Death Wobble - Need Reputable Shop West Indianapolis, IN

[GregtheGrey]

Hello,

Does anyone know of a reputable Jeep/Off Road shop near the west side of Indianapolis? I live in Danville.

I just bought my Gladiator in November, it’s a 2020 Sport S. It had about 56k when I bought it, and now I’m at 59k. I absolutely love driving it. However, it has death wobble (I took it on the highway on the test drive and did not have any issues). It happened on the highway about 3 days after I bought it. It is 100% stock besides an aftermarket steering stabilizer (rancho HD I believe). Obviously the person who traded it in attempted to fix it unsuccessfully.

I immediately called a Jeep dealer to inquire and they said they’d replace the Steering Stabilizer (of course) for free id it was the original stabilizer. Knowing it wasn’t, I opted to troubleshoot on my own. Utilizing YouTube, and this forum I did a thorough check of all of the steering/suspension components while my wife turned the tires back and forth. Everything looked nice and tight.

My next step was to take it to a local shop to do the same check, and to rebalance the front tires to eliminate that variable. They did, and also found that everything was tight, no play in the track bar, pitman arm, ball joints or anything else. They did find that the Rancho stabilizer has a large “dead spot” when they compressed/decompressed it. They wanted to order another aftermarket stabilizer and charge me $500 or so for the part and install. I opted to see if the rebalance worked first, since theoretically, you don’t need the steering stabilizer if everything is setup correctly. I didn’t experience it again for a couple of weeks.

It didn’t work though, my family took the Gladiator about 1hr West on the highway today and it was dangerously bad. It probably wobbled 6 times. The last few were extremely violent and pulled hard to the left. Keep in mind I was driving below the speed limit (about 60mph after the 2nd wobble) and didn’t have really any other road options to get to the town we were heading to. My son (he’s 9) absolutely loved it and thought it was fun. His mother was more on the side of “you just bought this thing and you’re already having to fix it?!” Which isn’t ideal. She refuses to drive it on the highway until it’s fixed. Honestly, I don’t want her to.

This is my first Jeep, and I’m pretty discouraged. After reading many accounts, I’m not sure the dealership is the place to start. Let me know if I’m wrong about that.

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[jndturner317]

I’ve used MB Automotive in past for my JK but they are in Fishers. It looks like the closest shop to you is Off Grid Upfitters. I have no experience with them.

 

[GregtheGrey]

I’ve used MB Automotive in past for my JK but they are in Fishers. It looks like the closest shop to you is Off Grid Upfitters. I have no experience with them.

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll have to look
Into MB. I’m not often near Fishers, but it might be worth the trip.

 

[Bbannongmu]

A couple things I learned from Death Wobble on my JT that was a little different from the Jeeps I’ve driven and worked on over the last 30 years… YMMV

Of course you shouldn’t just throw parts at the Jeep because some guy on the internet shared his opinion. Try this https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf

1. Ball joints. My factory balljoints were tight, passed the pry bar test and the pull on the top and bottom of the wheel test (Fooled 3 different mechanics) but when I took them off, 2 ( one upper on one side, one lower on the other side - don’t remember which side) were shot. They’d bind and seem ok on the vehicle but had no “fluid, hydraulic” motion after I removed them. They clicked on (tight) and off (loose). This was likely the primary cause of my DW… it caused other issues and my tie rods and drag link joints were similarly shot.

2. My factory axle side upper control arm bushing looked fine and seemed ok using a pry bar on and off the ground. but when articulating the axle, I could see the hole was slightly egged out. No movement while still can be from binding. Getting on the lift and moving things /cycling the suspension can reveal issues. This was likely an effect from the DW -not the initial cause. I replaced all my front bushings to be safe.

3. Shocks. Not a cause of DW but bad shocks certainly don’t help. I had factory Fox rubicon shock and they were garbage - 2 fronts were shot at 45k miles. I was so disappointed. It was one of the reasons I bought a Rubi - pure marketing nonsense. II put on Bilstein 5100s and it’s so much better.

4. Torque the bolts. I’ll say it again .. torque the suspension bolts on the ground after giving the vehicle a good shake to keep from bushing bind. Seriously,,, use a torque wrench! Mechanics clearly aren’t doing this. Nothing was in spec when I checked. Doing this alone after DW probably won’t fix anything because stuff is worn.

DW can be maddening but if you do a systemic, documented diagnosis, it can be fixed.
Good luck!

 

[GregtheGrey]

A couple things I learned from Death Wobble on my JT that was a little different from the Jeeps I’ve driven and worked on over the last 30 years… YMMV

Of course you shouldn’t just throw parts at the Jeep because some guy on the internet shared his opinion. Try this https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf

1. Ball joints. My factory balljoints were tight, passed the pry bar test and the pull on the top and bottom of the wheel test (Fooled 3 different mechanics) but when I took them off, 2 ( one upper on one side, one lower on the other side - don’t remember which side) were shot. They’d bind and seem ok on the vehicle but had no “fluid, hydraulic” motion after I removed them. They clicked on (tight) and off (loose). This was likely the primary cause of my DW… it caused other issues and my tie rods and drag link joints were similarly shot.

2. My factory axle side upper control arm bushing looked fine and seemed ok using a pry bar on and off the ground. but when articulating the axle, I could see the hole was slightly egged out. No movement while still can be from binding. Getting on the lift and moving things /cycling the suspension can reveal issues. This was likely an effect from the DW -not the initial cause. I replaced all my front bushings to be safe.

3. Shocks. Not a cause of DW but bad shocks certainly don’t help. I had factory Fox rubicon shock and they were garbage - 2 fronts were shot at 45k miles. I was so disappointed. It was one of the reasons I bought a Rubi - pure marketing nonsense. II put on Bilstein 5100s and it’s so much better.

4. Torque the bolts. I’ll say it again .. torque the suspension bolts on the ground after giving the vehicle a good shake to keep from bushing bind. Seriously,,, use a torque wrench! Mechanics clearly aren’t doing this. Nothing was in spec when I checked. Doing this alone after DW probably won’t fix anything because stuff is worn.

DW can be maddening but if you do a systemic, documented diagnosis, it can be fixed.
Good luck!

Thank you for the information and feedback! I’m definitely taking notes.

 

[JeepDaddyJT]

Ask to get the ball joints replaced

 

[GregtheGrey]

Ask to get the ball joints replaced

Will do!

 

[Mojave Magik]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll have to look
Into MB. I’m not often near Fishers, but it might be worth the trip.

I second MB Auto. They have worked on my JT Mojave a couple times and my go to shop. I live in Brownsburg, bit of a drive, but worth it in my opinion.

 

[GregtheGrey]

I never updated this thread. The Death Wobble is gone.

All of my suspension/steering components had been torqued/retorqued by multiple shops and a Jeep dealership. Everything on the front end was nice and tight, good ball joints etc..

I bought an OEM Stabilizer for $30, and the issue is gone.

The stabilizer wasn’t the fix, but removing the old stabilizer was. The Rancho stabilizer had a dead spot as mentioned before, but it also had a few spots that were extremely difficult to compress or decompress. Since it was binding up, and then loosening entirely, it seems plausible that it was in fact causing death wobble for me.

Not sure if this is specific to my Jeep, or to the Rancho stabilizer, but hopefully this helps someone else out.

 

[Bbannongmu]

I never updated this thread. The Death Wobble is gone.

All of my suspension/steering components had been torqued/retorqued by multiple shops and a Jeep dealership. Everything on the front end was nice and tight, good ball joints etc..

I bought an OEM Stabilizer for $30, and the issue is gone.

The stabilizer wasn’t the fix, but removing the old stabilizer was. The Rancho stabilizer had a dead spot as mentioned before, but it also had a few spots that were extremely difficult to compress or decompress. Since it was binding up, and then loosening entirely, it seems plausible that it was in fact causing death wobble for me.

Not sure if this is specific to my Jeep, or to the Rancho stabilizer, but hopefully this helps someone else out.

I hope this is fixed. I highly recommending pulling the stabilizer off to make sure you aren’t just masking the underlying issue. I’ve had ball joints pass multiple exams by mechanics and pass when I checked and when I pulled them off they were flopping around. A properly sorted front end can drive without a stabilizer and no death wobble, just might feel a little harsh over imperfections.

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