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Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:01 pm
by ASauer17
Posted in group BSJ FB page.. but I know a bunch of yall aren't in FB..

In March I had death wobble from loose parts. Tightened and problem solved.

In June I had wierd noise coming from wheels. I replaced both upper and lower ball joints, wheel bearings, and axel u joint. Problem solved.

In July, I got death wobble again. I noticed my steering stabilizer had a golf ball size dent at the bottom and thought maybe it busted a seal. Jeep sat in grease for a while.

In August, finally got the steering stabilizer replaced and it didn't solve the death wobble. The dented stabilizer still had resistance. So I replaced the tie rod ends and drag link. Now I have soft wobble.

I don't mind replacing parts as they are 8-11 years old and this isn't a pavement only jeep. I am just clueless as to what's causing it.

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:09 pm
by Copperhead14
Could be the tires, you could rotate the back to the front and see if that helps. A friend of mine just went trough this on his LJ and replaced a bunch of parts and it ended up being the tires. Good luck

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:27 pm
by Modeler
Also take a look at the control arm bushings and track bar bushings.

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2022 6:49 am
by RandyCarol
When I had it it was a little slop in the steering box

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2022 10:53 pm
by Car Jack
Something that is common is a loose track bar bolt that wears the joint enough to oval it out. That bolt needs to be wicked tight. I'm sure there's a torque spec, it's not in my head to say what it is.

The loose bolt turned out to be my problem that I found coming back from a Maine NEA meeting a few years ago. My introduction to Death Wobble coming home.

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:32 am
by KenCal
Car Jack wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 10:53 pm Something that is common is a loose track bar bolt that wears the joint enough to oval it out. That bolt needs to be wicked tight. I'm sure there's a torque spec, it's not in my head to say what it is.

The loose bolt turned out to be my problem that I found coming back from a Maine NEA meeting a few years ago. My introduction to Death Wobble coming home.
With jeep on the ground 125 ft lbs.

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:29 am
by RandyCarol
Car Jack wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 10:53 pm Something that is common is a loose track bar bolt that wears the joint enough to oval it out. That bolt needs to be wicked tight. I'm sure there's a torque spec, it's not in my head to say what it is.

The loose bolt turned out to be my problem that I found coming back from a Maine NEA meeting a few years ago. My introduction to Death Wobble coming home.
My frame mount hole wallowed out, no amount of torque could stop it from moving. I added the brace and welded the nut to it, it’s not moving now

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 6:45 pm
by ASauer17
Track bar ends where just replaced 3 days ago. Not the issue.

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:10 am
by RandyCarol
Steering box?_

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:25 pm
by ASauer17
What I'm replacing next.

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:40 pm
by RandyCarol
ASauer17 wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:25 pm What I'm replacing next.
Good excuse to upgrade, you still win even if that’s not the problem

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 3:13 pm
by JGav4
Yup my 'ol Jeep is starting to show its age. Had death wobble a month ago, tightened the bolts and fixed it. Now it has returned as a soft wobble. I'll try the tire rotation this weekend. But I'm wondering what a steering box upgrade looks like?

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 6:00 pm
by RandyCarol
JGav4 wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 3:13 pm Yup my 'ol Jeep is starting to show its age. Had death wobble a month ago, tightened the bolts and fixed it. Now it has returned as a soft wobble. I'll try the tire rotation this weekend. But I'm wondering what a steering box upgrade looks like?
A new box fixed mine. I went with the PSC Big Box as it was a significant upgrade for not that much more. I did go with the upgraded pump too. Before the death wobble I was planning on going hydro assist but the new box and pump made a big enough improvement where I didn’t need to do hydro

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 7:34 pm
by ASauer17
Did you do the work Randy?? I've had Elias do my last steering box and never done one before. But would be willing to do a wrench day to learn

Re: Death wobble. Ugh.

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 7:54 pm
by RandyCarol
ASauer17 wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 7:34 pm Did you do the work Randy?? I've had Elias do my last steering box and never done one before. But would be willing to do a wrench day to learn
I did the box and pump myself. Not a big deal on a JK, not sure how a TJ is but shouldn’t be much different