Just got the Death Wobble on my JT....grrrr. Any advice?

[ajaj96]

Thanks everyone for their input and advice. The impact of the wobble is definitely worse than the video shows. It isn't as bad as you say above, so maybe it wasn't a DEATH wobble, but nonetheless it was a wobble. I had to slow way down for it to stop, and it was difficult to change lanes.

The dealership has been great about it. The first trip in their swapped out the tie rods. Then it happened again (that was the video one). I brought it back and the the swapped out the steering damper. It feels better and I have not experienced a wobble like that again. Although, it still feels looser than my '07 JK with 185k miles.

I feel a little gun shy going over overpasses now. I will drive it some more and see what happens.

Thanks again for reading and commenting. OH - While in the shop I had the bed Rhino lined and I LOVE the way it turned out!

I'm having the exact same issue

Sponsored

 

[wesley8808]

The saga continues for me. Today was the 2nd day in a row that it happened again. Looks like I will be sending her back into the shop for another look. This is the third time going in.

 

[ZTMAN]

Good luck. I would be pulling my hair out.

 

[Bbannongmu]

The saga continues for me. Today was the 2nd day in a row that it happened again. Looks like I will be sending her back into the shop for another look. This is the third time going in.

Ughhhh. That sucks. Good luck and report back.

 

[Brian14]

Want to add my experience with this issue on my stock JT overland with 5000 miles. On multiple occasions I would get this “death wobble” (more of a very hard shimmy) on the highway while going over large bumps or overpasses. I would have to slow way down to bring the steering back to normal. After happening a handful of times I took it to the dealership last week and they went ahead and replaced the steering damper. I have had zero issues since. I will also note that on the days I would get the shimmy it was very cold and some times I would hit the same overpasses and bumps in warmer weather and not have the issue at all. Hope this helps for others dealing with this.

 

[Bbannongmu]

Want to add my experience with this issue on my stock JT overland with 5000 miles. On multiple occasions I would get this “death wobble” (more of a very hard shimmy) on the highway while going over large bumps or overpasses. I would have to slow way down to bring the steering back to normal. After happening a handful of times I took it to the dealership last week and they went ahead and replaced the steering damper. I have had zero issues since. I will also note that on the days I would get the shimmy it was very cold and some times I would hit the same overpasses and bumps in warmer weather and not have the issue at all. Hope this helps for others dealing with this.

The first thing I’d do is take the steering stabilizer off and drive it for a while to try to get a feel for how everything is set up. A binding stabilizer /improperly indexed bracket can cause problems but a properly set up vehicle won’t have shakes, wobbles or shimmies. Stabilizers are a comfort item that mask these underlying problems which are like unrefrigerated meat - they don’t get better with age.

 

[JeepCares]

The saga continues for me. Today was the 2nd day in a row that it happened again. Looks like I will be sending her back into the shop for another look. This is the third time going in.

Hey, wesley8808. I have replied to your private message. To avoid any missed messages, please continue to work with me there.

Kate
JeepCares

 

[Mjolnir]

The saga continues for me. Today was the 2nd day in a row that it happened again. Looks like I will be sending her back into the shop for another look. This is the third time going in.

Yo guy.

You and I can either get under it ourselves (I am in NJ) or bring it up to Globex Performance https://www.globexperformance.com/

Globex is in Jersey but damn I have not seen a shop better and more concerned about their customers than them. They will 100% fix you up. I know you want to be under warranty but at a certain point...you do what you gotta do.

Keep us updated on what the dealership does and says. Like stated a new stabilizer is the dealership trying to mask the fact that they couldn't fix the issue.

 

[Bucephalus]

Anyone still have issues or did the dealer fix them? Just dropped off my 21’ JT at the dealer. Worried that they won’t find a problem.

 

[Mjolnir]

Anyone still have issues or did the dealer fix them? Just dropped off my 21’ JT at the dealer. Worried that they won’t find a problem.

You could always go with the tech while they check it out, if the dealer lets you. Otherwise, if you still have issues, just get a few hand tools and retorque everything while it is on the ground and that should fix it.

Wallowed out bolt holes will cause this as well so look for those.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

You could always go with the tech while they check it out, if the dealer lets you. Otherwise, if you still have issues, just get a few hand tools and retorque everything while it is on the ground and that should fix it.

Wallowed out bolt holes will cause this as well so look for those.

Some dealers will, some won't. I bet mine would....... but then they know me pretty well by now LOL
In any case, I'd probably check things over either way once I got it back home.

Otherwise, I'd only add this -

If there are "wallowed out bolt holes" then TORQUE was not correct. The purpose of correct bolt torque is clamping force. That force must be sufficient to make the parts being "bolted together" act as one. Any time there's an egg-shaped hole, the torque is wrong.
Those parts should not move at all. The bolt doesn't keep things from sliding and reaming out a hole, the clamping force does. In this respect, even a bolt a bit smaller than the hole, if it's strong and torqued properly, will prevent parts from moving.
For example, the track bar should not rely on the sheer force of the bolt to hold things in place - it's the tensile strength and clamping force. The bolt is stretched a specific amount. One reason modern vehicles use torque plus degrees is that they can get the "stretch" of the bolt down more accurately than high torque numbers alone.

If there's wear on the bolt or the hole it goes through - it wasn't tight enough (or it was subjected to severe forces above what that joint was engineered for)

I suspect I can find the exact info in one of my machinists handbooks - but the above is also what we were taught in suspension/steering classes. "the importance of proper torque" sort of thing.

 

[Mjolnir]

Some dealers will, some won't. I bet mine would....... but then they know me pretty well by now LOL
In any case, I'd probably check things over either way once I got it back home.

Otherwise, I'd only add this -

If there are "wallowed out bolt holes" then TORQUE was not correct. The purpose of correct bolt torque is clamping force. That force must be sufficient to make the parts being "bolted together" act as one. Any time there's an egg-shaped hole, the torque is wrong.
Those parts should not move at all. The bolt doesn't keep things from sliding and reaming out a hole, the clamping force does. In this respect, even a bolt a bit smaller than the hole, if it's strong and torqued properly, will prevent parts from moving.
For example, the track bar should not rely on the sheer force of the bolt to hold things in place - it's the tensile strength and clamping force. The bolt is stretched a specific amount. One reason modern vehicles use torque plus degrees is that they can get the "stretch" of the bolt down more accurately than high torque numbers alone.

If there's wear on the bolt or the hole it goes through - it wasn't tight enough (or it was subjected to severe forces above what that joint was engineered for)

I suspect I can find the exact info in one of my machinists handbooks - but the above is also what we were taught in suspension/steering classes. "the importance of proper torque" sort of thing.

Yup. That is why I stated check for them, because you can torque to correct specs but if there are any wallows you have a bigger issue and the torque specs wont help. Seen it happen, and reminding people to check for that is always needed IMO.

 

[Pergrem]

Every time I have had a death wobble across multiple trucks, it has always been the lower ball joints. If you can, jack up the front end and see if you can move the wheel up and down (not side to side). If you have any play, grab a second person and have them watch where the play is. It could just be a wheel bearing, lower ball joint, a bushing, wallowed out bolt holes, etc. It could also be all those combined.

 

[Bucephalus]

Little update. I've been very busy with work and renovation at home.

I took it to the dealer[not where I bought it] at the beginning of the month. Most [FCA]dealers down here don't take appointments ...It's all first come first serve and no loaners so my options are kind of limited.

Anyway, the shop looked messy and raggedy, there were only two bays for Jeeps and the mechanics looked pretty lost. The guy kept going back and forth trying to find the right socket to take off one of the wheels...How do they not know the right size?--And they were pulling the sockets from a box scattered with tools...RED Flag 1,

All the SA's were young girls. Now, there are plenty of female gear heads who know more about cars than 80% of my buddies. But these were all young girls playing in their phone.
They call my name and the girl comes out to the car with an iPad and asks me what's going on. I start to explain and the whole time she's just looking around the car for dings or whatever..didn't even acknowledge what I was saying--Red Flag 2. I already have a gut feeling telling me to leave but I don't want to be paranoid. I tell her have the mechanic drive it like it's his, go up to 75+ and he'll know what wrong.

I call about an hour before they close and the girl says.. "we were just talking about you, the mechanic just got back and didn't notice anything wrong with the car..do you want to leave it over night? " Red Flag! 3 I tell her no, if the guy an't figure something's wrong by driving then he's incompetent and not qualified to work on my car. I pick it up, the A/C is on when I start the car[so it has that musty smell], all my vents are open, mirrors all moved. I mean these are little things I can deal with if they fixed my car. But I lost 3 hours of work at home and office to have the same problem and extra annoyances. I had to travel for work then had to change the coils on the BMW, so the Gladiator was idle for a couple of weeks.

During this time I also noticed weird behavior from the steering wheel.

When I'm at a light or stopped. If I slowly turn the steering wheel I feel like a little kick..the best way I can describe it is how a bearing retainer ring feels when one of the balls is stuck. The Steering wheel is also off center and the truck veers to the right.

I took some of you guys' advice and checked for anything loose. The brackets on the tie rod seems a bit loose and the steering stabilizer bolts were very loose. I tightened both up and it made a huge difference. I still get the death wobble but not as bad as before, The steering wheel still does the kick at idle and still veers to the left. I'm going to take it to the dealer where I bought it next week. But I just wanted to keep you guys updated.


TLDR

The dealer I took it to was a shit show..Mechanics are lost and incompetent, After driving it a few days I realized the steering wheel is off center and it veers to the right..I also noticed weird behavior from the steering wheel. When stopped at a light or idle, if I turn the steering wheel very slowly I feel a kick..If I hold the wheel at 12 o'clock and slightly move to the left..when it gets to about 10 o'clock..I feel a kick in the wheel. Like a resistance that I can only compare to a bearing getting stuck in a bearing retainer ring. I didn't drive it for a couple of weeks then got under it and checked for any loose bolts. The brackets that hold the tied were slightly loose and the bolts on the steering stabilizer were very loose. I tied those up and it made a huge difference. The car feels tighter but the wheel is still off center, it still veers to the right and still does the weird kick when steering at idle...But the death wobble isn't as bad as before..well as easily trigged as before. It still handles like crap compared to when I bought it but it's a huge difference from where it was before I tighten up those bolts.

I'm guessing it's a bad stabilizer. I was going to take it off and test it, but its peak wet season in Florida. It's sunny in the morning then torrential downpours by 3pm. I'm taking it to the dealer where I bought it next week, maybe the one after.

But I'm honestly thinking of just buying a better stabilizer..what do you gents think?

 

[Mac]

Sounds like a typical dealer experience. I would try a different stabilizer. I have a Fox TS and it definitely helped some for wander but not sure it would do anything for DW, I have not had the issue on my JT.

Sponsored