Death Wobble Cause found article

[Hemi]

is this something i should actually be worried about? I certainly don't want to be driving around with my kid in the car and having it wobble me off the road or into a cop car or something.

No, this is not something to get wound up over. My alignment needs fixing on my JK, and there is this one bump on an entrance ramp that when I hit I get death wobble, which means I lift up on the gas for about 5 seconds as it peters out and than hit the accelerator again. if I got my alignment fixed it would go away. But it's scarier than it is dangerous, I mean if it started and I mashed down the gas it might get bad. But common sense. man.

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[smess]

Just saw this article, sorry if this was already posted.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/29360...r-death-wobble-following-class-action-lawsuit

OMG ARE YOU KIDDING? THE VIDEO SAYS "WHILE THE STEERING STABALIZER WILL NEVER BE THE CAUSE OR SOLUTION TO DEATH WOBBLE"

BUT THE SOLUTION AFTER A LAWSUIT IS GOING TO BE TO OFFER A FREE STEERING DAMPENER/STABALIZER TO CUSTOMERS AS A SERVICE BULLETIN AS OPPOSED TO A RECALL.

AND THE ARTICLE THAT DISCUSSES THIS SHOWS THIS VIDEO.

WOW THERE ARE SOME REAL MORONS OUT THERE!!!!!

 

[steffen707]

Such a strange topic.....it does need to be perfect conditions for it to occur and I don't believe the steering stabilizer is the "fix" what-so-ever. It is a bandaid. That's all. Hiding the problem....design

i wouldn't say "perfect conditions", just look at the video from the link, he re-creates the wobble with a stick, lmao.

i agree a stabilizer is a bandaid fix, but the problem might be the solid front axle alltogether.

Seat belts just bandaid fix the problem of crashing, its a design flaw. If nobody ever drove again, no need for seat belts?
see my point, kinda silly, sometimes you just gotta bandaid fix stuff as much as you can and call it good.

 

[smess]

My JK set the caster to more than 5.0 and it will death wobble front and rear.

If FCA wants to pay for the techs to do it I can reproduce the death wobble and then make it go away with no parts or tightening any loose screws or bolts. I don't even need a stick.

It is a short wheel base. Caster is what everyone overlooks and is a huge culprit of death wobble besides obvious front end parts failing.

Some people think that a Wrangler can only have toe set because its a solid axle vehicle.

It aint that hard folks, what has changed? When you find the answer to that you fix any problem.

 

[XJ2JTChris]

i wouldn't say "perfect conditions", just look at the video from the link, he re-creates the wobble with a stick, lmao.

Haha very good point!

I guess i should elaborate, in my experiences with it, only certain types of bumps or pot holes would trigger it. It was very strange, and sometimes even the same pot hole wouldn't trigger it if hit at a different speed or angle, or while turning the wheel while hitting the bump.

 

[Alaska-HWY JK]

The Mopar 2” lift should have had adjustable lower control arms not the fixed ones it comes with. Caster is important as is toe with larger tires. My JK is at 6.8. No issues. If and when Wifey’s Gladiator gets a lift the control arms will be adjustable with Johnny joints.
Waiting on Savvy/Currie to come up with something.

 

[Choj]

Just got a notification from a different article today about this.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/...f-wrangler-death-wobble-is-promising-free-fix

 

[FL Handle Guy]

My JK set the caster to more than 5.0 and it will death wobble front and rear.

If FCA wants to pay for the techs to do it I can reproduce the death wobble and then make it go away with no parts or tightening any loose screws or bolts. I don't even need a stick.

It is a short wheel base. Caster is what everyone overlooks and is a huge culprit of death wobble besides obvious front end parts failing.

Some people think that a Wrangler can only have toe set because its a solid axle vehicle.

It aint that hard folks, what has changed? When you find the answer to that you fix any problem.

To aid in possible confusion for people that are new to solid front axles. Death wobble is front only, not rear.

 

[smess]

To aid in possible confusion for people that are new to solid front axles. Death wobble is front only, not rear.

In a 2 dr with a lot of lift it transfers to the rear, believe me when it happens those rear springs are shaking also.

 

[smess]

So it appears they are confusing death wobble in general to the more recent problem of bad steering stabalizers on the most recent wranglers according to what that link says which is different from the original link in the beginning of this thread. This is really going to confuse people, They are going to think this is the answer to death wobble for all coil spring wranglers back to day one.

 

[Blown7]

It is a short wheel base. Caster is what everyone overlooks and is a huge culprit of death wobble besides obvious front end parts failing.

True that... I run repeatedly to 135 MPH on pavement and up to 95 MPH on dirt on a solid front axle no death wobble at all.


Its all in the caster...however to repair properly you need to cut off and reweld the axle mounts perfectly.

BTW no dampers...

 

[smess]

Yep did that too, thanks for reminding me

 

[Lumberjack500]

True that... I run repeatedly to 135 MPH on pavement and up to 95 MPH on dirt on a solid front axle no death wobble at all.


Its all in the caster...however to repair properly you need to cut off and reweld the axle mounts perfectly.

BTW no dampers...

You can change the caster with adjustable control arms right?

 

[Deleted member 23202]

It's a problem with any solid front axle vehicle. Handing out new stabilizers is nice and all but it won't truly fix anything. Best way to avoid death wobble is by keeping your Jeep stock (lol) and ensuring your suspension components are always in a well-maintained state. That includes replacing bushings when needed, ball joints, the works.

It is not a problem with all solid axle vehicles.

 

[Wbee]

Death wobble DW seems to be a very sensitive and people seemed to get very worked up over it. I had a F250 pass me on the freeway the other day and he hit pothole and the front tire started wobbling like crazy until he slowed way down. DW has been discussed extensively in the JL form and it has happened to both stock and lifted JL jeeps. I am not talking about a little steering shimmy but full on DW. I never had DW on my CJ, YJ or any of my JK jeeps but I battled it on my new JLU rubicon for a few months and this is what I found from my experience. I have a Mopar lift and 35 inch tires so not real extreme.

1. My ball joints were not torqued to spec or they came lose after a few thousand miles.
2. Draglink is too light weight, my joint at the pitman was wobbly at 1500 miles and I had never had it off road at that point. This was probably what was causing most of my issue.
3. Adjustable control arms are a help so you can dial in your caster.
4. Stock Jeep Trackbar bushings were a little soft aiding in the entire steering wobble.

I replaced one component at a time until I got it fixed. The best solution for me was to replace the trackbar, draglink and tie rod with better after market parts. I moved my caster out to 6 degrees and Lastly I did upgrade the steering stabilizer once I got the DW fixed. I consider my steering rock solid for the last 8 months with no shimmy or wobble.

Honestly I think Jeep has tried so hard to reduce the weight of the steering components they are just not heavy enough to dampen vibrations. Just
my opinion and I hope jeep has it corrected on the gladiator so no one has to go to this extreme on a new vehicle.

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