Death wobble even after replacing tons of parts

Gwilcom93

Gwilcom93

New Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2020
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4
Location
Mahwah nj
99 tj with a 4.25 lift adjustable lower and upper arms front/rear. Adjustable Tbar front. Moog wheel bearings moog upper and lower ball joints. New bushing in the front end. Chrome molly axles front. Knuckles. Cross over steering stock and drop pitman arms. Steering box.... ALL MENTIONED PARTS ARE BRAND NEW AND HAD THE JEEP ALIGNED. AND STILL HAVE DEATH WOBBLE.... CANT FIGURE IT OUT...
Everything is new on the jeep exsept for the frame, tub, interior, rims, engine, clutch and tranny. EVERYTHING ELSE HAS BEEN REPLACED
 
"Adjustable upper and lower control arms"

What is your pinion/castor angle?
Not enough castor, aside from worn parts and drastically out of balance tires is the primary cause of "Death Wobble"
 
99 out of 100 times it's a tire balance issue. Sure, you've had them balanced, but you don't know for certain that the shop that did it got it right. My bet is on the wheel / tire balancing, 100%.

EDIT: Nevermind, just saw you have a crossover steering setup and dropped pitman arm. All bets are off then... could be related to that. aftermarket steering setup for sure.
 
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I went through a similar process. What I finally learned is that my aftermarket wheels were lug centric, not hub centric. When the wheels were put on the jeep, they were not centered. I bought hub-centric rings to match my wheel centers to the hub size. After installing the rings, I have lived happily ever after.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/hub-centric-wheel-questions.26958/
 
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Hub centric can make all the difference. But why a new drop pitman arm? What is your toe setting? Take some pics of your front end components plus a pic of your steering setup showing from spring to spring. Then we can get a much better idea of possible issues. 📸
 
oh ,oh ,oh gotta poke the Hornets nest......STEERING DAMPNER.....there I said it.....Let the flaming begin....

Ok, now back down, like others have stated, check the tires and wheels, alignment specifications and do a "dry steering test" might just find something loose.
 
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I had a slight and intermittent wobble around 55mph sometimes, but went completely away with new tires and wheels.
 
Roadforce balancing is no guarantee of a good balance, it depends on the skill level of the tech doing it. I stopped paying for Roadforce balancing since the results were too variable. The best balance on my 35's I've had in recent years was on an old machine made in the 50's run by a guy who knew what he was doing.

Make no mistake that a bad or imperfectly balanced tire is most often the root cause of Death Wobble.

This might help explain my opinion on that...

A balanced electric motor spinning while only being loosely bolted to the work bench won't shake or vibrate. An out of balance spinning motor bolted firmly to the work bench will shake/vibrate the work bench. An out of balance spinning motor only loosely bolted to the work bench will shake the bejesus out of the work bench.
 
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Death wobble question #1

WHAT IS CAUSING THE FRONT END TO SHAKE ? HINT: IT IS LIKELY THE ONLY THING THAT WEIGHS 50 LBS, IS ROUND , SPINS AND REQUIRES WEIGHTS TO BALANCE IT.

Death wobble question 2.

WHAT MAY BE ALLOWING THE MOVEMENT TO BE WORSE ? HINT : THINGS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO THE WHEELS -steering components.

YOU CAN HAVE DEATH WOBBLE WITH OUT OF BALANCE/BAD / LOW PSI TIRES AND PERFECT COMPONENTS THROUGHOUT. This is active death wobble.

YOU CAN HAVE DEATH WOBBLE WITH PERFECT TIRES AND A BAD /WORN FRONT END COMPONENT . ALSO , 3 WORN COMPONENTS THAT MOVE 1/16" HAVE THE SAME NET EFFECT AS ONE THAT MOVES 3/16". In these cases , the Jeep will be fine until you hit a large pothole or several , as the tires aren't causing the worn components to do any thing , and the worn components are just making it drive poorly . This is dormant death wobble.


YOU CAN , AND MOST OFTEN , HAVE SOME OF BOTH ...BUT IN OTHER CASE IT TAKES SOMETHING TO SET IT OFF.

Death wobble is when the power of the oscillation overpowers the natural tracking force of the spinning front tires . Anything that causes or allows either of those things to happen has to be addressed .
 
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Get your tires balanced perfect.
 
reddvltj said:
"Adjustable upper and lower control arms"

What is your pinion/castor angle?
Not enough castor, aside from worn parts and drastically out of balance tires is the primary cause of "Death Wobble"
Click to expand...

+7.5 caster pinion pointed straight at Tcase. Balance beads are what i use
 
Gwilcom93 said:
I use balance beads to balance my tires. Problem didnt start till after i hade the crossover steering put in
Click to expand...

ding ding ding you have a winner. I suspect the crossover steering is your problem plus the drop pitman arm. Yea the parts are new but the way they work may not best for our TJ’s. The best steering system is OEM like such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EM9F5M/?tag=wranglerorg-20
With a stock pitman arm.

you may want to read this thread

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/what-is-the-best-steering-for-my-jeep-wrangler-tj.2956/
 
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