Witnessed the worst case of "death wobble" I have ever seen...

[CarbonSteel]

I am currently on a road trip to YNP and on the way, just north of Idaho Falls, there was a white late model Dodge 3/4-ton 4x4 that passed me on north highway 20 at 70ish mph. Just as he came alongside, we crossed a short bridge that had a few chuck holes in it and his axle started bouncing to the point that he started losing control. He began braking hard and veered across in front of me. I immediately recognized what was happening and braked hard (luckily the car behind me saw it and braked as well) and he missed me by a couple of feet.

The axle was bouncing to the point that the tire was impacting the underside of the wheel well and parts of the plastic liner began breaking off. Steering control was completely lost but he eventually managed to stop the truck partially sideways on the shoulder. He was peppering the car that passed him as veered off the road with rocks and roadside debris as the axle shifted side to side and up and down. I am absolutely certain that he needed a shower and a fresh change of underwear. I wanted to stop and check on him, but the traffic was not forgiving on the curved part of the road.

I could see him throwing his arms up while trying to explain to his wife what had happened and it seemed like he had no idea what caused it. I recently changed all of the OEM steering equipment on my Rubicon (drag link, tie-rod and ends, trackbar, and steering stabilizer) to prevent death wobble from ever having a chance to rear its head. I would guess that his trackbar bushings were toast and the crimped ends likely loosened. Scary stuff to be sure…

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[mwilk012]

Aftermarket parts will not prevent the death wobble. It will only delay it.

 

[oceanblue2019]

So it's not just a Jeep thing....

 

[CarbonSteel]

So it's not just a Jeep thing....

It's more of a solid front axle thing...

 

[CarbonSteel]

Aftermarket parts will not prevent the death wobble. It will only delay it.

Well...far longer than the OEM stuff ever will. The Metalcloak hardware that I installed was massively heavier with much thicker walls and welded or threaded ends versus the OEM thin wall tubing with its crimped ends.

 

[Black Jeep Convertible]

Do you just throttle out of it like on a motorcycle?

 

[CarbonSteel]

Do you just throttle out of it like on a motorcycle?

Although it has not happened to me, I would say no, you cannot since the axle is moving side to side and up and down and therefore steering is not possible. Slowing down as quickly as possible without locking up seems to be the way to regain control.

 

[rawler]

I have not had a wobble issue in my JLU Sahara recently lifted with Metalcloak and 35's. However, I've been a long time XJ'r and as such have had many hairy death wobble situations at speeds >65mph. It's terrifying at first, but #1 rule is to not panic. Make small movements, lightly tap brakes on and off slowly.

You're just trying to disrupt the harmonics that caused the problem. Don't be scared, it sounds like the episode described here was something much more than typical Jeep DW.

 

[limeade]

It's more of a solid front axle thing...

Yes, but compounded by 4 link, coil springs, and track bar. The old leaf spring trucks didn't seem to have this problem.

Had this happen to me in an 04 TJ Rubicon at about 35 mph and it was scary at that speed. Can only imagine the terror he felt at 70ish.

After knowing the driver was able to safely stop, it would've been pretty neat to actually see it happen. I've never seen another vehicle have it, but I've rode in a few (my own and others) and it is definitely not like having a shimmy or wobble. Scary stuff to experience, then comes the thought.....what the heck happened and how do I fix it???

 

[Jared1956]

Oh yes the leaf spring Jeeps do have it as well. All of my flat fenders have at one time or another, and it doesn’t take much play to cause it. In fact, just needing to repack wheel bearings and knuckles is enough to cause it on mine. Pack the king pins and wheel bearings and it goes away for another year or more.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Yes, but compounded by 4 link, coil springs, and track bar. The old leaf spring trucks didn't seem to have this problem.

Had this happen to me in an 04 TJ Rubicon at about 35 mph and it was scary at that speed. Can only imagine the terror he felt at 70ish.

After knowing the driver was able to safely stop, it would've been pretty neat to actually see it happen. I've never seen another vehicle have it, but I've rode in a few (my own and others) and it is definitely not like having a shimmy or wobble. Scary stuff to experience, then comes the thought.....what the heck happened and how do I fix it???

It was crazy. I have not seen an axle move that much in all the wrong ways on a flat highway before. As he moved onto the shoulder, the amount of junk being thrown against the passing cars was like throwing handful after handful of rocks at them.

 

[Halstem1]

Do you just throttle out of it like on a motorcycle?

ha. I tried that. I've gotten tank slap on a motorcycle and like you said, you usually just throttle out. Tried that in the jeep and it did not go well. Got significantly worse.

Knock on wood, I might have all my issues resolved, but I've has severe DW in my JL at a minimum 12 times since february. You have to slowly break and pull to the side and around 20-25 mph it will resolve. Brake too hard and its a mess too.

 

[Headbarcode]

I've taken a very proactive approach to beefing up the steering and suspension to better handle larger tires and lift. I installed the 1st lift on my Jeep along with all control arms and all steering linkages. I ended up getting a few bouts of DW soon after. And it wasn't just a shiny or bump steer. Full on violence that had me concerned that I just beat the hell out of a lot of pricy parts. There's no driving through it. Tried that, and it just lengthens the occurrence. Slowing down as quickly as possible is the only thing that stops it. It only happened to me at highway speeds, usually at 60-70. Every bump or rough spot at any speed was causing a shimmy that would last for a second or so. Anything over 50 would wobble out after either hitting a bump on just one side or a series of bumps that would catch it mid shimmy. On all occasions, it only stopped after chopping down to below 30.

I've seen it happen to 2 others. Both on the highway traveling over 60mph. First was a cop in an f250 super duty. He was double fisting the wheel and knuckles were so white, i was glad i had my shades on. I tried waving him to pull over and stop, while trying not to smile, but he wasn't having it. He looked over for a second and shook his head like a kid being told to let go of that cookie. I think he might've shit himself, and was heading home to "dispose of the evidence".

Second was a college chick in a 2 door JK, maintaining 60 on the highway. My newfound Wrangler radar picked her up from a distance. As I got closer, I saw what was happening and dropped a couple gears to close the gap and pull along side her. That's when i saw that it was a her. I waved her to pull over, and dropped back behind her on the side of the highway. Turned out to be a loose track bar. Her boyfriend recently replaced it and either forgot to tighten it or didn't tighten it enough. Dumb luck that I still had the tools and torque wrench in the back, after dealing with mine.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I've taken a very proactive approach to beefing up the steering and suspension to better handle larger tires and lift. I installed the 1st lift on my Jeep along with all control arms and all steering linkages. I ended up getting a few bouts of DW soon after. And it wasn't just a shiny or bump steer. Full on violence that had me concerned that I just beat the hell out of a lot of pricy parts. There's no driving through it. Tried that, and it just lengthens the occurrence. Slowing down as quickly as possible is the only thing that stops it. It only happened to me at highway speeds, usually at 60-70. Every bump or rough spot at any speed was causing a shimmy that would last for a second or so. Anything over 50 would wobble out after either hitting a bump on just one side or a series of bumps that would catch it mid shimmy. On all occasions, it only stopped after chopping down to below 30.

I've seen it happen to 2 others. Both on the highway traveling over 60mph. First was a cop in an f250 super duty. He was double fisting the wheel and knuckles were so white, i was glad i had my shades on. I tried waving him to pull over and stop, while trying not to smile, but he wasn't having it. He looked over for a second and shook his head like a kid being told to let go of that cookie. I think he might've shit himself, and was heading home to "dispose of the evidence".

Second was a college chick in a 2 door JK, maintaining 60 on the highway. My newfound Wrangler radar picked her up from a distance. As I got closer, I saw what was happening and dropped a couple gears to close the gap and pull along side her. That's when i saw that it was a her. I waved her to pull over, and dropped back behind her on the side of the highway. Turned out to be a loose track bar. Her boyfriend recently replaced it and either forgot to tighten it or didn't tighten it enough. Dumb luck that I still had the tools and torque wrench in the back, after dealing with mine.

Ford Super Duty trucks have DW more often than not. I sold mine with 50K on the clock and had not experienced DW yet, but some of the guys on BITOG describe it happening frequently. In the Ford's case, the trackbar is a POS (much like the one on a Jeep) and it starts the problem and accelerates the wear on other parts ensuring that it will happen with regularity. In the case of the Jeep, the bushings on the OEM trackbar when combined with the crimped ends is a perfect recipe for DW to occur.

 

[Headbarcode]

Ford Super Duty trucks have DW more often than not. I sold mine with 50K on the clock and had not experienced DW yet, but some of the guys on BITOG describe it happening frequently. In the Ford's case, the trackbar is a POS (much like the one on a Jeep) and it starts the problem and accelerates the wear on other parts ensuring that it will happen with regularity. In the case of the Jeep, the bushings on the OEM trackbar when combined with the crimped ends is a perfect recipe for DW to occur.

I test drove and layed under so many Jeep's before placing an order, you'd call me ridiculous. I bought it knowing I'd be switching out every arm and linkage. It was my first time seeing crimped on ball joints, and all I could do was shake my head and think...

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