Can the steering "Death Wobble" be caused by worn tires?

[Chetcpo]

So I picked up a set of wheels from a local guy really cheap off his 2011 Wrangler Mojave. I needed to rotate my existing tires so I thought why not throw them on and drive to work and back then finish the process. Well it's 40 miles to work and back all highway. On the way home I was going about 75 and hit a bump and it was as though one of my tires was dribbling like a basketball and the truck felt like it was shaking itself apart. I let off the gas and it continued until I coasted down to about 65mph and stopped. I have never experienced anything like this before and it scared the crap out of me. I still had to get home so I soldiered on and then about 10 minutes later I hit another bump and it started again. I had already slowed down after that first incident and was going about 68 and again after I just held on for dear life and allowed the truck to decelerate it eventually stopped. So after that I drove home at about 60 with people honking at me unhappily. So this obviously had to be the different tires and wheels since I never had this happen with my stock wheels and 285/70R17 (32.7x11.2") tires. These tires were a similar diameter (255/75R17=32.1x10")and all four had 35psi cold pressure. The tires look to have about half their tread left and be in good condition. Anyone have any idea what's going on? My truck only has 19k (almost exclusively highway) miles and has never suffered from a steering issue and hasn't been abused at all.

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[ShadowsPapa]

So I picked up a set of wheels from a local guy really cheap off his 2011 Wrangler Mojave. I needed to rotate my existing tires so I thought why not throw them on and drive to work and back then finish the process. Well it's 40 miles to work and back all highway. On the way home I was going about 75 and hit a bump and it was as though one of my tires was dribbling like a basketball and the truck felt like it was shaking itself apart. I let off the gas and it continued until I coasted down to about 65mph and stopped. I have never experienced anything like this before and it scared the crap out of me. I still had to get home so I soldiered on and then about 10 minutes later I hit another bump and it started again. I had already slowed down after that first incident and was going about 68 and again after I just held on for dear life and allowed the truck to decelerate it eventually stopped. So after that I drove home at about 60 with people honking at me unhappily. So this obviously had to be the different tires and wheels since I never had this happen with my stock wheels and 285/70R17 (32.7x11.2") tires. These tires were a similar diameter (255/75R17=32.1x10")and all four had 35psi cold pressure. The tires look to have about half their tread left and be in good condition. Anyone have any idea what's going on? My truck only has 19k (almost exclusively highway) miles and has never suffered from a steering issue and hasn't been abused at all.

Stock wheels or aftermarket with a different offset, etc.?

'Normally' wear or balance issues don't start suddenly and then stop suddenly.

 

[Factoid]

Death wobble, no. Poor handling, vibration and shimmy, yes.

 

[kevman65]

Kinda sorta sounds like a steel belt in a tire broke, but I thought those days were long gone.

 

[Chetcpo]

Yeah but it will drive along smooth and quiet with no indication that anything is out of balance. No vibrations, smooth and silk and then if you hit a bump at speeds above 65mph all hell breaks loose and I'm not kidding when I say it feels like the truck is shaking itself apart and it will presumably continue until you slow down enough for the cycle of shaking/vibration to stop. I think it would continue to shake until something seriously broke if you didn't. Then once it settles it goes back to riding smooth as silk. I'm putting my other tires and wheels back on tomorrow and I'll post the result. I think the problem should go away unless the violent shaking damaged my steering components.

And as for the question is it a different offset I don't think so. I see people on here using JK rims all the time and I've yet to hear of anyone experiencing anything like this. Both wheels have an offset of 44.

This is about the Wrangler but it's obviously the same thing. I can tell you the pucker factor goes off the charts when this happens at 75mph.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/29360...r-death-wobble-following-class-action-lawsuit

 

[Mr._Bill]

How old are the tires? Look for the date on the sidewalls. They do have a limited life span, especially in warmer climates.

First thing I would do is have them balanced and inspected at a trusted tire shop.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

How old are the tires? Look for the date on the sidewalls. They do have a limited life span, especially in warmer climates.

First thing I would do is have them balanced and inspected at a trusted tire shop.

I believe 7 years is the oldest any tire shop here will even look at them. Once that date hits, they won't touch them.

 

[Chetcpo]

*UPDATE*
Before swapping them back off I decided to experiment with tire pressures. The 275/70R17s I took off were inflated to 42psi and had never induced death wobble. So I upped the pressure in these 255/75R17s from 35 to 42 and drove it to work and back 40 miles each way on the same roads as last time and no wobble whatsoever. So that's apparently a quick fix to get rid of your death wobble but it doesn't solve whatever problem that's causing it. I suspect they used too soft of rubber bushing material in the track rod. I saw where that was the "fix" for this problem in Wranglers from FCA was to replace it with one with stiffer bushings. I wonder if I can pull mine off and install poly bushings?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

42 seems pretty high for tires of that size.
Who put 42 in those? Likely a dealer.......
You should be 36-38, with 38 closer to the recommended range depending on the weight of the truck.
I bet you wear the centers on 'em with that much pressure not to mention traction is going to suffer.

 

[tysongladiator]

Yes. The more I beat up my tires on the trail, the worse it got. Put on new tires after 52,000 miles and boom! Like riding on glass!

 

[Chetcpo]

42 seems pretty high for tires of that size.
Who put 42 in those? Likely a dealer.......
You should be 36-38, with 38 closer to the recommended range depending on the weight of the truck.
I bet you wear the centers on 'em with that much pressure not to mention traction is going to suffer.

The tire shop that put them on did. I just never adjusted it because it seemed to be working ok.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I don't know what's up with some tire shops and dealership shops. When I first got my truck they were set to 41-42 (it was COLD outside so at "room temp" they'd have been over 42)
The dealership should have known better as it's in the specs AND on the door jamb sticker - 38 psi.

Then I had a tire shop swap tires around - and they set the psi to 42 -
Again, door jamb sticker says 38.

This fall I had a DIFFERENT dealer do tire rotation - putting on Rubicon A/T take-offs at that time. They set psi to 36. More aligned with the spec for a Rubicon tire - which would be correct.

 

[HONCHO]

Badly out of balance tires is what ( Sets off Death Wobble ..)

 

[Desert Outlaw]

Have you looked at your tie rod ends?
If you are lifted, did you upgrade your front track bar? If so, have you retorqued the hardware after 500-600 miles as you are supposed to?
Lower your front tire pressure to 30# - 42# is crazy!
Have you had your front end aligned? I would definitely have that looked at as well. Dump the stock trackbar and either replace it if you are at stock height or get the Steer Smarts track bar, tie rod and drag link setup. Be sure to Loctite the hardware and keep it very tight.
Also, take a look at the new wheels and see if they are true. A bent wheel will set off but not cause Death Wobble. Good luck.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Badly out of balance tires is what ( Sets off Death Wobble ..)

One of the things - check the Ford explanation, and Chevy - all trucks have had this type of issue. Ford has quite a bulletin on it, my F250 was bad after about 75,000 miles and the dealer couldn't fix it even after $2,000 worth of front end parts - tie rods, you name it, so I traded it off.

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