Every once in a while I will be driving my TJ and it is just start to death wobble. It shakes the shifter and steering wheel back and fourth for a short bit then goes away. Why does it do this??
Death wobble out of nowhere
- Thread starter Tjbythebay
- Start date
Your description makes it clear you're experiencing a speed sensitive shimmy not the notorious and totally violent Death Wobble. Death Wobble is VIOLENT and once it starts it only stops once you come to a complete or nearly complete stop. You cannot drive faster to stop DW.
A speed sensitive shimmy is pretty much always caused by an out of balance or bad tire.
A speed sensitive shimmy is pretty much always caused by an out of balance or bad tire.
OP
I do have to come to a complete stop or close to a complete stop for it to go away
Typical Death Wobble Diagnostic Path:
1. Wobble at a certain speed, does it every time - tire /wheel related; low pressure , imbalanced, out of round, broken belt, lost wheel weight, damaged wheel, loose beadlock ring, unit bearing, bad brake rotor (I know of only one case of this ). This means the oscillation is triggered by one or more of these things ...and the speed helps to generate the energy .
2. Random wobble - normally a loose component, often the track bar or several steering components loose or cumulatively slightly worn. In these cases, a bump usually sets it off ..but here is where it gets fuzzy-
3 .(a combination of 1 and 2) In many cases, one tire or more isn't perfectly balanced, or was and wasn't rotated, ran low ,etc . ...odds are actually pretty good of this. ....so it is becoming a problem ....AND , with age , you have some wear in the steering linkage, a soft track bar bushing,an upper control arm bushing loose or worn ...so now you have a combination of tire causing it and the components allowing it .
Maybe it's 20% tire and 80 % linkage...but can be any combination of those numbers...say 16 percent one and 84 percent the other...doesn't matter ...same end result.
Now I'm not trying to make it sound impossible ...you only have 4 tires. Make sure they are right , and then dry test the steering by turning the wheel slowly from 10-2 and watch the connections as you change directions ...nothing should slip and the track bar should have minimal movement at each end. Some , buy like an 1/8 or less. Forget shaking things with your hand ..if they are that loose, don't drive it.
You don't have to drive a new Jeep up under it .. death wobble is just a jeeps demanding way of saying the front end needs attention.
There are some other far out , harmonic related issues that happen, but what I'm describing above is way more common.
Also , we now sell TJ Death Wobble insurance, and it's offered at a 10 percent discount to all members . You mail 19.95 a month, or do bank draft , directly to me , I buy all sorts of high end steering components, and I'm guaranteed never to have death wobble. I think that's real fair since I'm providing the service and doing all the paperwork.
1. Wobble at a certain speed, does it every time - tire /wheel related; low pressure , imbalanced, out of round, broken belt, lost wheel weight, damaged wheel, loose beadlock ring, unit bearing, bad brake rotor (I know of only one case of this ). This means the oscillation is triggered by one or more of these things ...and the speed helps to generate the energy .
2. Random wobble - normally a loose component, often the track bar or several steering components loose or cumulatively slightly worn. In these cases, a bump usually sets it off ..but here is where it gets fuzzy-
3 .(a combination of 1 and 2) In many cases, one tire or more isn't perfectly balanced, or was and wasn't rotated, ran low ,etc . ...odds are actually pretty good of this. ....so it is becoming a problem ....AND , with age , you have some wear in the steering linkage, a soft track bar bushing,an upper control arm bushing loose or worn ...so now you have a combination of tire causing it and the components allowing it .
Maybe it's 20% tire and 80 % linkage...but can be any combination of those numbers...say 16 percent one and 84 percent the other...doesn't matter ...same end result.
Now I'm not trying to make it sound impossible ...you only have 4 tires. Make sure they are right , and then dry test the steering by turning the wheel slowly from 10-2 and watch the connections as you change directions ...nothing should slip and the track bar should have minimal movement at each end. Some , buy like an 1/8 or less. Forget shaking things with your hand ..if they are that loose, don't drive it.
You don't have to drive a new Jeep up under it .. death wobble is just a jeeps demanding way of saying the front end needs attention.
There are some other far out , harmonic related issues that happen, but what I'm describing above is way more common.
Also , we now sell TJ Death Wobble insurance, and it's offered at a 10 percent discount to all members . You mail 19.95 a month, or do bank draft , directly to me , I buy all sorts of high end steering components, and I'm guaranteed never to have death wobble. I think that's real fair since I'm providing the service and doing all the paperwork.
Did this just appear out of nowhere, or did it start after some work was performed, or has it been there from the time you bought the Jeep?
Look to the most recent maintenance done. It is almost always from the wheel/tire combo not balancing correctly on the hub. Old tires, ones that sat until they get a flat spot, or that no longer are balanced are the normal cause. Having worn steering or front axle parts help ensure death wobble will start. Go and carefully inspect all the steering joints and wheel bearing, ball joints for ANY movement. Rotate tires front to back.
Rebalance the tire/rim if necessary.
Look to the most recent maintenance done. It is almost always from the wheel/tire combo not balancing correctly on the hub. Old tires, ones that sat until they get a flat spot, or that no longer are balanced are the normal cause. Having worn steering or front axle parts help ensure death wobble will start. Go and carefully inspect all the steering joints and wheel bearing, ball joints for ANY movement. Rotate tires front to back.
Rebalance the tire/rim if necessary.