Death wobble and steering

astjp2 said:
I would skip the dropped pitman, otherwise it looks ok. I dont know anything about that track bar either, it looks ok but you wont know until you install and run it. Tools will be basic metric hand tools along with a ball joint press to get the track bar undone if you dont like the hammer and beat on it method.
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Oh and that is a stock pitman or at least that is what I thought it was. I may have clicked on the wrong one. It was suggested that a dropped pitman arm might be what caused the damage as it put an angle between the drag link and the tack bar
 
I need to know what ball joint I need for this. It is an upper and lower for the left and right side in the front and that should cover pretty much everything I'm worried about for the immediate fix.
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It may be the camera angle ,but the OP 's track bar seems bent like a fishing rod, almost bow like.
 
AndyG said:
It may be the camera angle ,but the OP 's track bar seems bent like a fishing rod, almost bow like.
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It very well could be. I bought this jeep from my grandfather (one owner him) and I doubt it's been changed ever. It has had death wobble before and he took it in to be fixed and I'm sure the mechanic just swapped the ball joints and tie rod ends to be cheap and didn't even bother with the track bar tie rod or drag link etc. I will be ordering a new track bar, tie rod and ends ,drag link, and pitman arm to replace the whole shabang.
 
It's fixable . Death Wobble can be caused by a low tire , but typically a result of poor tire balance and /or worn components on the front end with the track bar bushings being one of the first things to look at.
 
I couldn't see the list. But your Jeep looks like it has as much rust as mine. Just replace the whole tie rod assembly. Getting mine to actually rotate to get the ends off took literally putting vice grips on. Tightening them with a wrench and then hitting the grips with a hammer to rotate it.

I am in the same boat of daily driver and weekend mechanic. Having to Thor it around would really make it over a weekend or at least a whole day. If you replace it all, it's 2 tie rod ends and pulling the pitman arm to get it off.

Check your control arm bushing too.

If you're looking to do ball joints, that might be worth biting the bullet and having a shop punch them out. No YouTube video really does it justice. And if you're doing ball joints, check the front unit bearings.
 
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LittleTankTJ said:
I couldn't see the list. But your Jeep looks like it has as much rust as mine. Just replace the whole tie rod assembly. Getting mine to actually rotate to get the ends off took literally putting vice grips on. Tightening them with a wrench and then hitting the grips with a hammer to rotate it.

I am in the same boat of daily driver and weekend mechanic. Having to Thor it around would really make it over a weekend or at least a whole day. If you replace it all, it's 2 tie rod ends and pulling the pitman arm to get it off.

Check your control arm bushing too.

If you're looking to do ball joints, that might be worth biting the bullet and having a shop punch them out. No YouTube video really does it justice. And if you're doing ball joints, check the front unit bearings.
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I did come by this,
, video a month or so ago. It was informative and I almost forgot about it until you mention not seeing a good YouTube vid. He does change other parts that I'm not going to do just yet though.

The list is
Tie rod
Tie rod ends
Drag link
(The above are in a kit)
Track bar
And Lucas Oil Red'N'Tacky grease

I am still looking for ball joints but I always come up with tie rod ball joints or a myriad of others that aren't really the same. So I have no idea which ball joints to get.
 
MunyanDailyJeeper said:
I


I did come by this,
, video a month or so ago. It was informative and I almost forgot about it until you mention not seeing a good YouTube vid. He does change other parts that I'm not going to do just yet though.

The list is
Tie rod
Tie rod ends
Drag link
(The above are in a kit)
Track bar
And Lucas Oil Red'N'Tacky grease

I am still looking for ball joints but I always come up with tie rod ball joints or a myriad of others that aren't really the same. So I have no idea which ball joints to get.
Click to expand...
I mostly meant that the videos don't do just to just how hard it can be. It's one of those tasks that can be easy or can be really hard. Ball joints on your age vehicle might be worth taking to a shop.

Tie rod ends are easy enough if you have a BFH and aren't re using the ones you're taking off.
 
What the joints look like has nothing to do with their condition. You wont see any difference replacing a dirty old joint that has no play with a brand new one. It is a fun project and you will learn something but next time you might consider learning how to test each joint carefully to determine if it needs replacement. Most of your joints in the photos look like they have dirt on the zerk fittings, did you even grease any of the joints?

Sure you need to replace the bent and incorrect parts but ball joints, your new ones will look just like your old ones in less than a year.
 
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pagrey said:
What the joints look like has nothing to do with their condition. You wont see any difference replacing a dirty old joint that has no play with a brand new one. It is a fun project and you will learn something but next time you might consider learning how to test each joint carefully to determine if it needs replacement. Most of your joints in the photos look like they have dirt on the zerk fittings, did you even grease any of the joints?

Sure you need to replace the bent and incorrect parts but ball joints, your new ones will look just like your old ones in less than a year.
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I haven't gotten the ball joints yet so thank you for the tip! I will grease them and test them out when I replace the tie rod, drag link, and track bar. That will save me time and money if they have no play. will look up videos to test the play and make sure I'm alright there!
 
Okay so install is complete new track bar, tie rod and drag link. And stock pitman arm to replace dropped pitman arm. I greased all the joints after torqueing everything then did the alignment. I took it for a test run and now the death wobble is worse. I can't go above 25 mph. What could cause this?


Oh side note two of the joints I couldn't torque them to spec because the castle nut went way below the hole for the cotter pin.
 
Put a washer on it, thicker or thinner to get it to align the pin. Who's track bar are you using? I am going to swap my Rough country moog rubber bushing with a Synergy DDB's. I am going to get my dial indicator and mag base out and measure the difference in movement before and after to see if it is worth the headache. Tim
 
Ok death wobble gone everything is torqued but those two that sit below the hole can't be pinned.

If I were to put one of the old castle nuts on top of the other and pin that would it work? Or should I use washers? Any opinions or knowledge on the subject thank you.
 
Align the groove with the cotter pin, bend the pin to lock the nut in place, or just use a washer like I said above.
 
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