What Factory Replacement Suspension Parts Don't Suck?

My Jeep decided to start having death wobble. Everything in the front end was done in December. All control arms, drag link, tie rod, tires, springs, shocks.... all of it except the knuckle ball joints as they were and still are solid. Now I'm getting death wobble like crazy out of the blue. Tires are balance, had them checked. having a buddy come over to lend a hand shaking and rattling things to see what's loose, but I'm already unamused by the quality of parts that were installed. hell the dust boot on the damn drag link is already torn and shredded. looks like the urethane its made from didn't like being flexed and tore. Getting really pissed off with buying parts anymore. Can't afford to spend $60K+ on a new vehicle, but all the damn aftermarket parts are such garbage that I can't hardly keep an old vehicle on the road either!

So what, if any, brands are worth installing when I find what part that's less than a year old has shat the bed?

Just came back in from doing a full shake and jiggle, its the damn track bar. The rubber end is shot already. Just jiggling the wheel gently gives it around 1/4" of movement. Not even enough force to turn the stock size tires on dirt and its moving that much.

So time for a new front track bar already. What is a decent one to get? i don't care if its upgraded or stock.

GoldenGorilla said:

track bar bolt was torqued to 40 ft-lbs?

Click to expand...

This was the very first thing I checked. I thought for sure it had worked its way loose, so on the first instance of death wobble I drove it home and checked. Didn't budge.

I did end up ordering a Moog replacement. I think the brand that was installed was a Precision branded part. New track bar comes in on Friday, I'll pop the current bar out and check out the bushing.

I got the old track bar out and the Moog replacement in. Took it for a test drive and now there is no death wobble and feels much tighter. I was floored with how much more precise the steering feels now. it wasn't bad before but now any movement in the wheel translates to steering changes. Zero play and no wandering at all.

Checking out the old part compared to the new, the new one has what looks to be a much better bushing. More rubber across the width, and a higher durometer it feels like just poking it with a screwdriver. The old one is already showing signs of cracking and separated around the center bushing and outer wall. In 10 months. The boot on the ball joint end was not damaged on removal as I did the floorjack and socket trick, nothing touched the boot. the ball joint is tight still at least but its full of grit so it won't last long.