What did I screw up (Steering related)

[bastage]

At speed if I hit a bump the steering now wobbles badly. Not talking about a crazy bad bump or anything, but its making me break after going over rail road tracks at 35.

I know what ever it is its self inflicted. Everything was fantastic after my lift & synergy sector shaft brace were installed a couple weeks ago. I did take it out & hit lots of rocks kinda hard last weekend & haven't really driven it since so I am fairly certain it happened then. Climbed underneath & I didn't notice anything that looked unnaturally bent at all.

Is this something where I could of bumped something alignment out?

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[arosen1997]

At speed if I hit a bump the steering now wobbles badly. Not talking about a crazy bad bump or anything, but its making me break after going over rail road tracks at 35.

I know what ever it is its self inflicted. Everything was fantastic after my lift & synergy sector shaft brace were installed a couple weeks ago. I did take it out & hit lots of rocks kinda hard last weekend & haven't really driven it since so I am fairly certain it happened then. Climbed underneath & I didn't notice anything that looked unnaturally bent at all.

Is this something where I could of bumped something alignment out?

Did both wheels hit the Bump at the same time or did one hit and then the other?

 

[bastage]

Did both wheels hit the Bump at the same time or did one hit and then the other?

Multiple bumps hit & some on corners where 1 wheel first & others were straight on. Same results on all.

 

[Gren71]

do you have a lift? if so which one?

have you done any steering upgrades?

 

[bastage]

do you have a lift? if so which one?

have you done any steering upgrades?

Yes.. Clayton 2.5. Steering has the Synergy Sector shaft brace & I have this Fox stabilizer

 

[Gobi Wan K]

That sounds to me like death wobble. I assume the shaking goes away as you slow to a certain point.

First thing is double check air pressure in your tires and make sure one isn't much lower than the others.
Second is check all front end bolts for security. A loose track bar bolt can really ruin your day.
Third would be to check toe on your front tires. That is how much they point towards or away from each other. You want them slightly toe in, meaning the front of the tires are a little closer than the back. There are plenty of videos out there that will show you how to do this. If you can tighten a bolt you can set your own toe, no alignment shop needed.
Another thing to try is have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you look at all of the front suspension pieces. Sometimes you will find the offending part that way, like a bad tie rod end.
It isn't an easy thing to track down the cause because there are so many parts involved but a little patience and attention to detail will pay off.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

Death wobble. Something may be loose or maybe you knocked some weights off the tires and they are unbalanced now.

What caster angle were you setup at?

 

[bastage]

That sounds to me like death wobble. I assume the shaking goes away as you slow to a certain point.

First thing is double check air pressure in your tires and make sure one isn't much lower than the others.
Second is check all front end bolts for security. A loose track bar bolt can really ruin your day.
Third would be to check toe on your front tires. That is how much they point towards or away from each other. You want them slightly toe in, meaning the front of the tires are a little closer than the back. There are plenty of videos out there that will show you how to do this. If you can tighten a bolt you can set your own toe, no alignment shop needed.
Another thing to try is have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you look at all of the front suspension pieces. Sometimes you will find the offending part that way, like a bad tie rod end.
It isn't an easy thing to track down the cause because there are so many parts involved but a little patience and attention to detail will pay off.

Yes spot on about it going away.. I can then get back up to speed fine as long as I dont hit a bump it tracks perfectly.

PSI is within 1 on the fronts (28.5 on one & 29 on the other per my handheld gauge).I couldn't find anything loose. The shop that did the work also marked all the bolts & they are still where they started. the measurement on the tires was also within about 1/16th of an inch (front being in). Had my kit turn the wheel back & forth & so no extra play that I wasn't expecting.

What would I most likely of knocked loose or bent offloading that would cause this. I plan to do a few more steering related goodies, but wasn't planning on doing them this soon. So its not the end of the world if I cant figure it out and gotta take it back to the 4x4 shop to have some more goodies attached. But I kinda have a pecking order of stuff & next to buy was supposed to be 37's to go on the new wheels I have already ordered.

 

[Phljeeper]

Most of the time this is tied to the front trackbar. Check the bolts at each end of the trackbar. Also could be the tie rod or drag link bolts. Just make sure they are torqued to spec. Then check the lower control arm mounts. Almost every time I have had a buddy with this issue it is related to the trackbar.

 

[Alaska-HWY JK]

Yes spot on about it going away.. I can then get back up to speed fine as long as I dont hit a bump it tracks perfectly.

PSI is within 1 on the fronts (28.5 on one & 29 on the other per my handheld gauge).I couldn't find anything loose. The shop that did the work also marked all the bolts & they are still where they started. the measurement on the tires was also within about 1/16th of an inch (front being in). Had my kit turn the wheel back & forth & so no extra play that I wasn't expecting.

What would I most likely of knocked loose or bent offloading that would cause this. I plan to do a few more steering related goodies, but wasn't planning on doing them this soon. So its not the end of the world if I cant figure it out and gotta take it back to the 4x4 shop to have some more goodies attached. But I kinda have a pecking order of stuff & next to buy was supposed to be 37's to go on the new wheels I have already ordered.

Get someone in the cab to turn the wheel slowly side to side while you’re underneath watching for movement.
(Someone you trust that won’t drive over you)
on my JK it was the factory drag link at around 30,000 Km.
Loose trackbar bolts most of the time though.

 

[bastage]

Trac bar bolts are torqued to 125.. I tossed my torque wrench on them to be sure, but the markings the installer left are still spot on. Nothing on the LCA's has moved either.

 

[Phljeeper]

Trac bar bolts are torqued to 125.. I tossed my torque wrench on them to be sure, but the markings the installer left are still spot on. Nothing on the LCA's has moved either.

I am sure you already check this but are all your wheel lugs tight?

another option is to pull off the trackbar and check to see if the holes are wallowed out. Many times if the issue is trackbar related it will oval out the mount holes and you need to weld a washer on to resolve.

 

[bastage]

I am sure you already check this but are all your wheel lugs tight?

another option is to pull off the trackbar and check to see if the holes are wallowed out. Many times if the issue is trackbar related it will oval out the mount holes and you need to weld a washer on to resolve.

Its got just over 2000 miles on the truck. There better not be anything ovaled out yet. And no I didnt check the lugs... But that will only take a min & I will go do that now.

 

[Phljeeper]

Its got just over 2000 miles on the truck. There better not be anything ovaled out yet. And no I didnt check the lugs... But that will only take a min & I will go do that now.

hopefully not but if the trackbar was loose at all that can happen quickly. One other check I forgot I have had is muddy wheels. If there is mud in the wheels lodged up on there it can misbalance the tires causing a shake.

 

[bastage]

hopefully not but if the trackbar was loose at all that can happen quickly. One other check I forgot I have had is muddy wheels. If there is mud in the wheels lodged up on there it can misbalance the tires causing a shake.

Lug nuts are all tight.

It wasnt giving these symptoms prior to me off roading last weekend & trying quite hard to get over a couple obstacles. Like at all & now its quite bad so I am sure something is bent or knocked out of alignment, just not sure what.

Also.. they are dusty, but not muddy at all.

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