JL's Experiencing Death Wobble
- Thread starter JMT
- Start date
OP
Exerpt from the Detroit Free Press article on it...
"Death wobble is a term that sounds dramatic, but it is not known to have led to any deaths. A spokesman for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which owns the Jeep brand, references the term “steering system vibration” when answering queries about it."
I'll give them that "steering system vibration" sounds better than deathwobble but it's not going to change the headline!
"Death wobble is a term that sounds dramatic, but it is not known to have led to any deaths. A spokesman for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which owns the Jeep brand, references the term “steering system vibration” when answering queries about it."
I'll give them that "steering system vibration" sounds better than deathwobble but it's not going to change the headline!
OP
Doesn’t this prove that component wear is not the issue and that the most likely culprit is tire balance? It certainly isn’t a steering damper problem!
I'm not sure if it's actual death wobble they are talking about, of it it's another mistaken case of death wobble that is actually a tire imbalance issue. I would guess it's the latter and they are just calling it death wobble, a common mistake but definitely a better "clickbait" headline.
There is a difference between a shimmy and fully developed death wobble.
Artemis
TJ Enthusiast
And a lot of the people who have it, I believe, are confusing a shimmy with DW. And they are mostly first time Jeep owners who don't think the JL steers like their sports car. I'm Always amazed at the lack of research people do when purchasing a big ticket item. It's like buying a house without an inspection.
Its a common problem on a lot of front straight axle vehicles...Jeeps are not the only vehicles out there on the streets that fall victim to it. Sometimes it’s only slightly noticeable in newer trucks in my experience.
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BoldlyGoing
TJ Addict
The only time I’ve had real “death wobble” was on my old ‘76 F-100. When I bound it, all the steering component bushings were non existent. Any bump would send the front end in to full on back and forth until I stopped moving. Scared the absolute crap out of me.
After that, the little shimmies from tire imbalance were hardly worth mentioning
After that, the little shimmies from tire imbalance were hardly worth mentioning