I guess I’m experiencing the dreaded DEATH WOBBLE

[KSP938]

Back in the fall when I’d hit the rail road crossing I started to notice that I was experiencing a small wobble. Fast forward to last week and near 0 degree temperatures it has happened 3 times twice at a bridge crossing and the rail road tracks. 2021 Mojave no modifications 35/10.5/17 tires. Any suggestions.

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[DiehardTory]

What is the miles on your rig? Are you still under 3 yrs and 36K miles = warranty coverage.. Multiple possibilities

 

[KSP938]

30,000 miles. Factory warranty thru end of March 2024. I also have extended warranty thru Mopar.

 

[DylanM]

Common causes for front end shimmy/wobble are tires out of balance, tires out of round/abnormal wear, or something loose in the front suspension/steering.

You can have the tires checked for proper balance and runout/wear issues, and you can crawl under the front end and check the torque on all the steering and suspension components.... or since it's under warranty, take it to the dealer.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

A small wobble is not Death wobble. Death wobble is when the whole jeep feels like it's about to come apart and it shakes violently until you come to a stop, that's death wobble. Sound a like your getting some road feedback in your steering or you have some loose components that once they get loose enough can cause death wobble. Toss a wrench on your track bar, tie rod, drag link, controls arms and make sure all are tight. Check your sway bar links as well. Tire pressure in your tires or abnormal wear can cause it too. Out of balance or out of round tires as well.

 

[KSP938]

Thanks I’ll try all the above. I’m getting bump stops replaced this week under warranty they were leaking oil. I’ll have them check out the front. I have an amazing tech at the dealership that works on it.

 

[Bbannongmu]

No guessing with Death Wobble. It’s not subtle. Never had it on any of my solid axle Jeeps in over 30 years but I’ve experienced it and fixed it on friends’ Jeeps. Not necessarily in order but the below sums it up. Only other thing I’ve seen is a badly worn control arm bushing. I typically remove the stabilizer for a diagnostic test drive. Good luck.

 

[Kevin_D]

... last week and near 0 degree temperatures it has happened 3 times twice at a bridge crossing and the rail road tracks.

My Sport S had some left front wheel shimmy in sub-zero temperature two winters ago when I'd hit a road defect. Once the temperature warmed up (over 10º) the problem went away.
The dealer replaced the steering damper (seems their fix for nearly any front end issues) and the problem has not reoccurred, even last week across MT & ND in -10º weather.

Kevin

 

[flipmode]

I had nearly the exact experience with mine. If you are confident it’s not death wobble, I would recommend an aftermarket steering stabilizer. It sapped any minor shake in the steering at bridge transitions and railroad tracks for me.

Also had the stabilizer replaced under warranty, and the little shake came back after a few thousand miles (JT Overland, so I don’t have the Rubicon or Mojave dampener, which I was told by the tech is a much better part). An aftermarket one is worth the investment. Especially if you ever plan on larger than stock tires.

The usual disclaimer: as many have said and will say, if it is death wobble, a stabilizer isn’t going to help. And may mask the real problem for a time and make things worse.

 

[pcrawfordpt]

First, make sure all your steering and suspension components are torqued to spec…there’s a good list in one of the above posts. Second, make sure your tires are well balanced, especially if you go 35’s and bigger. The larger the tire, the harder to balance and when it starts to shake (not death wobble) the more feedback you will get. Third, with larger tires you may need a better steering stabilizer. If you ruled out loose steering and suspension, this could fix it. I chased this issue for a while, everything was torqued to spec, but still got some shaking (not death wobble). Upgraded to Bilstein gas steering stabilizer and it’s gone. Remember a gas stabilizer will ever so slightly try and extend, so you will feel like you need to put a tiny bit of resistance on the steering wheel to keep straight. One last thing, I did notice in cold weather, if the Gladiator was sitting for a few days, the 37” 10 ply tires could be slightly out of round. It could take a mile or so for them to warm up to perfectly round again. This would make that shaky steering more noticeable.

 

[legacy_etu]

Saw your thread title and all I could think of was this scene in the movie I robot.

 

[KevB]

I started getting death wobble last week on the way to the dealership. They were able to duplicate it, so they are replacing it most of the front end components on a 2021 Gladiator with 38k miles(tie rod ends, drag links, track bar etc. and of course the steering dampener (which I asked if I bought an aftermarket one would they put it on a d they said yes.). Maybe it will fix the death wobble or maybe it won’t. They also identified that the clutches in the rear diff are making noises as well and will be replacing those as well.

 

[Stan H]

Back in the fall when I’d hit the rail road crossing I started to notice that I was experiencing a small wobble. Fast forward to last week and near 0 degree temperatures it has happened 3 times twice at a bridge crossing and the rail road tracks. 2021 Mojave no modifications 35/10.5/17 tires. Any suggestions.

Jack front axle a couple inches and check out all joints etc.
Have a friend rotate each front tire while you see if it is bent??

 

[XraytecH]

Death Wobble?

Are you sure?

 

[Shift Happens]

If you're getting a shimmy when you hit a bump, the stock steering stabilizers really do suck, especially in cold weather.
But for sure have your tire balance checked. I was having DW on my wrangler. I was able to get around it by moving the steering wheel lock to lock about 20+ times. My assumption is this kicked the stabilizer in the ass making it hide the issue, which was enough to get me home.
When I got home I balanced the tires and did an alignment. Tires were way out of balance and the alignment was off too.
I still think there's something going on driver side front but haven't been able to identify it yet. Issue didn't come back after balance/alignment. Dealer replaced the stabilizer because that's their solution for everything since it's cheap and easy and masks other front end problems.

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