Made it to 40K before it happened

[Murgatroid]

Finally experienced the wobble. I got my Gladiator in July of 2019 and still have the original steering box. I've never had a problem till the weekend after Thanksgiving. Went on a couple hour trip, hit some ruff highway at 70 mph and the front end started a wobble that would straighten out when I slowed down. But it happened every time I was doing 70 or more and hit either some ruff pavement or a expansion joint on an overpass or bridge, didn't notice it under 65. Taking it in Thursday, hoping it is only the steering box.

Sponsored

 

[Mjolnir]

You need to figure out if this is a shimmy, or aggressive/violent vibrations through the steering wheel (death wobble). I suggest looking up videos of actual death wobble like the one I linked here. Watch from :55 seconds on. If it is not like this or WORSE, you do not have death wobble and simply have a shimmy/bump steer.




If a shimmy: could just be wheel weights are off, a tire is cupped, air pressure, stabilizer is not doing it's job and you're experiencing bump steer. Low possibility the steering box would cause this.

IF it is wobble boarding on death wobble, the steering box would NOT cause this.

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

Heavens to Murgatroid! I had death wobble like Mjonir's video demonstrates on my TJ. A fair bit worse actually. I replaced a lot of the front end components to try to fix this, but I got on the highway after picking it up from the Jeep specialty shop and it immediately death wobbled on me. Of course, there was a state trooper behind me when it did it, so I got pulled over. They seemed angry, but let me go with a "just don't get on the highway with it until it is fixed".

In my case, it WAS the tires. I got new tires and the problem went away. My old KM2s were pretty worn though. I would tell the guy in the video to find someone willing to swap wheels and tires with temporarily and see if it rectifies this(or worse, gives the other Jeep death wobble). If it doesn't, he can say, "Well, I changed tires, still there, fix it".

 

[Murgatroid]

You need to figure out if this is a shimmy, or aggressive/violent vibrations through the steering wheel (death wobble). I suggest looking up videos of actual death wobble like the one I linked here. Watch from :55 seconds on. If it is not like this or WORSE, you do not have death wobble and simply have a shimmy/bump steer.




If a shimmy: could just be wheel weights are off, a tire is cupped, air pressure, stabilizer is not doing it's job and you're experiencing bump steer. Low possibility the steering box would cause this.

IF it is wobble boarding on death wobble, the steering box would NOT cause this.

I took it in today, they are replacing the steering damper. I will add that I have not encountered any shake since that one trip. I've driven at 70 and higher and I've hit some rough bridge expansion joints at speed but not had it happen and the day it happened it only did it on a really rough section of highway, I had no problems on the rest of the trip.

 

[Dlish]

I took it in today, they are replacing the steering damper. I will add that I have not encountered any shake since that one trip. I've driven at 70 and higher and I've hit some rough bridge expansion joints at speed but not had it happen and the day it happened it only did it on a really rough section of highway, I had no problems on the rest of the trip.

Steering damper is a bandaid and usually masks the real underlying problem. Im glad it hasnt happened again, but there is usually something else causing it.

 

[CMac]

I’d get under it with a torque wrench, too, and make sure everything is tip top.

Everything.

 

[Mjolnir]

I took it in today, they are replacing the steering damper. I will add that I have not encountered any shake since that one trip. I've driven at 70 and higher and I've hit some rough bridge expansion joints at speed but not had it happen and the day it happened it only did it on a really rough section of highway, I had no problems on the rest of the trip.

Stabilizer hides the issue, which could get progressively worse. That is not a fix but a bandaid as stated above.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

imo if it goes nuts at x speed its probably a tire issue.
if it goes nuts when you hit a bump its death wobble and something is loose.

I could be completely wrong.

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

imo if it goes nuts at x speed its probably a tire issue.
if it goes nuts when you hit a bump its death wobble and something is loose.

I could be completely wrong.

Mine was caused by bumps, but tires fixed it.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

Mine was caused by bumps, but tires fixed it.

thats so weird lol

 

[am1978]

Any lift, spacers, wheel, tire, or other suspension component mods?

 

[Murgatroid]

Steering damper is a bandaid and usually masks the real underlying problem. Im glad it hasnt happened again, but there is usually something else causing it.

thats so weird lol

Any lift, spacers, wheel, tire, or other suspension component mods?

Bone stock Sport S with max tow

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

imo if it goes nuts at x speed its probably a tire issue.
if it goes nuts when you hit a bump its death wobble and something is loose.

I could be completely wrong.

It doesn't have to be preceded by a bump to be considered death wobble.

Long, gradual turns can set off death wobble.

Sponsored