55k miles, I can feel the wobble coming…

[ABQJeep1848]

Team, see the title. I’m feeling the whiff of a wobble at 73 mph. Makes me wonder at 55k miles should I be under the jeep examining, tightening, fixing, replacing? What say you smarter dudes?

Sponsored

 

[tysongladiator]

Team, see the title. I’m feeling the whiff of a wobble at 73 mph. Makes me wonder at 55k miles should I be under the jeep examining, tightening, fixing, replacing? What say you smarter dudes?

I don't know how often you wheel, but I check for proper torque of suspension components after wheeling trips. I also periodically check for proper torque on both jeeps. I've found nuts and bolts not at proper torque before. I've also found bolts and nuts not properly torqued after service.

 

[ChrisNLA]

55K? Shoot im at 34K and had death wobble last week.

I checked everything in the front end with a torque wrench. The lower ball joints were under torque spec so I brought them to spec then advanced to the next castellation and re-pinned. We will see if that helps. I used a giant pry bar to check the play in the rod ends and joints and did not find anything alarming.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

Team, see the title. I’m feeling the whiff of a wobble at 73 mph. Makes me wonder at 55k miles should I be under the jeep examining, tightening, fixing, replacing? What say you smarter dudes?

A couple months ago I also experienced the death wobble in a 24 Sport S with stock 31” tires. Brought to my dealer to take care of. They definitely took care of that. I was told by the service manager and their alignment tech they replaced the steering damper, plus re-aligned the toe and caster in the front. Now the steering wheel is flat on all straight roads, plus returning to center coming out of turns, less prone to side winds and feels better than ever! The tech showed me the computer printout of before and after and I could see why I had to really pay attention before, the toe was neg .5 red, the caster was also. After they were .0 toe green, caster at .6+ green. Making a big difference. The play felt before I attributed to the nature of the beast live axle worm gear steering, coming out of a rack & pinion IFS Colorado.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

What is the condition of your tires?

 

[ABQJeep1848]

What is the condition of your tires?
[/QUOT

less than 5k miles

55K? Shoot im at 34K and had death wobble last week.

I checked everything in the front end with a torque wrench. The lower ball joints were under torque spec so I brought them to spec then advanced to the next castellation and re-pinned. We will see if that helps. I used a giant pry bar to check the play in the rod ends and joints and did not find anything alarming.

ignorance here. Where can I find the torque requirements for the various connections? have torque wrench, just not the experience.

 

[ChrisNLA]

less than 5k miles

ignorance here. Where can I find the torque requirements for the various connections? have torque wrench, just not the experience.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...torque-values-all-of-them-in-one-place.67915/

 

[ABQJeep1848]

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/-2020-2023-jt-gladiator-torque-values-all-of-them-in-one-place.67915/

Fantastic! Thanks for this.

 

[ABQJeep1848]

Alright Friends, you got me through the tightening phase. Feeling pretty good. A few items stick out, wondering if they are DIY, or find a pro? Steering stabilizer, front shocks are leaking, back sway links bushings are worn out. ( I may not be identifying the rear sway link right...) Thoughts?

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Shocks and stabilizer you can probably do yourself if not going to anything crazy. For the other take a picture and show us what you’re looking at so we’re all on the same page.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Just had my 23 JTR 26k kms (16k miles) in for the front not feeling tight. Going over bridge decks at 100k\hour (60 mph) the steering wheel would shake, the front would have micro bounce/jiggle. Tech found the two front shocks and stabilizer was leaking. Warranty replaced.

All the nuts and bolts torqued to spec and alignment redone. Feels solid like my 21 felt.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Another good way to check some things is have someone (that doesn't want to run you over) sit in the driver seat with the trucking running, and wiggle the steering wheel back and forth while you lay in front of the truck and watch/touch the tie rod ends and drag link ends. I was able to determine that my drag link has developed play in both ends (the top end at the pitman arm being worse) as I can feel the rod end clicking/clunking in my hard as the wheel is sawed back and forth. The tie rod ends felt solid with no play / clunking / clicking felt.

Sponsored