task.

@mwilk012, you may get the award for this one. They say it's fixed, apparently they installed the dampner wrong. So maybe it was upside down? We drove it home over the weekend and at one time we felt a wobble start (not near as bad or as sudden as before) but as soon as i took my foot off the gas it went away. No other problems. Fingers crossed!

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

It’s not fixed. New steering stabilizer is sort of masking the problem. Could be a number of things. Try road force balancing the tires…after that you’re replacing things like the track bar, ball joints, front control arms. You can get take off OEM track bars and control arms cheap on EBay. Could be other issues also. Good info on this forum.

 

[KNN]

I always feel bad for the stock ones that develop DW. I don’t know how long the stock components are supposed to last (45k miles?) but worn down parts can do it. I’d start at the track bar to see if there’s movement at the bushing. I’m not the best help as I essentially replaced everything chasing down my DW.

I know, not what you want to hear but hopefully you’re one of the lucky one that solves it for cheap.

 

[xeon]

As many have said on this forum DW can be caused by a number of suspension components. On older JLs those with aluminum steering housings, this can also be the cause. I went through replacing almost all of front suspension before finding it was actually the steering housing flexing so much that it was causing the problem and once replaced...no more DW.

 

[DaltonGang]

The long story shortened: Replace all bushings, ball joints, and steering box(if it hasnt been replaced with updated one). It's usually a combination of worn out parts. Replacing one might stop the DW, temporarily, but this only masks the total issue.

 

[Dryver]

My stock 2021 4xe with 20k went into full-on DW yesterday on the freeway at 70mph after hitting a bridge transition. Had to slow to 20mph to get it stop. Planning on checking for loose bolts/worn components sometime this weekend.

 

[stojanowski]

It’s not fixed. New steering stabilizer is sort of masking the problem. Could be a number of things. Try road force balancing the tires…after that you’re replacing things like the track bar, ball joints, front control arms. You can get take off OEM track bars and control arms cheap on EBay. Could be other issues also. Good info on this forum.

After changing numerous parts on the JK I took it to another shop and they said who ever put the tires on sucks and did a road force balance. No issues now. He also said the KO2s are notorious for difficult balancing

 

[Bill_P]

@mwilk012, you may get the award for this one. They say it's fixed, apparently they installed the dampner wrong. So maybe it was upside down? We drove it home over the weekend and at one time we felt a wobble start (not near as bad or as sudden as before) but as soon as i took my foot off the gas it went away. No other problems. Fingers crossed!

If you felt the start of a wobble it isn't fixed. I suggest that you start looking at the things suggested here to see if they are wearing out. Letting things continue can cause the bolt holes to oval and, depending on what mounting hole it is, it can be a bigger problem.

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