Recently I raised my jeep about 3 and half inches, and the wobble began. have spent thousnads of dollars trying fix it and nothing works. I have replaced almost every part in the front end. Finally the guy who was an alignment guy toed it way out and it stopped, but its not fixed it still wants to go nuts, but with all the pressure from the toe it wont allow it to. The guy also said it was the worst death wobble he had ever seen. Any ideas would be great!:x:x
Death wobble!!!!
- Thread starter mgmckenna
- Start date
SteelHeadz
Super Moderator
Check list: Wheel balance, all bushings are tight, steering damper has no flatspots, trackbar is tight, steering gearbox has no exessive endplay, Tie rod ends and ball joints are not loose, Alignment are within tolerance(a little toe out is ok but not exessively out of the specified range).. out of curiousity, at what speed does the wobble occur?
88Wrangles
New member
Have the correct lug nuts on there and correct wheels for the rig? i.e. they seat properly on the wheel mounting surface. Seen that cause some serious problems before.
I know this sounds stupid, but check the air pressure on your tires. If they're under inflated, they'll start to deform at higher speeds. This is a known killer because it weakens the steel belts and can cause complete failure.
It's not unusual for jeepers to drop the air pressure in their tires for rock climbing and deep snow. It could be you forgot to re-inflate.
From what you explained, you've checked everything else.
It's not unusual for jeepers to drop the air pressure in their tires for rock climbing and deep snow. It could be you forgot to re-inflate.
From what you explained, you've checked everything else.
DeadHammer
New member
My personal experience with death wobble turned out to be damaged factory aluminum alloy rims (bashing them from 4 wheeling, actually had cracks and chunks of rim missing). The wheels were damaged so bad they would cause death wobble right about 40 - 50 mph (unbalanced). It would start when I would hit a bump in the road then the whole jeep would start to shake & wobble sightly and become progressively worse unless I got on the breaks real quick. I would check your wheels for damage especially if your running aluminum alloys (see if you are missing any wheel weights, check for cracks, damage to the edge of the rim, or a really bad cupped tire) . If you have the wheels balanced at a tire shop and they need to use an excessive amount of weight to balance any of your wheels that could be the source of your death wobble (I needed over 8 oz on one wheel). I got rid of my factory rims and went with black steelies and have never looked back & never had another problem with death wobble. I hope this helps.
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
Search this and other forum for 'death wobble'.
What front end parts have been replaced, and what are original?
What front end parts have been replaced, and what are original?
rollmeoverplease
New member
Death Wobble? - Jeep Wrangler Forum
check this link out it has some good info on death wobble
and death wobble is crazy because you feel like you are going to die
check this link out it has some good info on death wobble
and death wobble is crazy because you feel like you are going to die
I got DW immediately after installing 2 inch ciol spring spacers on my 2005 Wrangler. I didnt leave anything loose and nothing was wornout. It took me a few days of pondering before I came to the realization that by lowering the front control arms, I actually decreased the CASTER angle. I went to the dealer to see about getting the adjustable eccentric cam bolts. The Dealer said they were $50 each. I was not going to pay that, so I improvised...
Purchase a piece of 1.5 inch flatbar steel (not aluminum or alloy) 3/16 inch thick. I bought a 3 foot long piece at OSH for $10.00. I cut 4 pieces off (all at 1.5 inch) to make 4 squares the same size. Take your time cutting them square (or close to it).
Jack up the front of your jeep and place the frame on stands. Dont have any preasure on the front axle, and remove one of your lower control arm bolts. See how much room there is in the slotted hole to move your axle forward as much as possible. This is how much off center you need to drill your holes in the 4 little square pieces you cut out.
You will need a 9/16 inch drill bit for the above holes. This is important because the bolt is right at 9/16 inch.
Make sure to set up a drill press jig so the drilled holes are all in the exact same place on all 4 squares. I made my drill press jig with scrap wood, screws and a clamp. Obviously you will need to set your jig up to drill the offset holes so as to move your axle as much forward at the bottom as the slot will allow.
Repeat the above instructions 4 times so you have 4 completed shims (all the same, dont reset your jig, use it for all the shims).
Install the offset washers on the lower control arm bolt/nut so as to add as much posative Caster as possible. Put one shim on each side of the lower control arm bolt/washer.
After you do this, you need to reset your front toe. I set mine so the front of my tire tread was 1/8 inch closer than the rear of the tire tread (done with a tape measure). Then you will need to re-center your steering wheel. Thats pretty simple, I just went for a test drive with the wrenches and every mile or so, I made an adjustment till the steering wheel was centered. If you are not esure how to set the toe or center the wheel, dont be afraid to ask.
Anyhow, If anyone has questions, dont be afraid to ask.
bb62471(at)yahoo(dot)com
Purchase a piece of 1.5 inch flatbar steel (not aluminum or alloy) 3/16 inch thick. I bought a 3 foot long piece at OSH for $10.00. I cut 4 pieces off (all at 1.5 inch) to make 4 squares the same size. Take your time cutting them square (or close to it).
Jack up the front of your jeep and place the frame on stands. Dont have any preasure on the front axle, and remove one of your lower control arm bolts. See how much room there is in the slotted hole to move your axle forward as much as possible. This is how much off center you need to drill your holes in the 4 little square pieces you cut out.
You will need a 9/16 inch drill bit for the above holes. This is important because the bolt is right at 9/16 inch.
Make sure to set up a drill press jig so the drilled holes are all in the exact same place on all 4 squares. I made my drill press jig with scrap wood, screws and a clamp. Obviously you will need to set your jig up to drill the offset holes so as to move your axle as much forward at the bottom as the slot will allow.
Repeat the above instructions 4 times so you have 4 completed shims (all the same, dont reset your jig, use it for all the shims).
Install the offset washers on the lower control arm bolt/nut so as to add as much posative Caster as possible. Put one shim on each side of the lower control arm bolt/washer.
After you do this, you need to reset your front toe. I set mine so the front of my tire tread was 1/8 inch closer than the rear of the tire tread (done with a tape measure). Then you will need to re-center your steering wheel. Thats pretty simple, I just went for a test drive with the wrenches and every mile or so, I made an adjustment till the steering wheel was centered. If you are not esure how to set the toe or center the wheel, dont be afraid to ask.
Anyhow, If anyone has questions, dont be afraid to ask.
bb62471(at)yahoo(dot)com
Sorry folks...
My jeep didnt get less CASTER by adding the coil spring spacer life, it got more CASTER (+10 degrees to be exact). By adding my custom made offset washers, I reduced the CASTER back to about +7degrees. Sorry for any confusion or misunderstanding.
And yes, CASTER did cause my Death Wobble.:shades:
My jeep didnt get less CASTER by adding the coil spring spacer life, it got more CASTER (+10 degrees to be exact). By adding my custom made offset washers, I reduced the CASTER back to about +7degrees. Sorry for any confusion or misunderstanding.
And yes, CASTER did cause my Death Wobble.:shades:
