Death Wobble "Are we all bound to get it?"

[LadyJeepFreak]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Keep The Smog Stuff Or Not

K so from day one back when I got my jeep, I've been reading about "death wobble". I remember when l33t Jeep had it real bad and some others too.

Thing was, that was in the modding days for most of us. I modded and had no trouble at all.

I have an 03 TJ which most of you know. I haven't changed a thing on it this year, all my mods were done in 03-04.

I haven't been offroading in more than 10 months. I'm too busy working and all that jazz. I know it sucks.

Anyway, all of a sudden I have death wobble. Started a week ago at speeds of 40 mph. Haven't had it over 50 with wobble. I de-accelerate when it happens and it flatlines out. The wobbles are getting stronger though.

So, I have a 2 inch spacer and 33 MT's put on in Fall of 03. I tried to get an alignment done on the Jeep afterwards but no shop had the tools or kit to do an 03 alignment at that time.

However, I have had my tires balanced once since then, in spring 05.

I read some real scary technical things that this wobble could be from. You all know about my disastrous clutch problem last winter (without the jeep for two months waiting for friends to fix it). I can't go through that again and I don't know the slightest thing about the mechanical details of a vehicle so I can't repair it myself.

I can do an alignment (hopefully the shops have the kit now) and another balance sometime in October.

Do you think these thing will help? I'm hoping it isn't something real mechanical. It's not like I'm hard on it or have been riding it hard this year.

Thanks for reading,
Lady

P.S. Two things I never wanted to happen to me (after reading posts for two years) or that I dreaded happening were 1. Death Wobble 2. 02 Sensor Failure. Looks like I'm well on my way. :roll:

 

[currupt4130]

RE: Utah_jeepster has returned to the air waves...

definatley get it aligned asap, other than that, ill let the tj gurus take over with any other weird things that can cause death wobble, cuz i have leaf springs and dont worry about that kind of stuff :lol:

 

[Craig]

Not jeep related but I had it real bad in my old Ford F-150. The ball joints went bad which wore out the insides of the front tires. Had it fixed and realigned. After the realignment the truck was riding on the unworn portion of the tires causing a huge wobble at speeds of around 40mph. It could also happen from rotating unevenly worn tires to the front or rear or even just bad ball joints moving too much.

 

[TwistedCU]

Does it occur when you hit a bump or anytime you hit that speed?

I am relatively confident it is an alignment problem. If by chance that doesn't fix it, then you would need to start checking bushings and joints. When the shop does your alignment they should be checking that stuff anyhow.

Tires out of balance can do it too, but you've already addressed that.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

Do I have a axle problem?

Death wobbles are the hardest thing to figure out.
And yes we are all bound to get it once in a while.
There is a simple set of things you can do on your own to try an locate it.
First off, go around the jeep grabbing each tire from the top and placing your foot at the base and shake it, hard. On the front this will tell you if you have a wheel bearing loose, on the back it will tell you the same and or if you have a loose bolt on your rear axle (non-c-clip type).
Also at this time check your lug nuts. I do this check every time I fuel up since I am harder on my jeep than most pep's. Any odd sounds will require further investagation.
Now the fun part. Climb under the jeep at the front and grab the idler bar (the one comming from your stearing box to your front linkage), twisting it slightly and a little up and down movment will tell you if you have a broken ball joint and or a problem from your strearing box, you will get a quarter to a third of a twist from a ball joint, that is normal but it should move very freely here also. Now check your ball joints next to your strearing arms, same method.
Now do the same type of instection on your track bar ( this is the bar that runs from your driver sides frame to your diff), also check your rear track bar.
Now you need to inspect your drive lines, visualy check each 'U-joints' by twisting the drive shaft. you want to see no movment from each joint.
Next you will need to check your front diff's 'U-joints'. You will need to jack the front of your jeep up and turn each wheel to inspect these. I also check the rear at the same time with the transfer case in nuteral to listen to my gears, you dont want to hear the rice crispy sounds, you know the ole snap, crackle and pop thing.

Hopfully you will find it, if not then you will need to spend a few bucks to find it. fist you will need to take it down run it on a dynamo to see if your mechanic can see the problem front and rear axles. He will also want to re-balence your tires ( they do throw weights off now and then and turn on the rim if not bead locked) then do an alighment. Make sure they do a true 4 wheel alighment adjusting the rear linkage as well as the front if so equipt.
After that??? lift radiator cap and replace everything under it

I hope this helps you in finding yours. I has helped me when I get them. Four times so far... one broken ball joint, two u-joints, and a mulitble times spining the tires on the rims had made me learn how to track one down.

Good Luck

 

[LadyJeepFreak]

RE: MC2100 questions

Thanks Guys!! I will check these things out asap this week coming up and call to schedule an alignment. I sure hope it isn't something difficult.

Utah, welcome back! You are so kind and helpful!!

I caught it early, it just started happening a week ago.

Twisted the strangest thing is that It doesn't happen when I hit a bump or am on rough road. That is why it bugged me so much. I had read that's when it would usually appear. Mine happens when I'm going down a smooth road usually, at about the 40 mph mark.

Love the tips, keep ya updated. Thanks again.
Lady

 

[OutOfStep]

I got the same thing awhile back, 2" BB, death wobble at about 45 mph, especially if very light brake pressure was applied. I switched my front tires for the back ones and it went away.