New steering damper made death wobble worse

[Jeeperjamie]

Yeah. You're due ball joints and probably more.

Ball joints at 55,000 miles? I have 65,500 miles on mine and have had 35's on it And 37's now for the past 35,000 miles and my ball joints are still good. I have my stock drag link and tie rod as well. Not sure what more he should need to replace at 55,000 miles, everything should be good still. I didn't replace the ball joints on my JKU until 125,000 miles and they didn't start feeling like they needed replaced until around 120,000

To the op a steering damper isn't going to cause or fix Death Wobble if you got death wobble, you got to trace something on the steering components and find what's loose or worn. Could be Track Bar, Drag Link, Tie Rod, and it could be Ball Joints but none of that stuff should be worn out at 55,000 miles unless your riding on 40's on some rough terrain and beating the truck up. On mine I can ride without a steering stabilizer and not experience death wobble. I will feel the road manners more but it can driven without one. I would start looking at what's loose, or something could be bound up somewhere. If it's had wobble a few times and you haven't did anything about it, one of the holes might be wallowed out. I'd look for stuff like that.

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[Jeeperjamie]

Unless hes running larger tires his ball joints are probably fine. I haven’t read or seen a lot of folks with oem size tires blowing theirs at 55k.

personal experience in at 84k and mine are fine

https://www.cjponyparts.com/falcon-...XJYnXCLnkRSpxiss2a3JXF88Vda1AHYRoCQZYQAvD_BwE

Pretty sure this is the stabilizer mentioned earlier. I have the fox one and its served me well. But I will be upgrading to this sooner than later.

I'm looking into that one as well just for a smoother ride. I am a little on the fence because mine doesn't ride bad now but I guess a little better feel in the steering wheel can't hurt none. I put my stock stabilizer back on because I felt like the fox one just wasn't worth the money really. I also found out it was pushing my jeep to the right a little bit because with the stock one on its driving a lot straighter. It wasn't pulling but it had a slight and I mean slight wander to the right with the fox one on.

 

[Enduro800]

I'm having the same problem, completely stock (for now) and 35000 km, they're replacing the OEM stabilizer. I asked for the FOX one instead but they said it had to be OEM, so its going to happen again. To top it all off its been 2 weeks now and the part isn't in and no response on when it will be fixed.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

I'm having the same problem, completely stock (for now) and 35000 km, they're replacing the OEM stabilizer. I asked for the FOX one instead but they said it had to be OEM, so its going to happen again. To top it all off its been 2 weeks now and the part isn't in and no response on when it will be fixed.

A steering stabilizer is not going to fix Death wobble if that's what you have going on. Just saying, plenty of threads on it already. Do you have Death Wobble, which means the truck feels like it's coming apart in the front, or do you have a shimmy in the steering wheel, which could be a bad Stabilizer. Not saying you don't have DW, but a lot a people assume that a little vibration in the Steering or shimmy is DW when in fact it is not.

 

[Jteakus]

Jeeperjamie is correct. Death Wobble is violent. A slight shimmy can usually be stopped with a new balance on the tires. Remember, most of us run larger than stock tires. They get balanced at install when new. As they wear they get lighter in different areas throwing off the balance which creates shimmy that can be exaggerated by slack in steering components. Always best to start with a rotation and balance when trying to diagnose shimmy/DW. My .02

 

[Gren71]

I'm looking into that one as well just for a smoother ride. I am a little on the fence because mine doesn't ride bad now but I guess a little better feel in the steering wheel can't hurt none. I put my stock stabilizer back on because I felt like the fox one just wasn't worth the money really. I also found out it was pushing my jeep to the right a little bit because with the stock one on its driving a lot straighter. It wasn't pulling but it had a slight and I mean slight wander to the right with the fox one on.

in 2020 when we all started swapping to the fox a LOT of folks had the same issue. Apparently you’re supposed to “cycle” the stabilizer when its installed. That means driving in small circles with full wheel turn to the left, followed by a full wheel turn to the right. Repeat for 5 full turns to each side.

i did that and my fox stabilizer all the sudden centered and worked normally.

 

[Gren71]

Jeeperjamie is correct. Death Wobble is violent. A slight shimmy can usually be stopped with a new balance on the tires. Remember, most of us run larger than stock tires. They get balanced at install when new. As they wear they get lighter in different areas throwing off the balance which creates shimmy that can be exaggerated by slack in steering components. Always best to start with a rotation and balance when trying to diagnose shimmy/DW. My .02

Ill add that a dynamic balance is ideal vs a regular static balance. May cost a little more but it’s worth it, especially for larger tires.

 

[Enduro800]

A steering stabilizer is not going to fix Death wobble if that's what you have going on. Just saying, plenty of threads on it already. Do you have Death Wobble, which means the truck feels like it's coming apart in the front, or do you have a shimmy in the steering wheel, which could be a bad Stabilizer. Not saying you don't have DW, but a lot a people assume that a little vibration in the Steering or shimmy is DW when in fact it is not.

When I hit a bump in the road doing hiway speed the whole front end shakes, is that it?

 

[Jteakus]

Agreed!
No one in my area has the equipment unfortunately.

 

[Jteakus]

Yessir, you have it.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

When I hit a bump in the road doing hiway speed the whole front end shakes, is that it?

Sounds like you got it maybe, I'd have to see a video of it doing it to confirm for sure. I would start tracing steering components to see what's loose, look at your tires as well and see if you got unusual wear any place on the front ones. The steering stabilizer might bandaid the problem so I would be cautious of throwing a new one on or upgraded one to try to fix it. In all honesty if your not running 35 or better tires the stock stabilizer is plenty enough for your rig. Heck I'm on 37 and my stock stabilizer is plenty enough for mine, it drives great. I also keep a good check on my steering components. My general rule of thumb is to check every oil change and make sure everything is still tight and looks good. 65,500 miles in and the only after market steering component on mine is a adjustable track bar to recenter the axle after I lifted it. Drives perfect.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

in 2020 when we all started swapping to the fox a LOT of folks had the same issue. Apparently you’re supposed to “cycle” the stabilizer when its installed. That means driving in small circles with full wheel turn to the left, followed by a full wheel turn to the right. Repeat for 5 full turns to each side.

i did that and my fox stabilizer all the sudden centered and worked normally.

I did the cycle thing as well and thought it was good to go. I guess I got use to it and just adjusted my steering habits to the stabilizer. I mean I didn't even notice it until about 2 months ago I put my stock stabilizer back on to see how the Jeep drove with it installed. My wife made a comment about it feeling like it pulled to the right a hair, she doesn't drive it much but I figured I'd see And sure enough it had a slight pull. Felt like the steering wheel was more dead center when driving on the stock stabilizer. Honestly could be all in my head as well, I'm not one to not say I don't over think things ever now and then

 

[Gren71]

Honestly could be all in my head as well, I'm not one to not say I don't over think things ever now and then

This exact mind set is a prereq for being a jeep owner haha we ALL over think things EVERY TIME


example:

A properly functioning steering stabilizer can improve your miles per gallon in a fashion that will add up over the life of the stabilizer by reducing excess vibration and movement” resistance “while driving.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Likewise brother. I may or may not be moving back home to Florida. Either way I go, If you decide to make a trip, we got you. My wife and I would be glad to show you around either spot. But, I may just have to make a trip your way. Brother, you own a Javelin!!! I'd have to see that in person. Put my hands on it. Haha!

Btw, what part of Louisiana?

Mostly the areas east of Lafayette, Pierre Part and other swamp areas. We started watching the old re-runs of Swamp People and thought we'd see what things were like, try the food, etc.
Wish I still had my 70. Sold it to finance my first JT. Still have the 73 and am very slowly working on getting it back on the road.

 

[AZCooWhip]

Anyone have a good location that provides all the different torque specs on all these bolts ?

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