How did YOU talk your dealership into actually fixing death wobble?

[ChrisNLA]

No experience with the dealer on this matter, but my truck had death wobble at 30K miles and it was a bad drag link causing it. I had the fiance shake the steering wheel back and forth while I held my hand on the upper and lower joints and I could feel/hear the joints clicking. Replaced Metalcloak unit. The factory joints were fairly loose and really easy to move around by hand. Feels more solid over bumps now and DW has not returned yet.

Prior to this I took a torque wrench and double checked the torque on the lower ball joints, tie rod, drag link, and track bar.

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[Bandit’s Lair]

Slight thread Jack: Can somebody post a picture of stock ball joints installed on their Jeep? Trying to determine if mine are aftermarket or not.

 

[JT1]

Slight thread Jack: Can somebody post a picture of stock ball joints installed on their Jeep? Trying to determine if mine are aftermarket or not.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Thank you. I have aftermarket ball joints. Now I just have to figure out which ones.

 

[JT1]

Thank you. I have aftermarket ball joints. Now I just have to figure out which ones.

post a pic, there are only 3 decent ones (and the mopar performance ones that aren't any better than the stock ones.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

post a pic, there are only 3 decent ones (and the mopar performance ones that aren't any better than the stock ones.

I’ll be out working on it after I get the dogs taken care of. $50 says they are Synergy. PO went a little dippy on Synergy stuff for the front end. Not that I mind at all.

 

[JT1]

I’ll be out working on it after I get the dogs taken care of. $50 says they are Synergy. PO went a little dippy on Synergy stuff for the front end. Not that I mind at all.

Synergys are pretty easy to spot, they have a cut bevel with a needle zerk on the top of the uppers and lowers.
Dynatracs have a snap ring around the top of the upper ball joint.
Baller Joints have a giant nut on the upper to keep the knuckle from separating from the inner c if you blow up a front axle shaft/lose a unit bearing.

 

[nbennettksu]

I had bad 40" tires cause mine

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Synergy.

 

[JT1]

Synergy.

100%
Keep them greased and they should last a long time.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

100%
Keep them greased and they should last a long time.

Yep. Need to get another needle end for a grease gun. Only one I have is on the gun for the RCV axle shaft grease and that gun only hits the RCVs. That grease is SPENDY!!! I’ll just pick up a Mini and stencil “Balls” on it. I like having job specific grease guns. Saves me making a mess trying to switch in and out grease tubes unless I have to. I always end up covered in it.

 

[JT1]

Yep. Need to get another needle end for a grease gun. Only one I have is on the gun for the RCV axle shaft grease and that gun only hits the RCVs. That grease is SPENDY!!! I’ll just pick up a Mini and stencil “Balls” on it. I like having job specific grease guns. Saves me making a mess trying to switch in and out grease tubes unless I have to. I always end up covered in it.

I still hate needle fittings, but I hear you on multiple setups for grease guns.

 

[Gizmo]

I have always found its easier to stay ahead of wobbles and wandering issues myself. Its pretty well documented what order in which OE parts go sour . Ya know its comig so I try to do it at my leasure . Nothing worse than depending on a service manager that don't know a wheel from a tire in some instances .

 

[flipmcgee]

The wobbs have arrived. Full blown "need to pull over on the highway" wobbles. not always... but some is too much. Not a great feeling having to leave your house earlier than usual just in case you need to pull over.

I'm out of the original 3/36 (4 years old, 51k miles) but have a maxcare for many more years. I called around to a few dealerships before landing on one to take my truck to. Specifically asking if they viewed a steering stabilized alone as a sufficient fix for death wobbles. I took it to the dealership who assured me they'd look at everything, and not just see a blown out steering stabilizer, replace it, and move on. Was told they look at tie rods, tie rod ends, they DO replace steering stabilizers as well, but they said they look for more, including checking torque on the suspension. I specifically told the person i spoke with on the phone that I have aftermarket sway bar links, they agreed that would not contribute to a wobble issue.

Take truck in yesterday... today they tell me they replaced the steering stabilizer under extended warranty and nothing else (well, nothing else relevant, they measured my brake pads and tire tread). I asked them if they could check the torque on my suspension components like we talked about and even said if they can't cram that into a warranty charge i'd pay out of pocket to get my torques checked. Service writer tells me he'll get me a number, but instead just sends me a message complaining about my "aftermarket sway bar" (i have Apex AutoLYNX... my sway bar is factory). I pointed out my sway bar was factory and the tech should know that.

Has anyone here had luck trying to convince a dealership who doesn't give a shit to actually give a shit? Or is this just a "find a better dealership" situation? And if the general consensus is the latter... how does one ever going about finding a "good" dealership? I thought calling around to interview service departments was going to yield some kind of results, and considering I've worked for 3 dealerships myself in the past (service, sales, and internet department) i really SHOULDN'T be surprised I was lied to... and yet here I am.

So is the only path to fixing death wobble either doing it myself or finding a good local jeep specialist? I'd like to try to use my warranty first before giving up.

If anyone has had any success with this, how did you talk your dealership into actually fixing death wobble?

I've had it twice both times they fixed it under warranty without a question. My suspension is all factory and thats the on.y reason from what I was told. They asked me right away if I had modified it otherwise it would be problem. Both times twas a worn out stabilizer. See s to last about 30k before it goes bad.

 

[GuzziMoto]

I've had it twice both times they fixed it under warranty without a question. My suspension is all factory and thats the on.y reason from what I was told. They asked me right away if I had modified it otherwise it would be problem. Both times twas a worn out stabilizer. See s to last about 30k before it goes bad.

I am glad for you that they are willing to throw new steering stabilizers at your Jeep. But it would be better if they actually fixed the problem. You should be able to drive your Jeep without any steering stabilizer. A steering stabilizer isn't fixing DW, it only covers it up. If you are going through steering stabilizers every 30,000 miles, something is wrong.

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