Took Delivery of My (Almost New) Sport S - Wobble

[Chrispyz]

Details on my vehicle: Gladiator Sport S, 10k miles, 100% stock. About 60 miles into my drive home, I hit a small hole, and the entire front end started to shake uncontrollably. Eventually, I get it over to the side of the road, and it stops shaking.

Call my dealer (who has been great btw!), and they say you have two options:

1. Get it back home (I live in a city about 4 hours away from the dealership), and take it in for warranty service.
2. Bring it back to us, and we will have our service department take a look.

I opt to bring it back to them encounter the same jarring shaking and wobbling two more times on the way back. I finally arrive, and they got it into the service center the following day straight away.

The tech I talked to understood the problem and reproduced it in his testing. As a result, the shop replaced my steering dampener / recalibrated alignment, and the problem was seen as resolved.

On the drive back the next day, I never encountered the wobble/shake from the day before. However, whenever I hit a patch of uneven road at speeds above 60, the vehicle would *start* the shaking, then subside slowly (happy it was 70%? resolved). In addition, the drift in the lane is pretty pronounced. With all wheels at identical pressure and on an even roadway, it always drifts one direction of the other.

My question for the forum: What would you do next? Anything I should specifically ask from my service department as a Warranty repair?

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[Sdsteph]

Does the truck have an aluminum or steel steering box?

 

[JT1]

Loose balljoints have been seen on a bunch of these. Mine were loose when I bought it. What pressure are you running in the tires? If mine got above 36 or so, the ride and handling over rough pavement was bad.

 

[Chrispyz]

Does the truck have an aluminum or steel steering box?

Unsure - ill ask the service department and find out.

 

[Chrispyz]

Loose balljoints have been seen on a bunch of these. Mine were loose when I bought it. What pressure are you running in the tires? If mine got above 36 or so, the ride and handling over rough pavement was bad.

They are currently running at 39.

 

[JT1]

They are currently running at 39.

39 is too high for even stock 245/75's. Drop them to 36 and see how it drives. What size tires are you running? If your jeep is a 21 it should have the new steel box.

 

[Jefe1018]

Thankfully this truck is still under factory warranty. Sounds like it’s going to be on them to fix, which is a good thing as this death wobble can be a little hard to diagnose for the average diy’er. Please keep us informed as to what the shops Discover.

 

[Chrispyz]

39 is too high for even stock 245/75's. Drop them to 36 and see how it drives. What size tires are you running? If your jeep is a 21 it should have the new steel box.

Thanks! I will drop them all to 36 and see how it goes.

 

[DavdZ]

Details on my vehicle: Gladiator Sport S, 10k miles, 100% stock. About 60 miles into my drive home, I hit a small hole, and the entire front end started to shake uncontrollably. Eventually, I get it over to the side of the road, and it stops shaking.

Call my dealer (who has been great btw!), and they say you have two options:

1. Get it back home (I live in a city about 4 hours away from the dealership), and take it in for warranty service.
2. Bring it back to us, and we will have our service department take a look.

I opt to bring it back to them encounter the same jarring shaking and wobbling two more times on the way back. I finally arrive, and they got it into the service center the following day straight away.

The tech I talked to understood the problem and reproduced it in his testing. As a result, the shop replaced my steering dampener / recalibrated alignment, and the problem was seen as resolved.

On the drive back the next day, I never encountered the wobble/shake from the day before. However, whenever I hit a patch of uneven road at speeds above 60, the vehicle would *start* the shaking, then subside slowly (happy it was 70%? resolved). In addition, the drift in the lane is pretty pronounced. With all wheels at identical pressure and on an even roadway, it always drifts one direction of the other.

My question for the forum: What would you do next? Anything I should specifically ask from my service department as a Warranty repair?

Sounds like same experiance for me, changed the damper and it didn't fix it, the changed it again and changed a bolt (not sure where, but they had it order it) and has been fine since.

 

[johnparjr]

Check your drivers side door plate for correct pressure if it’s running stock tires and what year is the truck as that will help on knowing what steering box you might have

 

[obrianmcc]

Steering dampener is not a fix for death wobble ... it only masks the symptoms. You need to find out what the real cause is and address it properly. Ball joints would be the first place to check ...

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