Death wobble again

DavidBT

DavidBT

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
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697
Location
South East Arizona
Went wheeling today in one of my favorite places, Las Cienegas NCA near Sonoita, Arizona. Had a great day and will post some videos in the wheeling forum. I had death wobble a couple of months ago coming home from the same area and eventually got my tires rotated and balanced to see if it would fix it. It seemed to be ok on another road a couple of weeks ago, but coming home today it acted up in the exact same place, only this time, twice within a couple of miles. It did it four times total before I got home. I had to keep it around 45 mph and there was some 65 mile mph sections, scary. I'm going to have to find someone to shake the steering wheel for me while I check out linkage. Also today I could feel a clunking in the left front while waiting to make a right turn at a traffic light. Crazy
 
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I did drive through some mud puddles. Nothing that I would think would cause the wobble to come on so strong. It was crazy. I will crawl around under it this weekend and check if I knocked some weights off. Thanks
 
KennethS said:
That clunk ain’t good. Something is looser than it’s supposed to be.
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Yea something needs to be found out asap. Hope you find the cause soon.

I’ll have to check out that area @DavidBT thanks for sharing. I enjoy exploring around Sonoita and Lake Patagonia.
 
Go slowly as they turn the wheel and check every connection- Focus as you change direction for slop in any joint-

You can do it those with it running and not running and sometimes the power steering reveals the problem a little more clearly

It’s a little hard to diagnose but your upper control arm bushings can contribute as well

Don’t rule out losing a tire weight although I don’t no that that would be the problem the way you’re describing it
 
Mikee024 said:
Yea something needs to be found out asap. Hope you find the cause soon.

I’ll have to check out that area @DavidBT thanks for sharing. I enjoy exploring around Sonoita and Lake Patagonia.
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It's going to be awhile before I'm able to fix it, we're leaving October 2nd for Mississippi and then back home through New Mexico. I know the area pretty well now and I was possibly
 
You can check it without a buddy. Place a camera under the front end, pointing at a joint (with good light). Start video recording, go rock the steering wheel back and forth slowly, then stop the video. Now you can watch it as many times as you need, pausing it, zooming it, etc.

Start with the track bar, both ends (most common death wobble troublemaker).
 
DavidBT said:
It's going to be awhile before I'm able to fix it, we're leaving October 2nd for Mississippi and then back home through New Mexico. I know the area pretty well now and I was possibly
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Damn, wrong button. When I do get my jeep straightened out, I was planning posting up a ride, possibly late November or early December.
 
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DavidBT said:
Thanks for all the input everyone, this is by far the best forum on the planet 😀
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We are even looking at other planets....We just can’t seem to get the membership base.


I’m always cutting up but on a serious note I really agree that we have a great forum, full of practical people and it is valuable if you own a TJ.

In my mind it is essential.
 
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Death wobble update. With the weather cooling down and our Mississippi trip out of the way, I finally pulled my jeep into the garage to have a look underneath it. With the help of my neighbor across the street moving the steering wheel for me, I found that the track bar at the axle is very loose. I'm going to torque it down today and take it for a spin to see if that cures it.
 
Torque it, then check it before driving it. If it still seems loose, it's because the bushing has turned to mush, and you'll need to replace the bushing (if it's a stock track bar).
 
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OldBuzzard said:
Torque it, then check it before driving it. If it still seems loose, it's because the bushing has turned to mush, and you'll need to replace the bushing (if it's a stock track bar).
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Thanks, it seemed to be jiggling around quite a bit. I was wondering if there was a bushing.
 
Is it the OEM track bar? Got pictures?

If it's OEM, that axle-end bushing is one of the primary culprits in death wobble. You can replace just the bushing, or the whole track bar with new OEM, or with an adjustable one to center your axle.
 
Mine went from perfectly fine to full-on DW over three days. Check this video (set it to full screen to see it well). That's with a properly torqued bolt - it's the old soft rubber flexing.
 
OldBuzzard said:
Mine went from perfectly fine to full-on DW over three days. Check this video (set it to full screen to see it well). That's with a properly torqued bolt - it's the old soft rubber flexing.
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Thanks, I just titened it to 50flbs and took it for a test drive. Got it up to 55 mph and seemed good.

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