Yeah i know used tires suck but the tires were free. I was about to get 5 new ones to throw on until this virus came. Since I work in the restaurant industry, now is not the best time for the high dollar that tires cost. however, I will throw on a different pair of tires just to test it all out. I never fixed the death wobble, It just got better. And what I mean by better is that it wouldn't happen as often/get triggered as much. I was under the impression most triggers of death wobble are bump related (passive death wobble). Previously the tires would wobble themselves (due to being unbalanced) and that would be the trigger for the death wobble to occur. The track bar and track bar mounts are good. I've done a dry steer testing turning the wheel back and forth rapidly. There's no play in the track bar. I am 100% certain. Also, drilling out the mounts for the new metalcloak one would've taken away any possibilities of a wallowed hole as well. I test fit the bolt for a tight fit before installing the new track bar as well, the hole is straight as can be, no wiggle room. As for the control arms, I replaced all the bushings and felt the joints for any play so I don't think it was that. I'm betting it is the tires, It only seems to happen at speeds between 40ish and 55mph. NEVER at highway speeds.
Replaced suspension and still have death wobble
- Thread starter Chasitek
- Start date
You have been pretty thorough, and it sounds like you know what to look for ...I'd get a buddy to let you run his tires and see what happens .
One things for sure , and this isn't a hard rule , but the bigger the tire , the heavier, and that leads to several things ....it's more to balance, more to be irregular, and at speed, larger tires have the ability to generate more inertia and vibes ...and that's energy .
One thing we as Jeep owners also miss, a 33" tire isn't necessarily 10 percent heavier than a 30", it can be 2 times or more heavier . Basically we run tires suited for a 3/4 ton truck on a 1/4 ton jeep. Not a good ratio, but sure looks cool.
Sounds like you ruled out everything, except tires, which are the common trigger for dw. You have two worn tires and one that takes over a half pound of wt to balance. You're going to keep chasing your tail until you get new tires.
Well said , the amount of weight tells a lot about the condition of the tires.
Reminds me of some Middle Eastern heads of state ..you can tell a lot about a governments' stability when the leader wears a sidearm .
Yeah, I gotta chime in with the other guys on the tires being the issue. My kid had put 33's on his Cherokee, inexpensive ones. Looked nice, but they took fist fulls of weights to balance them. He had a hell of a DW problem until I could talk him out of those tires. A new set of tires that didn't require a pound a wheel to balance and viola, problem solved.
They aren't cheap tires but they are known to have balancing problems as I just read. I will buy new tires when I can. I'm going to try and rotate them on the wheel first. That's what the machine said to do but I just didn't have time.
I can almost guarantee any tire that takes 2/3 pound of lead to balance isn't balanced. It can wobble in/out as well as up down. And used tires tend to have flat spots that will change tire balance every rotation.
If you tighten your rims while in the air those conical lugs don't overcome gravity. And if you wait to tighten the rims when the Jeep is on the ground those conical lugs don't overcome 4,000 pounds of Jeep pushing on them. Others scoff. Or deride. Or absurdly refute. But every vehicle is different. Some are way way more sensitive than others. And a straight front axle is less forgiving than other designs.
But starting with used tires is asking for problems. I've put a buddy's 'perfect tire', balanced and aired right on the front of a tractor and had it shake like crazy. On a tractor. Get those used tires replaced first.
Every suggestion (that you asked for help) you have shot down. So I expect the same here too. You seem to have eliminated most of the mechanical items that can allow dw, but dw starts with tire/rim oscillations.
If you tighten your rims while in the air those conical lugs don't overcome gravity. And if you wait to tighten the rims when the Jeep is on the ground those conical lugs don't overcome 4,000 pounds of Jeep pushing on them. Others scoff. Or deride. Or absurdly refute. But every vehicle is different. Some are way way more sensitive than others. And a straight front axle is less forgiving than other designs.
But starting with used tires is asking for problems. I've put a buddy's 'perfect tire', balanced and aired right on the front of a tractor and had it shake like crazy. On a tractor. Get those used tires replaced first.
Every suggestion (that you asked for help) you have shot down. So I expect the same here too. You seem to have eliminated most of the mechanical items that can allow dw, but dw starts with tire/rim oscillations.
If you're still experiencing death wobble, then you may have already ruined a recently installed 'new' part.
Also, don't assume your trackbar bolt is good because of a 'tight fit'. Anything other than a press fit has some play. It's proper torque that keeps it from moving.
Also, don't assume your trackbar bolt is good because of a 'tight fit'. Anything other than a press fit has some play. It's proper torque that keeps it from moving.
I haven’t shot down anything except to set my toe in which it already was. He told me to check my upper control arm bushings. I already have. Bushings aren’t just shot when they are in good condition. That’s just silly. I have already stated multiple times that I will change out the tires and the reasons why I have used tires. I had these tires off a truck I previously owned and never had any problems balancing them until now. They never required 10o’s of weights until put on these rims. Since all rims have a little bit of runout no matter what, I’m going to move the tire on the rim and see if that helps. As for the conical lug nuts. I read the guy’s advice and I am going to try what he said which is what I stated. I have not shot anything down. Please read before you make accusations.
I know, I torques the track bar down to metalcloaks specs. It’s possible something else is ruined but i’ve done multiple dry steer tests and can’t find anything else with play so if tires don’t fix it then i’ll go through and check again I guess. I will say I haven’t let it turn into full death wobble really. Not since replacing most of the parts because I know death wobble will destroy all the parts. I can always feel it about to start and when I let off the gas, I can make it stop before it starts...if that makes any sense. I will be replacing the tires when I get a chance. Hopefully this damn virus ends soon.
Get you tires replaced and check the axel side bolt for the tack bar make sure the hole isnt wallowed out andnthe bolt hasno play if it does replace the bolt with a thicker onenthis may require some drilling
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Yes, it does. Mine's doing the exact same thing right now, and I too need new tires.
It's been explained (and proven) many times that the size of the bolt, or hole, does not matter. It's the torque, squeezing the bracket. that keeps the bushing from moving.
If you agree that only a press fit has no play, then everything else does have play. Which means if not properly torqued, then that little bit of play will grow over time into wallowed out holes and/or death wobble.
How else do you explain how everything assembled with slotted holes (including your jeep) stay together and adjusted? It's torque and friction, not bolt/hole size.
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Lets also not forget that getting tire balanced down to zero says nothing about the internal condition of the tire. You can have a tire with damaged belts, have it spin perfectly on a balancer, and still have all sorts of problems once the thing is actually rolling under weight. Is road force balancing a thing for tires this size? When I was fixing cars 20 years ago we had a hunter roadforce machine that shoved a big-ass roller onto the tread while it spun to simulate the weight of the vehicle, but that was in a Lexus/Toyota shop and I never messed with big LT tires.
also extremely bold of you to assume my jeep stays together
When i mounted the 33s on my xj i used the road force balancer at the Subaru shop I was working at the time so i dont see whya shop around there wouldn't have one
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