Slight Wobble at 45mph

[mhrabosky]

I'd like to start by saying that I don't have a death wobble. I know this because i haven't been crapping my pants when it happens. I have a slight wobble that starts at around 40-45 mph. Just had tires balanced and it sort of helped, but didn't completely fix the problem. I have a 4 inch lift with 33 mud terrains... dont know if that helps with anything. Any ideas?

 

[Chris]

Death wobble won't necessarily mean crapping your pants. It can be very slight like you described.

Is it a vibration or an actual wobble? If it's a vibration I would be looking at u-joints.

However, it could be very slight death wobble, in which case I would be looking at ball joints, and especially track bar bolts (making sure they are all torqued to the proper specs).

It's pretty easy to look for loose components in the steering. Get underneath the vehicle while it's running and in park. Have someone sit in the drivers seat and aggressively steer the steering wheel back and forth with no rest in between. While they are doing that, watch from the underside and look and listen for anything that is obviously loose.

For me it was the track bar bolt where it bolts to the axle. It wasn't torqued down enough, and it was very obvious (visually and audibly) when I was under the car while my wife was doing the dry steering test.

 

[Stinger]

Death wobble won't necessarily mean crapping your pants. It can be very slight like you described.

Is it a vibration or an actual wobble? If it's a vibration I would be looking at u-joints.

However, it could be very slight death wobble, in which case I would be looking at ball joints, and especially track bar bolts (making sure they are all torqued to the proper specs).

It's pretty easy to look for loose components in the steering. Get underneath the vehicle while it's running and in park. Have someone sit in the drivers seat and aggressively steer the steering wheel back and forth with no rest in between. While they are doing that, watch from the underside and look and listen for anything that is obviously loose.

For me it was the track bar bolt where it bolts to the axle. It wasn't torqued down enough, and it was very obvious (visually and audibly) when I was under the car while my wife was doing the dry steering test.

Look listen and FEEL. I have had those problems and only found it when I did the test that Chris described with my finger on each movable part like the tie rod ends, the trac bar bolts etc.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

A speed sensitive shimmy/wobble is pretty much guaranteed to be caused by an imperfect tire balance, the only other possibility is a bent or out of round wheel. A bad alignment won't cause it. My opinion is that despite your tires having recently been balanced, the shop didn't take the time (or have the expertise) to get them balanced perfectly.

And the bigger the tire, like your 33's are, the more important it is for the tires to be perfectly balanced. The bigger the tire, the more effect even a small imbalance has.

One time it took me three trips to the tire shop in one day before they finally took the time to get my 35's balanced well enough to eliminate my 50-55 mph speed-sensitive shimmy.

 

[Stinger]

Jerry is correct. However, if all the suspension, steering stuff is in good shape you may not know the tires are out of balance. Once they wear it starts to become apparent then obvious. I have had my tires balanced and force balanced so many times the tire shop cringes when they see me drive in

 

[Jerry Bransford]

... if all the suspension, steering stuff is in good shape you may not know the tires are out of balance.

I dunno, I'd have to think about that. As tight as the suspensions of all three of my vehicles are, TJ, Lexus, and BMW, I can detect even a slight tire imbalance. To me, it's easier to tell when you have a tire that is out of balance when the suspension is tight without any slop anywhere.

 

[Stinger]

I dunno, I'd have to think about that. As tight as the suspensions of all three of my vehicles are, TJ, Lexus, and BMW, I can detect even a slight tire imbalance. To me, it's easier to tell when you have a tire that is out of balance when the suspension is tight without any slop anywhere.

I suspect an awful lot of folks will not know what they are feeling at the start and only become fully aware when it manifests as a "slight death wobble."