bobcat481
New member
Seriously?? Must you REALLY ask such a silly question?
'92 Cherokee - Death Wobble Won't Go Away....
- Thread starter cmbraith
- Start date
I had the same problems with my 01 xj i had installed a RC 4.5 inch lift. Then began the death wobble so began my attempts to fix the problem, I replaced my trac bar to and adj trac bar had it aligned still had the problem, i replaced my upper control arms and steering stabilizer had it aligned and still had the shake. Then i took a look and my tires had began to get uneven from the wobble (keep in mind i still had stock tires from before the lift), so i bought new 32 inch tires had it aligned and so far i haven't had a wobble since. Now a year later i got the wobble back but i think its due to the narrow 7 inch wide rims and bad ball joints
I fought death wobble for some time, and eventually wrote an article on it here
http://www.jeepz.com/forum/suspension/29510-wrangler-death-wobble-what-causes-how-fix.html
My problem was that the two times I took it to have the caster set, they set it to a nice stock setting of 7.7 degrees. They never gave me a printout saying what they had set it to. I was able to fix my problem when I figured out how to set the caster myself - I set it in the neighborhood of 6-6.5 and I'm fine.
BTW - did they tell you what your caster angle was when they did the alignment?
http://www.jeepz.com/forum/suspension/29510-wrangler-death-wobble-what-causes-how-fix.html
My problem was that the two times I took it to have the caster set, they set it to a nice stock setting of 7.7 degrees. They never gave me a printout saying what they had set it to. I was able to fix my problem when I figured out how to set the caster myself - I set it in the neighborhood of 6-6.5 and I'm fine.
BTW - did they tell you what your caster angle was when they did the alignment?
firestarter
New member
So, for what it's worth (sounds like you've been through a lot) I just went through this "Death-wobble" craziness and the issue turned out to be bad cords in the tire. After reading about the issue for quite a while i replaced the stabilizer (started to dampen/mask the issue) then the trac-bar (no improvement) and finally the tires.
BAM, death wobble GONE!
Prior to replacing the tires in did have it aligned and balanced which i would've thought could point out the issue but i guess not. Shortly after this ordeal I ran across the following article (below) which sorta points to the fact that anything which can influence energy storage/transfer can lead to wobble. In my mind, the cords could theoretically do such.
Yucca-Man: Death Wobble
BAM, death wobble GONE!
Prior to replacing the tires in did have it aligned and balanced which i would've thought could point out the issue but i guess not. Shortly after this ordeal I ran across the following article (below) which sorta points to the fact that anything which can influence energy storage/transfer can lead to wobble. In my mind, the cords could theoretically do such.
Yucca-Man: Death Wobble
osnixpero
New member
I know you may have already heard this, but check and or change your tires. Had the death wobble in the worst way. I checked,tightened, reset, aligned, and blew sweet kisses at the thing. still wouldn't go away. Put new 30-10.50's on her and the wobble is gone completely. Good luck!
Thanks for all of the responses everyone! I'm going to be putting some 31 x 10.5's on -- while I'm at it I'm going to change the ball joints since it's pretty much the only thing I haven't done. I've noticed lately that there are tiny crack marks on the sidewalls of my tires, which pretty much makes me sure it's the tires. Word of advice to anyone lifting one of these.... make sure you buy a good kit. Don't do it the cheap way. Kits that implement the longer control arms eliminate the need for meddling with caster angle on the stock arms.
It may be a headache, but they sure look sweet when you're done and everything works right.
It may be a headache, but they sure look sweet when you're done and everything works right.
Hey there,
Hope you already got your death wobble fixed, but I had a similar problem on my 98' Cherokee. It turned out to be a bent rim. I'm not sure what happened, I did nothing on my Jeep as far as upgrades or repairs. I had not been offroad for a while. It just seemed like the transition from winter to spring caused these strange symptoms. My symptoms were, when I hit a certain speed it was like riding in a Saturn 5 rocket. The front end would violently shake, I could feel it in the pedals, in the steering, it felt like you described, like the front axle was going to fall off. A buddy of mine helped me replace the u-joints, the shocks, rotate the tires. It just so happened that in one of the tire rotations I noticably felt the shaking move from the front to the rear. The tire looked ok, so I went and bought a used rim for $30.00, put it on and it fixed the problem. Even if you are unsure which rim it is, for just over $100.00 purchase used rims and see if the problem goes away. Good luck.
Hope you already got your death wobble fixed, but I had a similar problem on my 98' Cherokee. It turned out to be a bent rim. I'm not sure what happened, I did nothing on my Jeep as far as upgrades or repairs. I had not been offroad for a while. It just seemed like the transition from winter to spring caused these strange symptoms. My symptoms were, when I hit a certain speed it was like riding in a Saturn 5 rocket. The front end would violently shake, I could feel it in the pedals, in the steering, it felt like you described, like the front axle was going to fall off. A buddy of mine helped me replace the u-joints, the shocks, rotate the tires. It just so happened that in one of the tire rotations I noticably felt the shaking move from the front to the rear. The tire looked ok, so I went and bought a used rim for $30.00, put it on and it fixed the problem. Even if you are unsure which rim it is, for just over $100.00 purchase used rims and see if the problem goes away. Good luck.
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