This is Death wobble

[AnnDee4444]

For anything previous to JL, yes. For JL's,t wish that was the case. Plenty of STOCK JL's right off the lot experiencing issues. .

For some reason, it appears that more Sport models get death wobble: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/death-wobble-poll.29145/

Sponsored

 

[JimLee]

For some reason, it appears that more Sport models get death wobble: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/death-wobble-poll.29145/

Hmmm, narrower axles? I don't and never had it but I lifted almost right out the gate. I am starting to get some wandering as my crappy factory drag link flops around like a dying fish and gets worse with each offroading trip, but I have the answer to that coming soon.

 

[AnnDee4444]

Hmmm, narrower axles?

I don't think so, since the Sahara has the same axles.

I still have no idea what the cause is, or if the poll is accurate. The results were exactly opposite of what I expected.

 

[JimLee]

I don't think so, since the Sahara has the same axles.

I still have no idea what the cause is, or if the poll is accurate. The results were exactly opposite of what I expected.

True, I wasn't thinking about the Sahara. I honestly think it's the combo of the cheap drag link, the cheap tie rod, crappy joints on both, the loose ball joints, and the bad steering stabilizer. I watched the OP's video over and over and it seems the shuddering starts at the passenger C and then migrates through the tie rod and drag link before there is any movement at the steering box, so I personally don't think it's the steering box IMO.

 

[JL Dude]

Hey everyone I have experienced death wobble in my Jeep Wrangler jl. It’s not bad but very annoying having to slow down and stop it when going 65 mph. I recently have installed a track bar brace and sector shaft brace from synergy and I tried to get the Jeep to do it again and all it did was wobble for a half a second then it stopped. Now I’m not saying it’s completely solved because I know my caster is off a bit but could that brace have solved the issue or at least helped it. I’m running a 2.5 inch RC lift with 315/70/r17 tires.

 

[Headbarcode]

Hey everyone I have experienced death wobble in my Jeep Wrangler jl. It’s not bad but very annoying having to slow down and stop it when going 65 mph. I recently have installed a track bar brace and sector shaft brace from synergy and I tried to get the Jeep to do it again and all it did was wobble for a half a second then it stopped. Now I’m not saying it’s completely solved because I know my caster is off a bit but could that brace have solved the issue or at least helped it. I’m running a 2.5 inch RC lift with 315/70/r17 tires.

Definitely get your caster to at least 6°. Also, check your toe measurement. The increase in tire diameter also increases the toe-in. Bringing mine from 1/8" down to a hair under 1/16" caused a night and day difference. Went from back roading to avoid highway speeds to fun to drive again with that small adjustment.

 

[JL Dude]

Definitely get your caster to at least 6°. Also, check your toe measurement. The increase in tire diameter also increases the toe-in. Bringing mine from 1/8" down to a hair under 1/16" caused a night and day difference. Went from back roading to avoid highway speeds to fun to drive again with that small adjustment.

Awesome thanks for the reply!

 

[JL Dude]

Definitely get your caster to at least 6°. Also, check your toe measurement. The increase in tire diameter also increases the toe-in. Bringing mine from 1/8" down to a hair under 1/16" caused a night and day difference. Went from back roading to avoid highway speeds to fun to drive again with that small adjustment.

Will the tire pressure adjust the toe at all or would I need to take it to an alignment shop. What tire pressure should I run on a 35 inch tire to prevent Death Wobble?

 

[Headbarcode]

Will the tire pressure adjust the toe at all or would I need to take it to an alignment shop. What tire pressure should I run on a 35 inch tire to prevent Death Wobble?

A tire could only cause death wobble if it wasn't properly balanced. Too much tire pressure would result in a floaty feel in the steering. The higher the speed, the harder it would be to track straight. Also, too much or too little pressure would cause uneven tire wear and shorter tire life. The best way to find out what pressure your specific vehicle weight and tire choice likes, is to run a chalk test. Get a tire crayon or piece of sidewalk chalk and put a few inch wide stripe across the width of a tire and go for short rip around the block. Keep lowering all tires until the chalk is worn off the full width of the tread. Start at 35psi and drop 2 psi in between checks. I ran 30-31 cold in my previous 315/70-17 C-rated ko2's on a JLUR.

Tire pressure has no affect on the toe adjustment. You could check your toe with 2 tape measures, a couple bungee cords, and 2 straight edges. A low cost straight edge could be 2 pieces of aluminum angle irons from home depot that are each about a foot longer than the diameter of your tires. Bungee cord 1 of them to both front wheels and keep them as level as possible while maintaining direct line of sight between both ends behind the wheels and both ends in front of the wheels. Now place a measuring tape spanning from one straight edge to the other directly in front of and barely touching the tire and the same with the second tape measure behind the tire. Pull them both reasonably tight and see what the differences are between those numbers. That difference is your toe-in.

 

[JL Dude]

A tire could only cause death wobble if it wasn't properly balanced. Too much tire pressure would result in a floaty feel in the steering. The higher the speed, the harder it would be to track straight. Also, too much or too little pressure would cause uneven tire wear and shorter tire life. The best way to find out what pressure your specific vehicle weight and tire choice likes, is to run a chalk test. Get a tire crayon or piece of sidewalk chalk and put a few inch wide stripe across the width of a tire and go for short rip around the block. Keep lowering all tires until the chalk is worn off the full width of the tread. Start at 35psi and drop 2 psi in between checks. I ran 30-31 cold in my previous 315/70-17 C-rated ko2's on a JLUR.

Tire pressure has no affect on the toe adjustment. You could check your toe with 2 tape measures, a couple bungee cords, and 2 straight edges. A low cost straight edge could be 2 pieces of aluminum angle irons from home depot that are each about a foot longer than the diameter of your tires. Bungee cord 1 of them to both front wheels and keep them as level as possible while maintaining direct line of sight between both ends behind the wheels and both ends in front of the wheels. Now place a measuring tape spanning from one straight edge to the other directly in front of and barely touching the tire and the same with the second tape measure behind the tire. Pull them both reasonably tight and see what the differences are between those numbers. That difference is your toe-in.

Ok I have the same tires as you in a c-ply I will try that pressure and see if it makes a difference!

 

[Halstem1]

My death wobble is back. I had to slow to about 15 MPH today to get it to stop. I had been having some pre-DW shimmy but that was the first full thing in about 5K miles.

There is talk of tires. Some claim tires themselves, even out of balance, can't cause DW. Does the general consensus disagree with that? Should I try to get tires re-balanced?

Current setup:
Mopar 2" lift
37" BFG KO2
Synergy drag link, tie rod, and track bar
Synergy track bar/sector shaft brace
Fox through shaft steering stabilizer with relocation
Synergy adjustable lower control arms
Current caster: 6.5 degrees (previously 5.7 degrees)
About 1/16 toe in
Shop that did alignement checked ball joints and said they are fine. I've re-torqued and they appear fine.

Everything torqued, re-torqued, and triple checked to specs on install instructions. .

I'm about ready to start throwing money at it. I have steer smarts parts in my cart on northridge 4x4 but some say synergy is good stuff and that probably won't help. I could try rotating the tires again? I could find a shop that will balance 37s. I could put stock tire rod back on, but OE drag link boot is ruined. I don't have the stock track bar.

Other than the DW, it drives really great. Highway wonder is significantly reduced. tracks strait.

What a silly problem.

 

[JL Dude]

My death wobble is back. I had to slow to about 15 MPH today to get it to stop. I had been having some pre-DW shimmy but that was the first full thing in about 5K miles.

There is talk of tires. Some claim tires themselves, even out of balance, can't cause DW. Does the general consensus disagree with that? Should I try to get tires re-balanced?

Current setup:
Mopar 2" lift
37" BFG KO2
Synergy drag link, tie rod, and track bar
Synergy track bar/sector shaft brace
Fox through shaft steering stabilizer with relocation
Synergy adjustable lower control arms
Current caster: 6.5 degrees (previously 5.7 degrees)
About 1/16 toe in
Shop that did alignement checked ball joints and said they are fine. I've re-torqued and they appear fine.

Everything torqued, re-torqued, and triple checked to specs on install instructions. .

I'm about ready to start throwing money at it. I have steer smarts parts in my cart on northridge 4x4 but some say synergy is good stuff and that probably won't help. I could try rotating the tires again? I could find a shop that will balance 37s. I could put stock tire rod back on, but OE drag link boot is ruined. I don't have the stock track bar.

Other than the DW, it drives really great. Highway wonder is significantly reduced. tracks strait.

What a silly problem.

I know some people said that they run a caster of 8 degrees because sometimes 6.5 isn’t enough. Would be something at least worth trying before you spend any more money on things you might not need!

 

[sherpaJL]

Brett,
Any updates to this thread? Any other recommendations? Are you still wobble free?

 

[Redbaron73]

I have been dealing with Death Wobble for the past month. I have tried all of the normal solutions.

Here is a video of the death wobble.


I have taken MY*JLUR to @rustyshakelford to remove the Maximus 3 Geo Lift and install the MCGC, and while its there going to get new ball joints installed, remove high-steer kit, and a few other upgrades.

I was not able to get a good video of the driver side when the DW occurred. I have lots of video of the driver side, just no DW when filming.

DW occurs @ 40sec

 

[richk225]

My death wobble is back. I had to slow to about 15 MPH today to get it to stop. I had been having some pre-DW shimmy but that was the first full thing in about 5K miles.

There is talk of tires. Some claim tires themselves, even out of balance, can't cause DW. Does the general consensus disagree with that? Should I try to get tires re-balanced?

Current setup:
Mopar 2" lift
37" BFG KO2
Synergy drag link, tie rod, and track bar
Synergy track bar/sector shaft brace
Fox through shaft steering stabilizer with relocation
Synergy adjustable lower control arms
Current caster: 6.5 degrees (previously 5.7 degrees)
About 1/16 toe in
Shop that did alignement checked ball joints and said they are fine. I've re-torqued and they appear fine.

Everything torqued, re-torqued, and triple checked to specs on install instructions. .

I'm about ready to start throwing money at it. I have steer smarts parts in my cart on northridge 4x4 but some say synergy is good stuff and that probably won't help. I could try rotating the tires again? I could find a shop that will balance 37s. I could put stock tire rod back on, but OE drag link boot is ruined. I don't have the stock track bar.

Other than the DW, it drives really great. Highway wonder is significantly reduced. tracks strait.

What a silly problem.

I went through the same issues with my 2018 Rubicon, Dealer had replaced the steering box 2 times and reprogrammed the steering setup.
I could not get it to go away and I threw every high end piece that I could buy at it and it still had the same problems. The dealer ended up buying back my Jeep.
The one company that I had talked to and worked with during the Jeep Invasion here in Wildwood NJ was PSC steering. They actually had a fellow Jeeper having the same issues along with a dead spot and so much play in the steering box from the 11:00 to the 1:00 position that the Jeep would not move in either direction. I went for a ride in the Jeep and it was just like mine with the same issues. The PSC guys sold him the power steering upgraded box that eliminates the electric power steering pump and they actually installed the kit in the parking lot. I can honestly say after that it was like a totally different Jeep, and he had the latest cast iron steering box from the factory. Others on this site will say that going to their kit, (not the one with the steering ram) will not make a difference but none of them have tried the conversion. It is interesting that some people have thrown a ton of money at the problem and in their case it was a simple fix that was overlooked, like the lug nuts were not seating all the way down on the wheel, something worth checking out.
Here is the link to PSC, it`s worth the call and it`s free. They have been involved with steering components for a long time and they are involved in every type of application

https://www.pscmotorsports.com

Sponsored