2021 gladiator death wobble

[ShadowsPapa]

2000 would be WJ - straight front axle.
Those things ride fantastic and are great daily drivers. Around here you still see a LOT of ZJ and WJ Jeeps, some of them are lifted a fair amount, others are still family vehicles and daily drivers. In a way I wish I hadn't sold my last WJ........... it had 128,000 miles and was solid as a rock.

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[seven30]

2000 would be WJ - straight front axle.
Those things ride fantastic and are great daily drivers. Around here you still see a LOT of ZJ and WJ Jeeps, some of them are lifted a fair amount, others are still family vehicles and daily drivers. In a way I wish I hadn't sold my last WJ........... it had 128,000 miles and was solid as a rock.

Yep the only weak link in the WJ (4.0) is the 42re tranny. The XJ auto was so much better.

 

[CMac]

Sorry your dealership won't fix the problem. I'd try another dealership.

Smartest response here, thus far. Find a different dealer, just for starters.

 

[jeepin48]

My tires were inspected and also balanced twice, alignment x2. Tires fixed my problem. Not going to get into an argument here. Just sharing my experience. Dealer says this fixed a dozen Gladiators, including mine. As I said, YMMV.

Here is my quick story of my 2021 Diesel Overland.

0-5000 miles stock overland Bridgestone HT 255/70/R18 ----No Issues

5000-15,000 miles Rubicon take offs 285/75R17 ------No Issues

15,000 -15,001 (lol) I put used (35K) tires off a Sahara on that were the same Bridgestone HT 255/70R18 as before and I have horrible DW!

I think there is something to be said for warn out and subpar balanced tires on these things.

 

[seven30]

My tires were inspected and also balanced twice, alignment x2. Tires fixed my problem. Not going to get into an argument here. Just sharing my experience. Dealer says this fixed a dozen Gladiators, including mine. As I said, YMMV.

What kind of tires were causing the issue? Were they out of round or balance? Defective?

 

[Lunentucker]

This may have been posted here already, but it's the best documentation on DW that I have seen.
The harmonics theory is interesting as well. Remember that old footage of the suspension bridge coming apart in the high winds from years ago?

At any rate, the 360 camera idea is brilliant.

 

[Murgatroid]

Took the Gladiator in Wed., they called today and said the dampener they replaced last fall was bad and it is going to take 20 days to get the new one. So I'm driving with the death wobble for 20 days. Claimed the torque, etc. was good on all the rest of the steering, just a bad replacement dampener for a bad dampener.

 

[seven30]

Took the Gladiator in Wed., they called today and said the dampener they replaced last fall was bad and it is going to take 20 days to get the new one. So I'm driving with the death wobble for 20 days. Claimed the torque, etc. was good on all the rest of the steering, just a bad replacement dampener for a bad dampener.

I was told same thing. Got a Fox for $200 and took care of it.

 

[seven30]

I was told same thing. Got a Fox for $200 and took care of it.

 

[Murgatroid]

I was told same thing. Got a Fox for $200 and took care of it.

Wow, I think the factory is $150, $200 seems like a good deal for something that will work. Will look into that today.

 

[jeepwaver]

I have the same issue in my Gladiator Sport. This month it has happened 3 times, twice just yesterday. Each time the intensity increases, not good for a any vehicle with 14K miles. Here is what happened to me
1st time; uneven surface in left side while at 65 mph. In the 2-3 seconds while on the patch, experienced a left to right vibration in the steering wheel. It was also a pronounced wobble on the left side as well. This continued after the rough patch and the surface was smooth and normal. I slowed down to 55, and the wobble stopped and steering wheel vibration stopped as well. Increased speed up to 75, no vibration or wobble returned. Strange.

2nd time; 36 degrees this morning, changing lane to left at 65 very intense front wobble felt like both sides. Created dangerous condition while passing another vehicle on the right. Continued for 20-30 seconds until I was able to safely moved to the right and slow down to 50mph, then wobble stopped.

3rd time: same day 5 miles further up the interstate, still 36 degrees this morning, hit slight bump at beginning of overpass created a very intense front wobble felt like both sides. Created dangerous condition and continued for 20-30 seconds until I was able to slow down to 50mph, then wobble stopped.

Not accceptable, calling Jeep Monday to get this in for them to look at it.
Thought I would share my wobble story
…Tim..+

Exactly whats going on. I am hoping we can fix this.

 

[SSinGA]

Took the Gladiator in Wed., they called today and said the dampener they replaced last fall was bad and it is going to take 20 days to get the new one. So I'm driving with the death wobble for 20 days. Claimed the torque, etc. was good on all the rest of the steering, just a bad replacement dampener for a bad dampener.

I was told same thing. Got a Fox for $200 and took care of it.

 

[Murgatroid]

I ended up getting a front end alignment that fixed, probably would of fixed it the first time I got a wobble.

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