Death Wobble 4xe 10k on the clock

[DAVECS1]

So my wife called me from the side of the road. She was on herway to my daughter's orthodontist appointment and she said the jeep started violently shaking and she thought she had a flat. She was super cool and knew exactly the conditions, she was doing about 60 and hit a bump with the driver's side wheel. She got to the Dr office and I met her and swapped out vehicles. On the drive home I confirmed it had death wobble three times, exactly the conditions she said.

Took the front end apart over two evenings. The passenger side upper ball joint was not tight at all and just held on by the the cotter pin. Putting everything back together with a bit more torque, about 10 ftlbs, and setting the toe at a 1/16 in. The jeep steers better than ever. I called the dealer, they could not get us in until feb 15th. Just really did not wanna give up my Gladiator that long and I did not want to drive a death trap, so I did the work.

Guy was selling Yeti track bar and Synergy sector shaft brace, so I have those parts on the way to shore up the steering long term.

It handled so good I cancelled my appointment cause I don't want anyone to mess it up.

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[am1978]

It’s nice to read about an issue and how someone figured it out and fixed it. Nice work.

 

[DaveL]

Interesting post.
Do you think that the parts installed are good?
Do you think they weren't installed properly--certainly the passenger side upper ball joint wasn't...

I've wondered whether the steering problems we had were:
Bad parts?
Poorly installed?

Whether the problem was:
Properly investigated in the selling dealer?
Whether they had actually done the work they said they had?

Used to work in maintenance for 3M Canada.

I heard "It's a Jeep Thing" so many times.

Glad you fixed it yourself. Glad You know what you're doing.
Dave

 

[DAVECS1]

I don't think the front end was torqued properly from the factory. Went through and torqued everything, and it is as it should be now. I think the loose ball joint probably caused wear to itself, the tire, and other suspension components, but cannot prove it. I added the aftermarket stuff as it has served my Gladiator well from the start. I have been off road, cross country, and towing loads with 35s and not even a hint of wobble.

My wife says with the new stuff it is pretty smooth, even on the roads with built in swimming pools.

 

[Arisdocjk]

I keep noticing a problem with my drag link at the knuckle. I will start to get a very mild bump steer, tighten the drag link at the knuckle and all is well again. I only have about 7000 miles on my Mojave and I’ve had to do this about 4 times already. I think a yeti drag link is in my immediate future.

 

[DAVECS1]

The stock drag link has a weird ball joint on the passenger side. It is a bit noisy, but seems solid. I did an aftermarket drag link for a while, and then went back to stock with heavyduty tie rods. The aftermarket one would dropp and deposit grease every where and I don't think it provided any noticeable steering improvement. The stock one stays put and seems to be fine out on the trail.

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