Pothole collision follwed by a Death Wobble

[Craig S.]

I own a 2021 Gladiator with 43,697 miles on it. The vehicle has never been off road. Upgrades include an aftermarket, 6" Falcon lift, 35" tires on what look to be 21" wheels (I purchased it this way). The truck also has an upgraded front bumper with a winch and skid plate that I added last year. This past weekend I was heading home and hit a pothole while making a right hand turn. As a result of that, the truck went into a violent death wobble that occurred whenever I attempted to make a turn. Fortunately this happened about a mile from my home and I was able to slowly limp it back to my garage. I noticed on a left hand turn into my neighborhood, that I had to rotate the steering wheel 450-480 degrees to make a simpler 90 degree turn. At that point it wobbled, The wobble stopped when I straightened out the wheel. I inspected the front end when I got home, but couldn't see any noticeable damage. Any thoughts on what may have occurred? Thank you for any advice.

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[UTRocky]

Pot holes on turns tend to cause damage on a lot of vehicles esp depending on size and speed you were going - Can you get us some pictures? Really check steering bar, knuckles, joints....etc. Or at best case they loosen things that gotten be tightened back to spec....etc.

 

[UTRocky]

Also how does turning the steering wheel and wheels actually turning in your driveway look and feel? Normal or part of steering system broke?

 

[Craig S.]

The steering seems smooth, it just takes a lot of rotation on the wheel to make it turn. Almost as if the steering wheel is slipping

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

Get a picture showing the lower control arm, tie rods, and strut/coil spring if you can. Depending on where you were, you might call the local highway/dot department and inquiring about their claims process to cover the damages. They have budgets for this type of issue, and you only have a limited time to file.

I'm at an ironically identical mileage and also hit a nasty patch today, think it triggered my dashcam from the shock. Bottomed out the the bump stop HARD. Drives fine but I'm getting the alignment checked, and everything else since the state is responsible for the road I was on.

 

[UTRocky]

The steering seems smooth, it just takes a lot of rotation on the wheel to make it turn. Almost as if the steering wheel is slipping

To me that means damage, so ya would get pictures contact your city/state as you may be entitled for repair cost and go get an alignment and they will tell ya whats wrong with the vehicle.

 

[Craig S.]

Thank you

 

[jimcasada]

First, I would check for missing wheel balancing weights. Out of balance wheels can trigger a wobble.

 

[Stan H]

460-480 degrees ? Thats more than 1 full rotation of the steering wheel. Thats pretty hard to do. Check the steering box also

 

[Badunit]

Other than bending the pitman arm so far that it lost half of its effective length or blowing something up internal to the steering gear, I can't see how you would have to turn the steering wheel that far to make a turn.

 

[Craig S.]

Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I can tell you that it was A LOT of rotation for a small turn. Doesn't make any sense.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

The extreme forces encountered when you hit the hole, may have sheared the worm gear on the inside. Especially if you have an aluminum case steering box. Good luck.

 

[Craig S.]

Thank you. Jeep upgraded to the steel case in 2021. I was able to do an inspection to confirm this; however, The symptoms indicate that I may have sheared the gear. I hope not :-(

 

[Craig S.]

Found the problem. The internal threads were rusted and stripped so badly that it just came apart when I hit the pothole. Don't know how I didn't see this the first time I inspected. This problem was as plain as day.

 

[UTRocky]

Whelp will there ya go.

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