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

[MarineHawk]

I had a wobble on my Overland after going to JL Rubicon tires. Local shop installed TPMS sensors and balanced. Took it to the dealership and they rebalanced while installing lift kit. No more wobble. SO check tire balance first!

It's hard to trouble shoot based on all of that. It could have been fixed by the balancing; rebalancing; or one or more parts or install actions on the lift.

Did your lift involve a replacement of the trackbar? Did they replace/tighten any loose bolts on any of the components of the lift?

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[12BNNT]

It's hard to trouble shoot based on all of that. It could have been fixed by the balancing; rebalancing; or one or more parts or install actions on the lift.

Did your lift involve a replacement of the trackbar? Did they replace/tighten any loose bolts on any of the components of the lift?

I was thinking the same thing. Wobble may have been caused by a bad track bar bushing or bar being way to far angled and then the new lift included a relocation bracket or all new track bar. Not enough info there.

For the OP, look at every connection across the steering. There is a YouTube video out there I watched (the first time I had a wobble in my lifted JK) where the guy doing the video shows how to check all the bushings, bearings, and ball joints. Can’t find it right this moment but in the video, he uses two full size trucks to show two different problems that can cause wobble but both trucks are solid front axle so it’s close enough to get the idea of what to look at and look for.
Good luck.

 

[Klutch]

Just a few weeks ago my son was on a business trip in Kentucky where the car rental agency assigned him a brand new Wrangler Unlimited. He said the death wobble was so bad, he and his coworker couldn't drive over 55 MPH without the entire vehicle shaking with the steering wheel wobbling violently. He returned the Jeep the next day and told the agency about the problem. He said they gave him the proverbial deer-in-the-headlights stare, but he tried anyway. So, this seems to be at least an occasional problem with even brand new Jeeps.

My 2000 Cherokee had a bit of death wobble. It needed new tires and the wobble went away when I replaced them. So, yeah. Tire balancing seems critical to the death wobble issue.

 

[Moabite]

What many Jeep drivers call Death Wobble is simply a shimmy. If their Jeep develops a shimmy, they think it is the well-publicized Death Wobble. A speed-related shimmy, even a bad one, is not Death Wobble. Death Wobble is aptly named. It can kill. It makes the Jeep sound and feel like it is going to self-destruct. It happened twice on my '03 Rubicon, once at about 65 mph crossing a bridge section as with the OP. It was all I could do to keep it under control and pull to a stop on the side of the interstate. With a longer wheelbase, Death Wobble might not be as deadly...but it happens instantaneously and will scare the crap out of you and any passengers.

And for the OP: good luck getting your mechanic to verify the issue. You can rarely make Death Wobble occur intentionally...unless there is something drastically wrong with the vehicle. It just happens at random times, when you hit a seemingly innocuous bump in the road (like that bridge joint). The stars have to align, or mis-align, perfectly.

 

[Mightytalldude]

Discovered this on my 17 JKUR when I was putting the lift on at 5000 miles. Don't know if the factory failed to torque this bolt or if it backed off. I think it never got torqued at the factory.

Only problem with that image is the wear marks on the nut from being wrenched, and the clean area on the bracket where the nut was located snug against it. Bolts and nuts not properly secured will show dirt accumulation and or shifting wear.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Only problem with that image is the wear marks on the nut from being wrenched, and the clean area on the bracket where the nut was located snug against it. Bolts and nuts not properly secured will show dirt accumulation and or shifting wear.

Looking more closely, clicking to enlarge the pic, the marks indicate the last wrench action was to loosen. Someone had it loose. There seem to be some marks on the other corners, but the cleanest and freshest show as loosen marks. It WAS tight for a period of time long enough for it to keep that spot clean while all the rest got dirty.

 

[WXman]

I'll tell you this.. Jeep has been using the same 4 link design on lots of models for decades. I had a grand Cherokee once that started to have death wobble and I literally replaced every single part in the front end. Cost me a fortune. The death wobble did not go away until I did all new control arm bushings. This leads me to believe that the source of the issue is actually in the control arms. Steering stabilizer won't change a thing and it's hilarious that FCA has been using that as a cheap bandaid fix just to appease people.

 

[sass JT]

What many Jeep drivers call Death Wobble is simply a shimmy. If their Jeep develops a shimmy, they think it is the well-publicized Death Wobble. A speed-related shimmy, even a bad one, is not Death Wobble. Death Wobble is aptly named. It can kill. It makes the Jeep sound and feel like it is going to self-destruct. It happened twice on my '03 Rubicon, once at about 65 mph crossing a bridge section as with the OP. It was all I could do to keep it under control and pull to a stop on the side of the interstate. With a longer wheelbase, Death Wobble might not be as deadly...but it happens instantaneously and will scare the crap out of you and any passengers.

And for the OP: good luck getting your mechanic to verify the issue. You can rarely make Death Wobble occur intentionally...unless there is something drastically wrong with the vehicle. It just happens at random times, when you hit a seemingly innocuous bump in the road (like that bridge joint). The stars have to align, or mis-align, perfectly.

This! Thank you.

I’ve had death wobble once in ‘99 WJ that I lifted. Hit a pot hole doing 45-50 mph. Had to stop on the side of the road to stop it from shaking me. Went home and started checking all... all my bolts. Found a jam nut on my aftermarket trackbar loose, also re torqued all my bolts. Never had the issue again.

 

[Coyotesong]

Only problem with that image is the wear marks on the nut from being wrenched, and the clean area on the bracket where the nut was located snug against it. Bolts and nuts not properly secured will show dirt accumulation and or shifting wear.

When I first discovered this I was intent on getting the lift on and unscrewed the nut. After I unscrewed the nut, it bothered me that it was not torqued down so I put the nut back on to the same location that I had found it to take a picture of it. The clean area below the nut made me wonder too but I simply surmised that perhaps the bolt had been working it's way back and forth.

 

[foxmul]

It happened to me too, less than 1000 miles. It only happened once (it was really bad, too). I read in one of the posts, it can be caused by super cold temperatures. And it was very cold that day. They post said that oil in the dampener when it gets really cold gets very rigid and it doesn't work right. It makes sense to me. it only happened once. I guess I could tell Jeep but they might not be able to replicate it, or I could just buy a better steering stabilizer.

 

[HorneyBadger]

It's hard to trouble shoot based on all of that. It could have been fixed by the balancing; rebalancing; or one or more parts or install actions on the lift.

Did your lift involve a replacement of the trackbar? Did they replace/tighten any loose bolts on any of the components of the lift?

NOTE: No wobble until I installed the new tires. Dealer even commented that the tire balance was AFU. Lift kit was the 2" Mopar. Harley Davidson had a death wobble also. 90% of the time it was under inflated front tire. 10% was typically loose steering head nut. The wobble would trigger during high speed if you decelerated or hit a bump/pot hole.

 

[ShikGluon]

Looks like a decent video and identification of the reason and what to look at to fix.

https://www.extremeterrain.com/wrangler-jeep-death-wobble.html

Haha! I finally understand what a death wobble is!! Thanks for this link!

 

[JeepCares]

All great advice, I will let you know what the dealership says. I took a video when driving home, but it was too dark to see much and I was really focusing on not crashing. I will take it out this weekend to get a video.

My fear is the mechanic "won't be able to verify" the issue.

Hi Wesley,
Please feel free to keep us updated on your dealer visit. If any additional assistance is needed, we would be happy to escalate a case for you regarding your concern. We're available via PM.
Alex
JeepCares

 

[ColoradoGlad]

Need more information..
- Is your JT lifted, and if so, how much and what type of lift. Spacers, springs, or both.
- If lifted, did the lift include control arms
- What size tires are you running
- Is your suspension 100% stock
- Track Bar Bushings/Bolt and Loose Control arms can greatly affect the oscillations. (Death Wobble).
- Based on your mileage and this problem starting out of the blue, loose bolts would be a strong possibility.
- I've had many Wranglers, and I have experienced the Wobble on everyone, except the JT.
- -Many "experts" say lifting isn't the cause of the Wobble, which is somewhat true, but changing angles and parts with the
lift is usually 99% of the problem with DW.

I had a JKUR that had bad DW even with everything set right and tight.
Before I sold it, I took off the 4" lift and put it 100% back to stock.
It NEVER had the DW after going back to stock suspension.
Just say'in… Smile.

 

[wesley8808]

Hi Wesley,
Please feel free to keep us updated on your dealer visit. If any additional assistance is needed, we would be happy to escalate a case for you regarding your concern. We're available via PM.
Alex
JeepCares

Thanks Alex. I definitely will let you know what happens. I did ask about a loaner since I am assuming that I will have to leave the JT. They did check the VIN against any recalls and since I am not id'ed as on the list, I don't qualify for a loaner.

For the Forum, thank you all for the feedback. I feel armed with what I need to know going into the dealership.

For the nay-sayers, I can assure you - it was a death wobble I had a 2000 XJ that I put 180k miles on and still an '07 JK I bought new with 190k miles on it. I know the difference between a shimmy and what happened the other day. It was definitely a first and resembles exactly what the video demonstrated several posts above.

More to come....

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