Cough death wobble, cough. 2021 overland 13k miles

[seven30]

Looking for input on my gladiator. Been at dealer 5 times now they have replaced track bar, steering box, drag link, Pittman arm. Re torqued everything and re aligned multiple times. And a new fox steering stabilizer.

mopar lift

they added an aftermarket control arm drop bracket to attempt to remedy the problem but it caused weird drivability issues like bump steer and a awkward double rebound bounce over smaller bumps like expansion joints.

I explicitly explained to the dealer to remove the aftermarket part since it didn’t belong on the jeep engineered kit, and they tried to just put it on again and told me to deal with it. I refused the part because “legally” if it causes a crash and I kill someone because if it they will tel me to kick rocks because it was aftermarket. Also, why did it work perfectly for 13k miles and magically now it does not. Something’s just not right and they can’t figure it out.

What I noticed on my Gladiator are ball joints that are not "failed" but have weak internal spring loading. These deflect easily. On a car they would be fine but not so with the larger'/heavier wheels the Gladiator runs.

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[seven30]

This. Literally

Is a loose ball joint conducive to DW? How about ball joint with very little preload that deflects easily? How about several ball joints that all deflect easily? Notice how heavy the wheels are with MT tires? My belief is that the steering ball joints are ok for a stock base sport but are right on the edge for larger wheel/tire combos and the stabilizer is masking this deficiency.

 

[@californiajeeping]

Is a loose ball joint conducive to DW? How about ball joint with very little preload that deflects easily? How about several ball joints that all deflect easily? Notice how heavy the wheels are with MT tires? My belief is that the steering ball joints are ok for a stock base sport but are right on the edge for larger wheel/tire combos and the stabilizer is masking this deficiency.

You have a bad part or loose part. You will need to find it.

Most of the time its in the track bar or track bar bracket and most lifts come with new for that reason. A small problem can push and become full on death wobble anything from improperly torqued control arms to a loose pitman arm or even a bad TRE.

Loose balljoints could be the small problem that creates a death wobble situation by starting with an uncontrolled shimmy. The stabilizer is absolutely able to mask that and dampen the steering to keep the wobble from being created. Thats why the stabilizer helps.

The mopar lift IIRC gives you around 5 degrees of caster and has clevite style bushings on the arms. All of these bushings are self centering and must be torqued at full ride height after the suspension settles.

Procedure as follows: I usually loosen all of the bolts and cruise around a neighborhood at 5mph going over some speed bumps turning etc. Then sit it on flat ground and then re-torque every bolt. This is EXTREMELY important. Also your lift will settle down a bit once you drive it. Do the same procedure above.

My factory balljoints have held up to heavy offroading for around 5k miles with 39" tires and beadlock wheels. They arent just "weak" out of the box they are pretty substantial for a midsize truck.

 

[Pcasp3]

In case...

The first thing I did. The only movement I get which is barely any is UCA

You have a bad part or loose part. You will need to find it.

Most of the time its in the track bar or track bar bracket and most lifts come with new for that reason. A small problem can push and become full on death wobble anything from improperly torqued control arms to a loose pitman arm or even a bad TRE.

Loose balljoints could be the small problem that creates a death wobble situation by starting with an uncontrolled shimmy. The stabilizer is absolutely able to mask that and dampen the steering to keep the wobble from being created. Thats why the stabilizer helps.

The mopar lift IIRC gives you around 5 degrees of caster and has clevite style bushings on the arms. All of these bushings are self centering and must be torqued at full ride height after the suspension settles.

Procedure as follows: I usually loosen all of the bolts and cruise around a neighborhood at 5mph going over some speed bumps turning etc. Then sit it on flat ground and then re-torque every bolt. This is EXTREMELY important. Also your lift will settle down a bit once you drive it. Do the same procedure above.

My factory balljoints have held up to heavy offroading for around 5k miles with 39" tires and beadlock wheels. They arent just "weak" out of the box they are pretty substantial for a midsize truck.

might give the loosen and torque a go, but I’m convinced some part has gotta be bad and it’s just not bad enough to see when diagnosing.

 

[seven30]

You have a bad part or loose part. You will need to find it.

Most of the time its in the track bar or track bar bracket and most lifts come with new for that reason. A small problem can push and become full on death wobble anything from improperly torqued control arms to a loose pitman arm or even a bad TRE.

Loose balljoints could be the small problem that creates a death wobble situation by starting with an uncontrolled shimmy. The stabilizer is absolutely able to mask that and dampen the steering to keep the wobble from being created. Thats why the stabilizer helps.

The mopar lift IIRC gives you around 5 degrees of caster and has clevite style bushings on the arms. All of these bushings are self centering and must be torqued at full ride height after the suspension settles.

Procedure as follows: I usually loosen all of the bolts and cruise around a neighborhood at 5mph going over some speed bumps turning etc. Then sit it on flat ground and then re-torque every bolt. This is EXTREMELY important. Also your lift will settle down a bit once you drive it. Do the same procedure above.

My factory balljoints have held up to heavy offroading for around 5k miles with 39" tires and beadlock wheels. They arent just "weak" out of the box they are pretty substantial for a midsize truck.

I wonder if there is a quality control issue with some of the bal joints. It does not take all that much force to overcome the spring loading and deflect the ones on my truck. Removing the damper will allow shimmy leading into DW.

 

[@californiajeeping]

I wonder if there is a quality control issue with some of the bal joints. It does not take all that much force to overcome the spring loading and deflect the ones on my truck. Removing the damper will allow shimmy leading into DW.

Do a re-torque yourself at ride height.

Lift the front axle put a prybar under your tire and lift. If it feels obviously loose then order up a set of balljoints and toss them in. Weekend project and your good for a long time. Its an easy swap all things considered.

 

[jbeenemd]

No new posting from Pcasp3 in 6 weeks. Were you able to get your problem solved?

 

[Pcasp3]

No new posting from Pcasp3 in 6 weeks. Were you able to get your problem solved?

Nope. No dealer could fix it so I sold the pos

 

[mdyucca]

Nope. No dealer could fix it so I sold the pos

Did the ball joint’s ever get replaced?

 

[Pcasp3]

Did the ball joint’s ever get replaced?

waited over a month and a half with it in the shop. had to buy a new vehicle since they wouldnt give a rental that long. they lost my first set. and the second never showed so i was 100% done.

 

[mdyucca]

waited over a month and a half with it in the shop. had to buy a new vehicle since they wouldnt give a rental that long. they lost my first set. and the second never showed so i was 100% done.

It is a shame you went through this cluster by a dealership you had previously had a good relationship with; working for, buying a car from; having them install the lift kit. Also, seems like Jeep would have wanted to see what was going on with components from Mopar Performance Parts. It is distressing to have a car in the shop with no clear answer as to the fix. Hope your enjoying your new ride.

 

[Pcasp3]

Yeah, pretty bad situation, went for service at two dealers per jeep cares request… got the TJ when they initially couldn’t fix and swapped for this thang

It is a shame you went through this cluster by a dealership you had previously had a good relationship with; working for, buying a car from; having them install the lift kit. Also, seems like Jeep would have wanted to see what was going on with components from Mopar Performance Parts. It is distressing to have a car in the shop with no clear answer as to the fix. Hope your enjoying your new ride.

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