It happened to me: Death Wobble after spacer lift. Help!

[MUFF]

The issue was likely already there, and the new geometry just made it come to light.
Ball joints, steering gearbox bolts, alignment, Pitman arm nut, and more.
Just check everything. No shortcuts.

And don't let anyone tell you it's the steering dampener. It's not.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...-wobble-shimmy-wander-drift-bump-steer.68302/
[/QUOTE

I purchased a stock 2023 with 1300 miles on it. I drove it to about 5000 miles before I had the occasion to take it on an interstate at a higher speed than I had been driving it around town. I had a minor death wobble running about 70 - 75 MPH when I hit a bump, and it went away after I slowed down to about 55. It happened slightly again (minor) and again went away when I slowed down.

On my return trip several days later, I again had the minor wobble twice, and it again went away when I got to around 55. The third time it happened, it was such a violent wobble that I thought the front end was coming apart or the wheels were going to fly off! It scared the shit out of me! I had to drop to around 30 MPH for it to go away.

I drove directly to my local Jeep dealer on my way home and explained what was going on and asked if Jeep had ever figured out what was causing the death wobble. The service manager said it was the steering damper and suggested I purchase an aftermarket one as the ones Jeep put on were junk. I purchased a FOX damper and put it on but have not been on the same road that caused it before.

I can't believe anything would have been worn at 5000 miles that would cause it. I have checked the torque on anything I could get to on the front end did not find anything that was not torqued properly. I guess the next time I take that trip in my Jeep, I will see if it does it again.

Maybe that is why it was traded in with only 1300 miles on it???

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[Hootbro]

Your 4x4 shop is a bunch of hacks leaving that factory stabilizer on.

 

[SoK66]

Step one, have your wheels & tires Road Force balanced. If that’s not available have them conventionally balanced and check d for true running.

Once that’s all confirmed and eliminated as a source then move on to alignment and component checks. I’d be suspicious of the TF lower control arms, bushings and bolt torque. We have also see. Situations where the shops don’t fully loosen all the control arm and track bar bolts when installing lifts. They leave the bushings in a bind and then the busing releases all the twist energy causing DW.

 

[audibahn]

Were your pictures taken with the Jeep on the ground? Your front swaybar links look really long. Maybe it's the camera angle. The rear links are typically longer than the fronts.

 

[Reddout99]

Were your pictures taken with the Jeep on the ground? Your front swaybar links look really long. Maybe it's the camera angle. The rear links are typically longer than the fronts.

I'd have to agree. I thought they should be level or just slightly angled upward. Did the kit come with extended sway bar end links? If so, I would say they have the rear ones on the front. What do the sway bar end links look like out back?
Or is the suspension is cycled up for some reason during the install for the pic?

 

[Sigz]

Thanks for the replies again.

The photo that I sent were with the JT on the ground. When I get a chance I'll take a closer look at the lengths of the sway bars.

With the OEM steering stabilizer still on... does that cause issues with the new Falcon?

 

[Sigz]

I'd have to agree. I thought they should be level or just slightly angled upward. Did the kit come with extended sway bar end links? If so, I would say they have the rear ones on the front. What do the sway bar end links look like out back?
Or is the suspension is cycled up for some reason during the install for the pic?

The kit did not come with extended sway bar end links:

https://teraflex.com/jt-2-5-performance-spacer-lift-kit-no-shocks.html#


Just to reply quickly I did a quick rough measurement of the sway bar links and the rear are in fact LONGER than the front.

Rear are about 14" rough measrued, and the front are about 12" roughly.

 

[Sigz]

Step one, have your wheels & tires Road Force balanced. If that’s not available have them conventionally balanced and check d for true running.

Once that’s all confirmed and eliminated as a source then move on to alignment and component checks. I’d be suspicious of the TF lower control arms, bushings and bolt torque. We have also see. Situations where the shops don’t fully loosen all the control arm and track bar bolts when installing lifts. They leave the bushings in a bind and then the busing releases all the twist energy causing DW.

Is that something that I can fix at home? If I loosen the control arms and track bar bolts - shake the JT as much as I can on each side, and then re-torque?

 

[SoK66]

Is that something that I can fix at home? If I loosen the control arms and track bar bolts - shake the JT as much as I can on each side, and then re-torque?

Yes, but the torque is fairly high on the lower control arm bolts. The old spec of 190 ft lbs was replaced with a lower initial torque plus additional tightening degrees. I still use the old one. The upper control arm torque spec is 80 ft lbs.

 

[Reddout99]

The kit did not come with extended sway bar end links:

https://teraflex.com/jt-2-5-performance-spacer-lift-kit-no-shocks.html#


Just to reply quickly I did a quick rough measurement of the sway bar links and the rear are in fact LONGER than the front.

Rear are about 14" rough measrued, and the front are about 12" roughly.

Was you truck on the ground for the pic or was the suspension cycled up when the pic was taken?
Also, is it just me? The coil spring appears to be bowed out some. Not trying to add any additional worry, just an observation.

 

[Sigz]

Was you truck on the ground for the pic or was the suspension cycled up when the pic was taken?
Also, is it just me? The coil spring appears to be bowed out some. Not trying to add any additional worry, just an observation.

My truck was on the ground but I was holding my phone in a weird position to get the shot.

 

[Arisdocjk]

I can’t believe they didn’t remove the OEM stabilizer. I would go to a different shop.

 

[Reddout99]

But, the bottom line is your wobble went away, yes?

 

[Sigz]

But, the bottom line is your wobble went away, yes?

It did.

 

[Reddout99]

Good news. Great.

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