Surprise Death Wobble

[AndyG]

Posting this to add to the general knowledge base.

03 TJ , 33” Tires on Beadlock Rims . 45,600 miles.

No tire balance issues , loose parts or history of death wobble .

Hit a few inches of water on the highway as I slowed down at a green light...enough you feel the drag on the vehicle ...30-35 mph maybe ...and wham ...full blown death wobble .

Worked it over to the side of the road , wife in convulsions, checked the front wheels (had done front brakes last night ) and had her move the wheel for a fast dry test ...all good.

Got in the TJ , Drove 160 miles or so , 65-75 with no problem.

So what happened? When water hit the wheels , the bead locks held a ton , and I was going too slow to spin it out or even...so the wheels instantly and temporarily became like an unbalanced washing machine.

A TJ is so short and light , 33” tires are so big in relation to its chassis , when the balance is off , it is really easy for them to over power the vehicles inherent tracking ability in my opinion.

 

[Boinked]

This are just thoughts........ not a diagnosis

Because "death wobble" is nothing more than harmonic vibration. The loss of friction on the tires contacting the road. Seems like a perfect opportunity for it to appear.

Just "Maybe". When you lost the traction going into the water. The force of the water triggered it to start.

 

[AndyG]

This are just thoughts........ not a diagnosis

Because "death wobble" is nothing more than harmonic vibration. The loss of friction on the tires contacting the road. Seems like a perfect opportunity for it to appear.

Just "Maybe". When you lost the traction going into the water. The force of the water triggered it to start.

I hadn’t thought of that ...given the low and decreasing speed ...but I can see how those wide 12.5’s could do that ...and man was it violent.

The more I think about , I can see that or the hydraulic resistance setting it off. It really didn’t build much ...just wham.

I thought it was postworthy to mention the episode . Learn something new every day .

Yesterday I learned you can’t scramble eggs in a toaster .

 

[Goatman]

If there is a decent amount of wet snow (above tire, part way up rim) and then it freezes overnight with your vehicle parked outside it is very common to get death wobble. Doesn't matter if it's a Honda Accord or a Jeep. The frozen snow hangs on to the rim and throws it WAY out of balance. Hub caps orwire spokes are the worst. Any short vehicle can get it to happen. Sister-in-law nearly crapped her self a while back. Anything over 38 mph would trigger it. She drove over 20 miles like that to my house to find out what was wrong. This was before cell phones.
Just another thing to look for with Winter around the corner.

 

[AndyG]

If there is a decent amount of wet snow (above tire, part way up rim) and then it freezes overnight with your vehicle parked outside it is very common to get death wobble. Doesn't matter if it's a Honda Accord or a Jeep. The frozen snow hangs on to the rim and throws it WAY out of balance. Hub caps orwire spokes are the worst. Any short vehicle can get it to happen. Sister-in-law nearly crapped her self a while back. Anything over 38 mph would trigger it. She drove over 20 miles like that to my house to find out what was wrong. This was before cell phones.
Just another thing to look for with Winter around the corner.

Makes perfect sense.

 

[ranwilrw]

The only time I've ever had dw was hitting a puddle on the side of the road with one tire doing about 50, it was very violent. Luckily I had just been reading about dw on this forum the night before, so I knew what was going on and didn't panic.

 

[AndyG]

The only time I've ever had dw was hitting a puddle on the side of the road with one tire doing about 50, it was very violent. Luckily I had just been reading about dw on this forum the night before, so I knew what was going on and didn't panic.

I’m glad you posted this ...I was like ...what on earth...glad I’m not the only one .

In my mind , it’s just the light weight of these not being able to counteract the force that may make them slightly more susceptible .

 

[Jerry Bransford]

In my mind , it’s just the light weight of these not being able to counteract the force that may make them slightly more susceptible .

Wranglers look light weight but they're anything but that. With their full steel frames, heavy steel tubs, axles, etc. they outweigh probably 90% of the newer cars on the road.

 

[AndyG]

Wranglers look light weight but they're anything but that. With their full steel frames, heavy steel tubs, axles, etc. they outweigh probably 90% of the newer cars on the road.

True , they are dense for their size. Good post Jerry.

 

[ranwilrw]

Wranglers look light weight but they're anything but that. With their full steel frames, heavy steel tubs, axles, etc. they outweigh probably 90% of the newer cars on the road.

My theory is it happens because of the high center of gravity combined with the narrow width and the front tires being so far out in front of the vehicle creates the perfect storm if everything else is not perfect. Reminds me of the shopping carts (buggy's where I come from) at the Walmart.

 

[Hog]

A little ironic Andy that you JUST changed the brakes out, never had issue before, and had a DW experience, I believe it could have been a perfect storm situation, but I would double check your work when you get home, i.e. loose lugnuts, etc.... just to be sure, can’t have your wife being scared of riding inWhitey..... on 2nd thought maybe it was an omen