death wobble / shimmy/ blah blah blah fixed !

[kennyglm]

People call tire imbalance death wobble......I'm in the automotive trade and so hate the internet sometimes.​

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Trust me....you will know if you have death wobble and might live to tell us about it!​

if i ever had anything this bad i would trade it in

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[kennyglm]

I reported this a month or so ago here in the forum. I had no death wobble, but severe wandering and steering wheel play (like 4-6 inches from center before the truck moved). Loose connection to the Pittman arm and an alignment fixed the issue. Seems pretty common.

my actual tierod was bad. The dealer said it was most likely bad from new and somebody at jeep was having a bad day. your comment is interesting though i will be checking the tightness once in a while.

 

[kennyglm]

Congrats on your new rig and go enjoy it now!

Thank you !

 

[ShadowsPapa]

my actual tierod was bad. The dealer said it was most likely bad from new and somebody at jeep was having a bad day. your comment is interesting though i will be checking the tightness once in a while.

Please note that for clarity, and for people understanding what was replaced, what was loose, and what wasn't -
The tie rod does not connect to the steering gear's pitman arm.
The drag link goes from pitman arm to the right knuckle.
The tie rod goes from right knuckle to left knuckle, never touching the pitman arm at the steering gear.
So if the part you had replaced at at the pitman arm on the steering gear - it was the drag link socket on the left end of the drag link. It's the piece that goes into the drag link and connects to the pitman arm, through a hole in the outer end of the pitman arm and is secured with a nut.
You can check things for "tightness" - but there's two "tightness" to check -
A. The fasteners themselves like the nuts and bolts - if those are loose, you re-torque them properly with a torque wrench.
-There are also "ball joints" at the top and bottom of each knuckle - the ball joints allow the knuckle to pivot on the axle tubes.
Those have been known to actually be loose from the factory IN CERTAIN MONTHS OF PRODUCTION.

and

B. the tightness of the sockets - the joints themselves. And if those are loose - you replace parts.
There is a socket joint at each end of the tie rod which runs from knuckle to knuckle, there is a socket joint at each end of the drag link that runs from pitman to right knuckle.
To check those, have someone in the truck quickly move the steering wheel back and forth and watch for, even feel for, looseness in the joints - the socket joints.

Just stuff any savvy Wrangler or Gladiator might want to know about.............. and it actually applies to the Grand Cherokees made before the era of the WK series of Grand Cherokee when they moved to IFS. (Independent Front Suspension)

 

[steveorama]

Hey people i am not hear to argue what death wobble is or is not . The bottom line is the jeep dealership called it death wobble i called it a bad steering wheel shimmy. I simply wanted to update the jeep crew what fixed the problem and it was under warranty.

It's certainly not your fault that the term is overused. It's common for people new to Jeeps to throw it around, even new techs at Jeep dealerships will do it. A solid front axle requires a lot of components to keep everything straight and square compared to IFS vehicles that 90% of drivers are used to driving. So that shimmy or wobble from something out of alignment or loose certainly feels like a "death wobble" as it is very off putting coming from an IFS. This is why so many folks get worked up the first time driving and experiencing the "loose" steering or wander the Jeep has. How many posts there are on this forum about it should be an indication of the validity of that statement. A Jeep dealership or shop worth anything should know the difference between a shimmy and bump steer which is the term most shops will actually refer to death wobble as.

Those who have actually experienced it obviously know the difference and it's easy to call out those who haven't. Don't take it the wrong way we're just trying to educate you and other owners the difference. That's what the forums are for and the FB groups are for talking about how many ducks they have. As others stated true death wobble is much more dramatic and you basically have to slow the vehicle to almost a stop or a very slow speed to remedy it. It's like being in an earthquake while going 60mph down the road and you just hold on to the steering wheel. It can strike at just about anytime going usually over 40-45mph, but it's almost always caused when a steering component is worn or damaged and even more so on lifted Jeeps that may not have everything in proper geometry to start with. So down the road that faulty draglink could have lead to full blown death wobble as other parts could be worn down faster from the extra play. So it's good you got it fixed early especially under warranty. I'm glad they didn't' just replace your steering damper as the "fix". (I think the steering damper companies must have reps that go to the shops and push their products like the pharmaceutical companies do to doctors offices.)

From my own personal experience, I had a pretty significant death wobble on my '06 TJ that was never lifted, but had 31s (about the largest you could go on an unlifted TJ and still actually wheel it). I bought it new and after about 5 years of ownership it popped up one day going down the road unannounced. I would hit a pot hole or a bump going 45-50+mph and it just exploded and felt like the wheels were going to drive off in different directions. I would have to hit the brakes and slow to about 25mph or less before it would disappear. I chased the fix for about a month all the while being paranoid about every bump as it was my daily. I ended up replacing lots of different parts to finally discover the fix was replacing the track bar. I never did see any damage or anything worn enough that looked like it was the issue so it wasn't high on my suspect list, but I never had death wobble again the next 4 years I had it before I traded it in. There usually isn't' just one fix to death wobble as it really can be just about any part of the steering system that introduces enough play to start it.

if i ever had anything this bad i would trade it in

FWIW, although finding the issue can be frustrating, the fix is often simpler and cheaper than trading in your rig. It's simply a real possibility for anyone who owns a solid front axle vehicle and should be something to know what to do if/when it happens. It's part of the reason why those shirts and bumper stickers say "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand".

 

[Mjolnir]

Hey people i am not hear to argue what death wobble is or is not . The bottom line is the jeep dealership called it death wobble i called it a bad steering wheel shimmy. I simply wanted to update the jeep crew what fixed the problem and it was under warranty.

No one believes you are here to argue on what is what, however, it benefits all of us as well as any newcomers to understand what is happening with their vehicle when we correct/confirm information. Stopping the spread of misinformation is tremendously helpful.

 

[CrazyCooter]

Could be that the dealer knows warranty appoval is easier if they just call it "death wobble" as it's a known issue with some vehicles.

 

[In3briatedPanda]

People call tire imbalance death wobble......I'm in the automotive trade and so hate the internet sometimes.​

​

Trust me....you will know if you have death wobble and might live to tell us about it!​

i was one of those people just a few days ago posting on here calling it DW. My situation is a lateral up and down movement, not a side to side like that video shows. The jeep still shakes, but not that violently.

Youtube doesnt help when every video is called DW too. Just ignorance on my part, bc being in trade, i should know better. ?

 

[Lunentucker]

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ya beat me to it...............

https://www.quadratec.com/jeep-replacement-parts/gladiator-jt/steering-linkage-parts

 

[kennyglm]

yes and there is a tie rod connected to the draglink that also connects to the pitman arm. This picture is not even a gladiator suspension. Most likely an older jeep suspension

 

[Mjolnir]

yes and there is a tie rod connected to the draglink that also connects to the pitman arm. This picture is not even a gladiator suspension. Most likely an older jeep suspension

Umm...no there isn't. Clearly you don't know what a tie rod is.

Tie rod is ONLY from knuckle to knuckle.

Drag link ONLY goes from passenger tire knuckle to pitman arm.

The above two points are correct on a YJ as well as a JT. Maybe you're mixing up phrasing and you're thinking bushing? Idk but what you said above is very very wrong.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

yes and there is a tie rod connected to the draglink that also connects to the pitman arm. This picture is not even a gladiator suspension. Most likely an older jeep suspension

It’s a TJ.

It’s still good for illustrative purposes even though it’s inverted Y steering.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Umm...no there isn't. Clearly you don't know what a tie rod is.

Tie rod is ONLY from knuckle to knuckle.

Drag link ONLY goes from passenger tire knuckle to pitman arm.

The above two points are correct on a YJ as well as a JT. Maybe you're mixing up phrasing and you're thinking bushing? Idk but what you said above is very very wrong.

You clearly didn’t look at the pic. ?

It’s a TJ with stock inverted Y steering. The tie rod connects to the drag link.

 

[kennyglm]

Umm...no there isn't. Clearly you don't know what a tie rod is.

Tie rod is ONLY from knuckle to knuckle.

Drag link ONLY goes from passenger tire knuckle to pitman arm.

The above two points are correct on a YJ as well as a JT. Maybe you're mixing up phrasing and you're thinking bushing? Idk but what you said above is very very wrong.

and theres a replaceable tierod attached to it . Have a look on your own truck its there

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