Death wobble help please

[Bandit’s Lair]

It’s weird but my wobble shows up when my tire pressure is lower (30-33) but at 37 no issues

Same. I get the shimmies first thing in the morning at 31-33 but when it gets to around 35-37 smooth.

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[mgw750]

First thing to do is crawl under it with a torque wrench and torque everything to spec, from control arms, steering gear to ball joints.

 

[Gvsukids]

Same. I get the shimmies first thing in the morning at 31-33 but when it gets to around 35-37 smooth.

Is that from flat spots on your tires from sitting?

 

[VA6489]

I need some help guys! I have a 2020 Gladiator Rubicon with a leveling kit. I purchased it with 100,000 miles on it. Love it and it drove great with the 33” tires it had. All I did was put a new set of 35” tires on and now it’s death wobbling like crazy. I have checked the alignment and it is towed in 1/8 or a inch, I have replaced the draglink and that didn’t fix it, I changed the lower control arms and that didn’t fix it. I have upper arms that I’m going to change tomorrow.

my question is this, has this happened to anyone else? If so, what was your fix? Lastly, any advise as to what else to check would be greatly appreciated! I’m at a loss here…..all I did was change tires from 33 to 35 and tires were brand new.

Things to check:

- Are the new tires out of round? simply jack up the rig until you can see under the tire. Use a socket as a gauge under the tire and rotate it by hand. If it is out of round replace the tire.

- Are the wheels true? Did the shop bend a wheel during installation?

- Is the tire/wheel assembly balanced correctly?

Jeeps have a propensity to DW around 45mph and anyone of these simple issues can cause that.

It has 100K on it. Look at:

- Ball joints, if play in the joint replace with a quality joint.
- Track bar bushings. if worn or movment detected, upgrade to a forged track bar.
- Wheel bearing (Uni bearing) these wear out and cause all sorts of issues. simple Remove and replace.
- Steering box, how much play is in the box, if play adjust accordingly.
- Tie rod end and drag link ends for play.

Since you upgraded from 33 to 35 inch tires the larger size could be stressing already worn components and manifesting itself as a DW issue.

Good luck.

 

[Gatorac]

If this is death wobble, and not just a shimmy, I would suggest a track bar with better bushings based on my experience with my own JT. If it's a shimmy and/or vibration, the tires would be the most likely culprit.

 

[clinkous]

I read all your posts and I appreciate the feedback. To answer your questions above, I have checked everything. Nothing is loose! I agree that it could be the tires! I am going to change the upper control arms today, I am also going to take the advise of adjusting the caster. I have been running 30 psi in the new tires. I will tighten everything today, install the upper arms, adjust caster and check it. If it still wobbles, I am going to air the tires up to 36 and check it again. If it still wobbles I am going to put the 33's back on and check it again. I will update the forum as to what happens. Thanks Chris

 

[Pismo61]

Do the cheapest things first,tires,pressure etc.

 

[mgw750]

If a few lbs of air pressure causes it to wobble, you probably have other issues and that just unmasked it.

 

[pcrawfordpt]

So…lots of good advice so far. Since new tires seemed to start the problem check there first. Have them rebalanced or swap fronts to rear. When you say everything is tight…you mean torqued to spec or tight? Everything steering related must be torqued to spec. The usual suspect in death wobble is the track bar at the frame. Sometimes even if torqued properly afterwards, being lose could wallow out the hole for a bolt. If I recall you go up from 1/2 to 9/16 to solve that problem. Then check for hub and ball joint play. Check your castor to ensure the new control arms are working spec. If all that checks out, it could be the steering dampener is shot. Do not just replace it first. You must check the before mentioned or your just putting a band aid on a problem. This happens to me going from 35’s to 37’s. All was great on 35’s. After I double checked everything I put in a gas charged Bilstein dampener and haven’t had issues in three years.

 

[azmojave]

I added 9/16 bolts to the front trac bar on my JK and it helped a lot so I added this set to the JT. Small cost for an upgrade. I also recommend their products. I had their tie rod, draglink and trac bar on the JK
https://steersmarts.com/products/yeti-xd-9-16th-track-bar-bolt-upgrade-kit

 

[Tim]

When you say 7 degrees of caster with bit arms, what exactly does that mean? Are you saying extend both lower arms until I get 7degrees?

My true dual did not come with adjustable LCAs, only the adjustable UCAs. I added the adjustable LCAs and increased my caster from 6* to 7*

It is my understanding that the lower control arms locate the axle in the wheel well and the uppers are used to adjust caster.

I respectfully disagree.

When one reads the OP's message stating "it drove great with the 33” tires it had. All I did was put a new set of 35” tires on and now it’s death wobbling like crazy" , then the most likely cause for the new behaviour is the thing that was changed just prior, the tires.

If a person fuels up at a station they've never used before and suddenly the vehicle starts running poorly immediately afterward, it doesn't make good sense to start by doing a compression test or throwing parts at it, instead you check for bad fuel. When you have a marked change for the worse that closely follows an easily identified point/event, always look first at the most recent thing that was messed with or changed before things went to crap. Only once you've eliminated that do you then broaden the investigating into the next most likely causes.

I think the logic here is flawed. OP didn't replace the tires with the same exact thing, he changed tire size and therefore weight, rolling resistance, etc. Changing the tires most likely exasperated an issue with one or more loose steering or suspension components, ball joints, etc. As others have said, it's time to crawl under the Jeep with a torque wrench and check every suspension and steering bolt. Also, with 100k the ball joints are toast if they are still original.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

It is my understanding that the lower control arms locate the axle in the wheel well and the uppers are used to adjust caster.



I think the logic here is flawed. OP didn't replace the tires with the same exact thing, he changed tire size and therefore weight, rolling resistance, etc. Changing the tires most likely exasperated an issue with one or more loose steering or suspension components, ball joints, etc. As others have said, it's time to crawl under the Jeep with a torque wrench and check every suspension and steering bolt. Also, with 100k the ball joints are toast if they are still original.

Or the tires are out of balance or defective.

 

[GuzziMoto]

My first concern when someone asks about Death Wobble is to confirm they actually have Death Wobble. It is easy for someone to have a regular wobble and confuse that with Death Wobble. With actual Death Wobble the wobble is crazy violent and won't stop until the vehicle comes to a stop or near stop. It is crazy how violent it is. Death Wobble is almost always caused by play in the system. It can be something else that triggers it, like new tires that aren't quite right. But without the play in the system Death Wobble generally won't occur. It can be play from worn out ball joints, worn or weak bushings in things like the track bar, or bolts on pivot points like the track bar not being fully tight. Not being fully tight is not the same thing as being loose. Those bolts need to be seriously tight, and just being regular tight is not enough.
There are other wobbles that can happen. Wobbles that are speed related or tire related. But they are not Death Wobble. The term is often thrown around too easily, especially if you have never experienced actual Death Wobble.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

My first concern when someone asks about Death Wobble is to confirm they actually have Death Wobble. It is easy for someone to have a regular wobble and confuse that with Death Wobble. With actual Death Wobble the wobble is crazy violent and won't stop until the vehicle comes to a stop or near stop. It is crazy how violent it is. Death Wobble is almost always caused by play in the system. It can be something else that triggers it, like new tires that aren't quite right. But without the play in the system Death Wobble generally won't occur.
There are other wobbles that can happen. Wobbles that are speed related or tire related. But they are not Death Wobble. The term is often thrown around too easily, especially if you have never experienced actual Death Wobble.

I don't think it matters what someone calls it. Same diagnosis process either way.

What one person thinks is death is mild to someone else.

I had a junk set of tires on a TJ that caused bad wobbles. Would scare the crap out of someone in the passenger seat. Me, I'd stab the throttle and try to drive through it and that often worked.

 

[GuzziMoto]

I don't think it matters what someone calls it. Same diagnosis process either way.

What one person thinks is death is mild to someone else.

I had a junk set of tires on a TJ that caused bad wobbles. Would scare the crap out of someone in the passenger seat. Me, I'd stab the throttle and try to drive through it and that often worked.

It matters because the troubleshooting process for a regular wobble is completely different to the troubleshooting process for Death Wobble. They are different problems.

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