Alright! Will do! I hope it solves it. Would be awesome. There's one shop I've used a time or two who's owner has like 7 Jeeps. He's moody but I think I'll go to him. He's got to know about this stuff.
Death Wobble Help!
- Thread starter JMT
- Start date
Shop owner says he will get them balanced perfectly, but I'm skeptical bc he's a Jeep owner and said it's probably your shocks or steering damper. When he saw my steering damper was stock and with oil on it he said, I suspect that's the culprit. My mechanic said, unlikely it's the tire balance, but could be a bad tire or wheel, more likely your trackbar, even a little play will put it into DW. The guy at the shop said, nah. So, I live in a small town and am at just about the only place they have a good balance. Oh well, we'll see
@Jerry Bransford and @bobthetj03 the shop said my front driver's side was 3/4 oz off and the passenger side was 1/2 oz. Tires nice and round, no egg shape. Perfectly balanced now. Will toe in my alignment when I get home and go for a drive to my favorite DW location! 
Edit: Why does everybody freak out when you say you're doing your own alignment?
Edit: Why does everybody freak out when you say you're doing your own alignment?
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Because they only learned how to do alignments on their shop racks to get or keep their jobs. It's not a hobby to them so they're not aware toe-ins don't require what they were taught on. Not to mention alignment shops are not in business to tell people they can do the easier stuff like toe-ins at home.
Ok, aligned the Jeep toe in 1/16". Drove to my favorite DW place, went into DW or maybe a shimmy, I could drive out of it at 30mph, which I could not do before. Then it happened again and I could drive out and this happened four times before I went back home...What's happenin? It felt like it was moving left to right more and I could feel it through the steering wheel more than usual just driving along...
How do you know that? I've been told that before. Funny when I have gone back to have them rebalance them after I was told it was "perfect" the first time, they finally managed to get it perfect enough that my shimmy/DW went away. Perfect tire balance, according to the tire shop, doesn't always mean it's actually perfect. At least not in my experience. That or there are multiple definitions of "perfect" in the tire balance industry.
I was standing there at the machine. I guess the machine could be wrong.How do you know that? I've been told that before. Funny when I have gone back to have them rebalance them after I was told it was "perfect" the first time, they finally managed to get it perfect enough that my shimmy/DW went away. Perfect tire balance, according to the tire shop, doesn't always mean it's actually perfect. At least not in my experience. That or there are multiple definitions of "perfect" in the tire balance industry.
This could get philosophical very fast. How do you know anything unless there's an absolute standard??? Like whether the time on your phone is right or not, considering that there is only one clock that is the standard and none of us have access to it, and with elevation differences clocks run at different rates and wavelengths travel at speeds that are less than instant...How do you know that? I've been told that before. Funny when I have gone back to have them rebalance them after I was told it was "perfect" the first time, they finally managed to get it perfect enough that my shimmy/DW went away. Perfect tire balance, according to the tire shop, doesn't always mean it's actually perfect. At least not in my experience. That or there are multiple definitions of "perfect" in the tire balance industry.
In any case, let me ask you this, how much would 1/2 oz on one side and 3/4 oz on the other side make? And because of tire wear, these things are changing all the time...
Another question, the only time it goes into DW or shimmy, is on pavements that are semi-washboarded, like small ripples in the pavement. It doesn't do it on larger bumps or smooth pavement. Does that have any significance in your experience?
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Bored at work so went searching around for dw issues. Two things jumped out that are similar to your issue. First was dw happened after a wheelin trip. Sounds as though the susp had "loosened" up. The cure was to loosen everything while on the ground and re-torque to spec and dw was gone. Second was a pull to the left due to a tb that was too short. TB replaced and dw went away.
Again, just what I found, don't kill the messenger
Again, just what I found, don't kill the messenger
By loosen "everything," you mean suspension related components or everything in the front end?Bored at work so went searching around for dw issues. Two things jumped out that are similar to your issue. First was dw happened after a wheelin trip. Sounds as though the susp had "loosened" up. The cure was to loosen everything while on the ground and re-torque to spec and dw was gone. Second was a pull to the left due to a tb that was too short. TB replaced and dw went away.
Again, just what I found, don't kill the messenger
New Trackbar coming soon! You probably read I'm 1 1/16" off, so this is a necessity anyway
Thanks, no killing the messenger here! Any help just to get passed this horror. I wish this on no one
Thanks, I really appreciate you doing the late night, on the job research. Hope it cured your boredom :zpong:It gives me some hope. I'll get to the suspension this weekend. All this has gotten me to thinking. I put the OME on Easter weekend, April 15. Initially I had 2.75" in the front but it settled down to 2.5". Then it started to feel loose in the front end about May 15. I check the torque on the trackbar at the axle, looked good. Then I put on the 1"MML and sway bar quick disconnects on May 26 and went wheelin' after a few test drives. DW came that night. So suspension torque specs and/or trackbar could be the issue. There is some slop in the trackbar when I do the 10-2-10-2-10-2 steering test. It seems to go into DW only when I'm toed in and on county roads around here, which are paved but bumpy, and mainly on curves or right after, which leads me to think trackbar because the Jeep is bouncing around those curves and the weight is shifting left to right. But now I can tell when it's going to happen and so if I back off the accelerator it will smooth out again. My mechanic suspected trackbar and did not like it that the axle was shifted 1 1/16" to the driver's side. Said any slop at that bushing will result in violent dw...Too bad Metalcloak is a little slow fulfilling their orders. I ordered on Memorial Day and it's still processing. They have good customer service though and good products! I'm not too excited about hollowing out the two holes to 5/8" and 9/16" since that will limit the trackbar I can put on in the future. But it is a beefy Chromoly trackbar and the Durotrac bushings don't require any maintenance. The threads at the jam nut can withstand torque upward of 250ft lbs and the torque at the axle and frame are between 130-150ft lbs.
Too bad Metalcloak is a little slow fulfilling their orders. I ordered on Memorial Day and it's still processing.
Could have been installed already for me. I live about 20 mins away
Could have been installed already for me. I live about 20 mins away
LOL! Helpful to laugh!
I talked to Tim at Brown Dog. He's been helping me along the way. He said I'm doing exactly what I should be doing to solve it. He also checked my carfax and said it was totally clean, not one negative report. So that is good to know. He said when you toe out and it goes away, it doesn't tell you the cause of dw but it does confirm that is what it is. He also said if you taking a curve one way and the dw usually happens in that direction that it tells you the source is usually on the opposite side. Mine usually occurs when I'm turning left or just after, putting it on the right, which could be the TB bushing at the axle again. I'll tell you, this is one way to learn about your Jeep, at least the front end...Got a few more things to check when I get home today
No, it was traditional. In January I had it done on a road force. But I was torn because the guys with the road force (and there's only one in town!) are so ignorant of Jeeps. They were worried about me mounting my rims on the bolts! They actually told me they wouldn't do it at first. I had to prove to them that it was right by calling Dick Cepek.
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