Brand Spanking NEW Death Wobble on way home...

[Lunentucker]

I found this from about 18 months ago. It' to me' eerily matches what I experienced. The poster is an engineer...

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/death-wobble.53737/

And the OP vanished after posting that he was going to go through all of the torques as soon as he got the truck back from the dealer doing the axle leak repair.

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[Redfour5]

And the OP vanished after posting that he was going to go through all of the torques as soon as he got the truck back from the dealer doing the axle leak repair.

Interesting thank you

 

[ZoMojave]

36 psi on three 37 on the fourth

Okay, I'll bite again.

As stated by many here, drop that psi to 31-32 and take it out to the same road that you experienced the wobble in question.

 

[Redfour5]

Okay, I'll bite again.

As stated by many here, drop that psi to 31-32 and take it out to the same road that you experienced the wobble in question.

Will do.

 

[Redfour5]

Have them check your factory tires. I went through this earlier this year. After throwing parts at my truck, they finally figured out I had two factory tires that we not only out of round, but they would not balance. They replaced them with Falken Wildpeaks and the problem (Shimmy/wobble/whatever) was resolved.

Semper Fi,

Will have them check that.

 

[snazzy gladdie]

I feel your pain thats how mine started just last week running 65 transitioned from road to an overpass, although mine is 2021 Overland with only 16,000 garage kept miles with no mods. It's exactly as it was when I ordered it and left the dealership. All maintenance has been performed and documented, tires rotated etc and bam just like yours it showed up the Damn DW! Took it in last Friday (it's on the extended warranty now glad I purchased it. The original 3/36 just expired 11/1/2023). Lo and behold the steering Dampner it's defective so they say. Tech said all steering and suspension parts are all good. I told the tech I'm not looking for a bandaid, something caused the Dampner to fail, since it just all of sudden happened, are you sure, I want it corrected. Ok since its under warranty I'm going to give them a shot this Thursday it will be replaced, if it continues afterward we'll go from there. Stay tuned!

 

[snazzy gladdie]

I feel your pain thats how mine started just last week running 65 transitioned from road to an overpass, although mine is 2021 Overland with only 16,000 garage kept miles with no mods. It's exactly as it was when I ordered it and left the dealership. All maintenance has been performed and documented, tires rotated etc and bam just like yours it showed up the Damn DW! Took it in last Friday (it's on the extended warranty now glad I purchased it. The original 3/36 just expired 11/1/2023). Lo and behold the steering Dampner it's defective so they say. Tech said all steering and suspension parts are all good. I told the tech I'm not looking for a bandaid, something caused the Dampner to fail, since it just all of sudden happened, are you sure, I want it corrected. Ok since its under warranty I'm going to give them a shot this Thursday it will be replaced, if it continues afterward we'll go from there. Stay tuned!

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Have them check your factory tires. I went through this earlier this year. After throwing parts at my truck, they finally figured out I had two factory tires that we not only out of round, but they would not balance. They replaced them with Falken Wildpeaks and the problem (Shimmy/wobble/whatever) was resolved.

I had the OEM Wildpeaks and I think they’re garbage. I went from those to 37” KM3 M/Ts on beadlocks and they took maybe 20% of the weight to balance. 1/3 of the surface of one of the factory wheels had weight stickers on it. Shit tires. They shouldn’t cause a “death wobble” but mine were noisy and the truck rode rough and can certainly see loosing some of those weights on a terribly made tire will cause a shimmy.

The awful Fox suspension doesn’t help. Honestly the OEM spec’d stuff is terrible and my truck’s road handling was intolerable bordering on dangerous. My old man hates modified/lifted trucks and after 1 ride in it he told me I needed to lift it. Replacing the tires and lifting the truck was an absolute game changer on road. I wouldn’t drive a stock Gladiator from 21’ farther than to a place to install a lift and tires.

 

[flipmcgee]

I drove 500 miles to get a 30% off MSRP. It's a Granite Crystal, Freedom, that in a Ram they would call "the night package and charge you 4K for "black accents."

The first 300 miles home I was going slow never engaging the cruise control, varying the RPM's constantly and under 65. Nothing happened. But once I hit 300, I said, OK, gonna try things out, went to like 77 mph (80 mph speed limit), put it on cruise, hit the transition point on a bridge and boom, there it is... slowed, down, at 58 mph, it goes away, and for the next two hundred miles, I identify exactly what triggers it from a driving/road stand point. Pretty much speed is critical. Under 65 mph, it doesn't happen. IF you are on the gas and stay on the gas and hit any irregularity in the road, like a repaired area, bridge transition areas, boom there it is... So, it's perfect. hit the start of a bride, big long ones over the Clark Fork River north of Missoula MT and get death wobble relatively violent...

So, Monday, I will be at my dealership and ask them to fix it. So, steering damper?, check. ALL the torque specs on every steering related fitting?, check. Camber?, Check, track bar? check, Ball joints? check., Understanding of the lemon law? check, Anything else to tell the service guys to to look at? This forum is great for helping in this kind of situation...

How do I get hold of those "Jeep Cares" people. I'd like to see if they really do, particularly since I called home and left a message for my wife saying if I died on the way home, it was Jeep Death Wobble... I figured some lawyer would check things out. That first one was extremely dangerous. If I had been on a bridge, with a semi next to me, it could have been a very bad outcome. I'm surprised Jeep doesn't key on this, or have a recall. This is a serious problem on a brand NEW Gladiator a few months out of production. I mean after all these years, you would think somebody would find this important.

I mean I read other similar posts to mine and they fix them with everything from new steering dampers, tightening track bars.

PS, in checking through the threads and posts, it appears that the "death wobble" is associated with mods almost always. Mine is a fresh off the dealer's lot, straight from the factory unit.

I had exactly the same issue after one of the firat oil change and tire rotations. I was on the way home hut a bridge transition and thought a wheel was coming off. I went from loving the jeep to wishing I had never bought it. After reading and reserching the issue on the net I was convinced this was unsolvable and i had fallen into a crack with a lemon. Seemed like if you were one of the unfortunate ones to have a vehicle with this then there was no fix and it would forever be somthing you had to deal with.. Thankfully, the dealership was like this no problem we see it frequently and it's the stabilizer. They replaced it and the JEEP was like new again. I can nail those bridge transition points as hard as I like now. I have put another 20k on the vehicle since that stabilizer was replaced and no issues. It wasn't tire pressure or some geometric calculations or just the way a jeep is, it was a bad stabilizer. Now if you have modified the tires and suspension I think the problem can become more difficult but mine is stock and the problem was solved easily. These stabilizers seem to be a quality control issue and some are crap right away. I might consider an aftermarket if this returns once I'm out of warranty but that won't be for a while.

 

[Jimko71]

I had the OEM Wildpeaks and I think they’re garbage. I went from those to 37” KM3 M/Ts on beadlocks and they took maybe 20% of the weight to balance. 1/3 of the surface of one of the factory wheels had weight stickers on it. Shit tires. They shouldn’t cause a “death wobble” but mine were noisy and the truck rode rough and can certainly see loosing some of those weights on a terribly made tire will cause a shimmy.

The awful Fox suspension doesn’t help. Honestly the OEM spec’d stuff is terrible and my truck’s road handling was intolerable bordering on dangerous. My old man hates modified/lifted trucks and after 1 ride in it he told me I needed to lift it. Replacing the tires and lifting the truck was an absolute game changer on road. I wouldn’t drive a stock Gladiator from 21’ farther than to a place to install a lift and tires.

The Wildpeaks solved my issue. I had OEM Bridgestone Duellers on mine that were horrible. Doesn't matter really now because a few months later I got rid of the factory wheels and Wildpeaks for Mickey Thompson's and new wheels.

 

[Redfour5]

The Wildpeaks solved my issue. I had OEM Bridgestone Duellers on mine that were horrible. Doesn't matter really now because a few months later I got rid of the factory wheels and Wildpeaks for Mickey Thompson's and new wheels.

I have the duellers... Before the death wobble incidents when I was "breaking it in" below 65 mph, I noticed they seemed kind of rough in terms of ride. I saw they had 37 psi wondered about that (AND yes, I'm going to deflate them to like 32) and if I was experiencing the different suspension (solid axle vs independent) and steering (reciprocating vs rack and pinion) of the gladiator, then the wobble started the very first time I went over 70 mph and put it on cruise...

I was going to wait for new tires. We will see.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

The Wildpeaks solved my issue. I had OEM Bridgestone Duellers on mine that were horrible. Doesn't matter really now because a few months later I got rid of the factory wheels and Wildpeaks for Mickey Thompson's and new wheels.

Anything would improve upon Bridgestone or Firestone tires. Hand hewn wagon wheels or hand chipped stone are better than Bridgestone tires. Yes Potenzas are trash tires too. A set of all-season Michellin Pilots will run circles around Potenza summer performance tires all day long and not fall apart 3 months. Both companies have a reputation for their tires literally falling apart while you’re driving. I once suggested to a romantic rival he put Bridgestone tires on his car, assuming/hoping they would come apart and cause his death.

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