Death wobble? Steering wheel shakes

[Orange01z28]

Ok what do you guys think here

I was starting to get some DW and I figured some components needed tightening and maybe some stuff was going bad

however I rotated the tires today and now it’s awful. The tires need a rebalance, right?

im still going to crank down some bolts and I have some parts to replace soon but I can barely drive between 40-50 mph right now

Looked to be a tire balance issue. Discount Tire fixed me up

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[TomH]

Steering wheel shakes and death wobble are two entirely different experiences. I had a Tacoma that had steering shakes on cold mornings. They would go away as the tires warmed up or whatever they did. But it would go away. Death wobble is crap your pants scary. I have been in a vehicle that had it. Once as we were heading home from a trail ride a friend of mine got. I was driving behind him. The front tires were leaving the ground. Side to side, it's unreal. You almost have to come to a complete stop to get it to stop.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Steering wheel shakes and death wobble are two entirely different experiences. I had a Tacoma that had steering shakes on cold mornings. They would go away as the tires warmed up or whatever they did. But it would go away. Death wobble is crap your pants scary. I have been in a vehicle that had it. Once as we were heading home from a trail ride a friend of mine got. I was driving behind him. The front tires were leaving the ground. Side to side, it's unreal. You almost have to come to a complete stop to get it to stop.

Exactly.
I've had multiple Jeeps with tires that sort of had flat spots after sitting 3 or 4 days in cold weather. The steering wheel would feel funny, after a curve or corner, it would wobble a bit. Then as the tires warmed and as I drove, it settled down.
I know people say 'modern tires never do that" or "radial tires can't do that" but that's just plain BS - they can and they do. It's why many of us who store our classics over the winter put the car up just high enough to take the load off the tires. I've had tires - bought in the last 5 to 10 years, do it on 2 of our Jeeps. My current tires on my JT did it very slightly on my 2020 and these same tires do it for about a mile on my 2022.
I'd bet there are some tires that do it quite a bit - that's not DW.

Unless you are afraid of losing control, unless you have to stop or slow down below 40 to get the severe shaking to stop, it's likely not DW.
You'll know it.

Tom said it well - but it bears repeating and reinforcing.

 

[OHJeeper]

And grab the tire at 12 and 6 o clock ant try to rock it , then grab it at 3 and 9 o clock and try to rock it.

Just be careful when grabbing at 3 and 9: when the tire is off the ground, you will get some play because of the steering linkage that you might think is "something" loose.

12 and 6 should be solid as a rock. If you get movement here it's a hub bearing or maybe a ball joint.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Just be careful when grabbing at 3 and 9: when the tire is off the ground, you will get some play because of the steering linkage that you might think is "something" loose.

12 and 6 should be solid as a rock. If you get movement here it's a hub bearing or maybe a ball joint.

I ONLY check 12 and 6 when the wheel is off the ground.
For steering play or slack, I have someone "shake the steering wheel" while I shine a bright light on each junction, link, joint and so on. There' really no other reliable way, IMO - and I worked my way through college partially on front end work. (no, not the topless bar south of town)

 

[Discount Tire]

Sorry to hear you had an issue with balance but I'm glad your local Discount Tire fixed you up.

 

[bd100]

"shake the steering wheel" while I shine a bright light on each junction, link, joint and so on.

I try to place my hand over the joint so that part of my hand is on either side. You can then feel the looseness if there is any.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I try to place my hand over the joint so that part of my hand is on either side. You can then feel the looseness if there is any.

Yes, we've done that as well. My first shop boss taught that method - you can often feel what you can't see on loose steering parts. He was right.
Good tip.

 

[mdyucca]

I can only twist them back and forth.

Any update? What was the cure?

 

[LiftedrubiconJT]

Any update? What was the cure?

Mine ended up being a tire issue. I got tires rebalanced and rotated.

 

[mdyucca]

Mine ended up being a tire issue. I got tires rebalanced and rotated.

DW so scary and the fix can be so frustrating. Glad to hear the actual fix was relatively simple. Now get back to enjoying your Gladiator!

 

[PLP1]

So lately when I hit certain bumps steering wheel will shake back and forth for a few seconds. 2020 rubicon with 46,xxx miles . 2 inch mopar lift and 35s. What would cause this?

Change your panhard to a Clayton HD AND at the same time change out the panhard bracket to a Synergy weld-on bracket. look at my other reply in another dear wobble post

whatever you choose to go with........... it's truly only masking the true problem that the truck still has.

Norm Layton says -

Even a long-time suspension engineer for FCA and other companies concurs.

It typically happens with worn or loose parts, lifts, and tire and wheel swaps that change the scrub radius and cause the tire to want to pivot around a different point, back and forth. So those who swap to the "cool wheels" to "wow their peers" are asking for death wobble.

If you are happy, then it's cool. But if things are 100% correct, tight, and within engineering design, no damper is needed.

This is a quote from a true expert, not people on forum sitting at home figuring out what the experts and engineers can't -

Yes, Chrysler says "if it wobbles, replace the damper" in their docs - that's because it's a cheap, easy, fast way to cover what they may spend hours trying to find - and gets the customer home quickly and quiets them down.

Agreed 100% - see my replies to ither death wobble posts. Stock panhard and Brackets not enough for lifted and modified set ups with 35”+ tires and larger wheels with big offsets, etc….must need up the components to compensate for the increased stress. BUT eventually the upgrades will also wear down - can’t fight the physics - and you must monitor and be ready to maintain, adjust and replace also the upgraded parts due to the heavier war and tear (increased duty cycle). The stock setups are designed for a less stressful duty cycle. Very few shops and mechanics will tell you that you need to ALSO beef up other components when you add weight, larger tires and wheels!

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