Death wobble? Steering wheel shakes

[LiftedrubiconJT]

My TJ would go crazy in the winter on geos because of a few pounds of air. Solid axle vehicles have some tendencies that will drive one crazy

I probably need to get my tires rebalanced and rotated. I haven’t balanced them since I got them put on. I’m at 48,xxx miles on these tires

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[Darkspeed]

It has been my experience that a steering dampener is a bandaid over a bullet hole. I would find the real problem, fix it, then replace the dampener if the real problem had worn it out.

 

[kennyglm]

I had this this morning and the temp was around 39 or 40 degrees. I hit a slight bump and the steering wheel shook for about 3 seconds slightly and then it was gone. My truck only has 3600 miles on it everything is tight. I was also wondering about the tire pressure being lower when its cold out . When i got home a few hours later and the temp. went up to around 60degrees my passenger tire was 34 pounds and the right was 36 pounds i am really leaning towards this being the problem. We shall see...

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I had this this morning and the temp was around 39 or 40 degrees. I hit a slight bump and the steering wheel shook for about 3 seconds slightly and then it was gone. My truck only has 3600 miles on it everything is tight. I was also wondering about the tire pressure being lower when its cold out . When i got home a few hours later and the temp. went up to around 60degrees my passenger tire was 34 pounds and the right was 36 pounds i am really leaning towards this being the problem. We shall see...

Tire pressure isn't causing anything.
If that was the case all anyone would have to do is increase tire pressure.
The cause is there regardless, tires simply behave different when cold vs. warm. Lower pressure would give a tire more grip on the highway, and yet the rubber being colder would be less grippy, so it should be a wash.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

It has been my experience that a steering dampener is a bandaid over a bullet hole. I would find the real problem, fix it, then replace the dampener if the real problem had worn it out.

Truth….. any of our lifted/big tire Jeeps ram without a damper until we worked in hydro assist. The better the damper the better the masking….

 

[kennyglm]

Tire pressure isn't causing anything.
If that was the case all anyone would have to do is increase tire pressure.
The cause is there regardless, tires simply behave different when cold vs. warm. Lower pressure would give a tire more grip on the highway, and yet the rubber being colder would be less grippy, so it should be a wash.

who knows for sure but if it happens again it will be going back to the dealer

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It has been my experience that a steering dampener is a bandaid over a bullet hole. I would find the real problem, fix it, then replace the dampener if the real problem had worn it out.

And how many times in the last 2+ years have I posted that here, in multiple threads, even quoting suspension engineers, and I was told I was full of it.

 

[Rusty PW]

And how many times in the last 2+ years have I posted that here, in multiple threads, even quoting suspension engineers, and I was told I was full of it.

We all know you're full of it...........but that's besides the point.

 

[Darkspeed]

And how many times in the last 2+ years have I posted that here, in multiple threads, even quoting suspension engineers, and I was told I was full of it.

It cracks me up when someone says "you must need a new dampener".. rather than " lets see what wore out your dampener"..

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

who knows for sure but if it happens again it will be going back to the dealer

I would recommend trading it in…. Shoot for a vehicle with IFS…. Death wobble is the nature of the beast on a solid axle front end… something is worn… ball joints, drag link ends, tie rod ends…. Track bar ends.
In addition to any of the joints, it can also be one of the mount holes has wallowed out from not being tight enough….

good times for sure. Find a buddy, case of beer- your garage/driveway…if you really tear into it and pay attention to each connection you should be able to figure it out in an hour.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

We all know you're full of it...........but that's besides the point.

U R a character - too bad so far away. We'd have a great time with a couple of beers, a camp fire, etc.

 

[Rusty PW]

U R a character - too bad so far away. We'd have a great time with a couple of beers, a camp fire, etc.

Most definitely.

 

[Rocksalt]

I had this this morning and the temp was around 39 or 40 degrees. I hit a slight bump and the steering wheel shook for about 3 seconds slightly and then it was gone. My truck only has 3600 miles on it everything is tight. I was also wondering about the tire pressure being lower when its cold out . When i got home a few hours later and the temp. went up to around 60degrees my passenger tire was 34 pounds and the right was 36 pounds i am really leaning towards this being the problem. We shall see...

something is not right as in not torqued

 

[LiftedrubiconJT]

I would recommend trading it in…. Shoot for a vehicle with IFS…. Death wobble is the nature of the beast on a solid axle front end… something is worn… ball joints, drag link ends, tie rod ends…. Track bar ends.
In addition to any of the joints, it can also be one of the mount holes has wallowed out from not being tight enough….

good times for sure. Find a buddy, case of beer- your garage/driveway…if you really tear into it and pay attention to each connection you should be able to figure it out in an hour.

I think I found my issue it looks like it’s my tie rod end and drag link end on passenger side. I can wiggle both of these and there is play. Seems crazy they’re both bad at under 50k miles. Are there replacement ends I can buy or are these one pieces

 

[Lunentucker]

It has been my experience that a steering dampener is a bandaid over a bullet hole. I would find the real problem, fix it, then replace the dampener if the real problem had worn it out.

So Jeeps come factory equipped with a problem masked by a steering stabilizer?
You'd think 21 Century engineers could do better.

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