spanishmack
Well-Known Member
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- #1
Long post warning. TL;DR: Is any amount of steering wheel feedback wobble normal?.
So about a month ago, one morning when I hit the same little bump on the bridge on the road I live off of, I got some shaking in the steering wheel that was somewhat sustained. I slowed down and it went away. From then on, the right random bump, mostly at speeds less than 50 mph, but sometimes faster, would cause the same thing. I would slow down and wiggle the steering wheel some and it would go away.
I had always heard about the dreaded "death wobble," but after more research and some videos, it seemed pretty clear I didn't have death wobble as it seemed to be a lot more violent steering feedback and doesn't go away until you stop. Based on reading posts here and Reddit, etc., I might have an alignment issue. Had an alignment done at a tire shop when I was getting my full size 37" spare tire mounted, but no change; still annoying steering wobble sometimes. Was due for an oil change and the dealership had a super cheap coupon for an oil change, so when I took it in I wanted them to look at the wobble issue. Shop tech didn't have time to look at it that day, but as it happened my service rep had a Gladiator also and was having a very similar issue. He said the shop tech wanted to put on a Rough Country dual steering stabilizer to fix it. Now, after reading up about steering stabilizers, lots of people did NOT recommend dual models, as they can actually mask some problems. Also, my Gladiator came new with a dealer installed Mopar 2.5" lift and after market 17" rims with 37x13.5" tires. My understanding was the Mopar lift kit came with a beefier Fox steering stabilizer also. Crawled under and it was still the regular stock steering stabilizer.
So, I found a good price on a Fox thru-shaft steering stabilizer and installed it. Problem solved! (maybe
). Ran it over the same little bump on the bridge probably 8-10 times and no steering wobble. Things were great for about 3 days and then I hit a bump on a rough road near my job and a got a steering wobble, but it went away on it's own (i.e. no steering wheel wiggle or slowing down or stopping). And now every now and then, if I hit a bump right, I get the same thing; little steering wheel wobble, but goes away on it's own within 1-3 seconds.
So now I'm wondering if it's in my head. Is that just actually normal behavior for what a steering stabilizer is supposed to do and I just never really noticed it before? Full disclosure, I know just enough stuff about suspensions, etc. to be really dangerous to myself and others. I checked every bolt I could see for loose-ness and everything I looked at is very tight.
So, am I just wobble-noid?
So about a month ago, one morning when I hit the same little bump on the bridge on the road I live off of, I got some shaking in the steering wheel that was somewhat sustained. I slowed down and it went away. From then on, the right random bump, mostly at speeds less than 50 mph, but sometimes faster, would cause the same thing. I would slow down and wiggle the steering wheel some and it would go away.
I had always heard about the dreaded "death wobble," but after more research and some videos, it seemed pretty clear I didn't have death wobble as it seemed to be a lot more violent steering feedback and doesn't go away until you stop. Based on reading posts here and Reddit, etc., I might have an alignment issue. Had an alignment done at a tire shop when I was getting my full size 37" spare tire mounted, but no change; still annoying steering wobble sometimes. Was due for an oil change and the dealership had a super cheap coupon for an oil change, so when I took it in I wanted them to look at the wobble issue. Shop tech didn't have time to look at it that day, but as it happened my service rep had a Gladiator also and was having a very similar issue. He said the shop tech wanted to put on a Rough Country dual steering stabilizer to fix it. Now, after reading up about steering stabilizers, lots of people did NOT recommend dual models, as they can actually mask some problems. Also, my Gladiator came new with a dealer installed Mopar 2.5" lift and after market 17" rims with 37x13.5" tires. My understanding was the Mopar lift kit came with a beefier Fox steering stabilizer also. Crawled under and it was still the regular stock steering stabilizer.
So, I found a good price on a Fox thru-shaft steering stabilizer and installed it. Problem solved! (maybe
). Ran it over the same little bump on the bridge probably 8-10 times and no steering wobble. Things were great for about 3 days and then I hit a bump on a rough road near my job and a got a steering wobble, but it went away on it's own (i.e. no steering wheel wiggle or slowing down or stopping). And now every now and then, if I hit a bump right, I get the same thing; little steering wheel wobble, but goes away on it's own within 1-3 seconds.So now I'm wondering if it's in my head. Is that just actually normal behavior for what a steering stabilizer is supposed to do and I just never really noticed it before? Full disclosure, I know just enough stuff about suspensions, etc. to be really dangerous to myself and others. I checked every bolt I could see for loose-ness and everything I looked at is very tight.
So, am I just wobble-noid?
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