I still have death wobble

[Coco]

We cant figure it out...We have replaced/fixed:
steering box
steering pump
trackbar
both drivelines
took it to Mepco to see if they could figure it out...

After replaceing everything listed but drivelines, my dad is thinking a mixture of the bent drivelines, and the bent right side spring bucket is causing it. Cause the drivelines would viberate the jeep, and possibly that spring not being all the way straight would be the cause? Any ideas?:-\

 

[Greg]

Did you have it aligned? You need to have the front toe-in set about 1/4"-1/8".

 

[RockChucker]

when i had death wobble really bad in my jeep, a) and alignment made a huge difference, and b) in that alignment the caster was set negative past the stock specs. in other words, the front lower control arms are pushed forward so that the knuckles are at a steeper angle with the top of the knuckle angled back towards the back of the jeep. this did the most good for me. if you have adjustable ca's it is super easy. extend them out 1/4" to a 1/2" inch and i bet you are good.

 

[snccoulter]

Stolen from UTAH 4X4 Club
http://www.utah4x4club.com/index.php?showtopic=364

First, what causes death wobble?

Theres a number of things that can contribute to it, but there is a couple that top the list. This list is in order of most common to least common causes.

1. Track Bar mounts, upper and lower.
2. Caster/Camber
3. Wheel Bearings
4. Allignment
5. Tire Balance
6. Tie rod ends/drag link

Now on how to fix it all, Ill try use diagrams when I can.

1. Just tighten the lower axle mount and the upper frame mount. What usually happens is the bolt will either become loose, or the bushing will go bad. Most commonly happens when a used track bar or a stock one is being used with alot of lift (5"+).

2. Heres one thats overlooked alot when lifting a 4 linked vehicle. (thats your suspension type) In the diagram, the red line is your outer knuckle, if it is not within .08* of center on a 90* level, you will get an over toe either in or out.

3. These are also known as unibearings, there the wheel mounting surface (WMS) for the front axle, they then mount to the knuckle. If these go bad there is an easy way to check. Jack the axle up so the tire is no longer in touch with the ground and push/pull the tire in and out from top to bottom. If theres a little play it is going bad, usually 1-2 cm, if theres alot of play, 1-2 in it is bad and needs replacing. They will go bad, its not a matter of as is when. With tires 32"+ its a common headache. You can get pretty decent replacements at any parts store for around $150 ea.

4, and 5 are pretty self explanatory, maintain your rig and take it to the tire shop.

6. If you didnt already know, even with a drop pitman arm, the joints on your steering will go bad. The drag link is the biggest PITA due to it only having 1 replaceable joint on the pitman end. The rest of the draglink has to be replaced to fix the lower mount. Tie rod ends (TRE) are fairly cheap at around 30$ or so a pop. There is a fix for the draglink. Cut the outer joint off. Take another draglink, unscrew the turn buckle style adjustment. Cut the turn buckle in half. Weld the unthreaded end to the cut lower end of the draglink. Now you are able to replace both ends without spending 160$ at a time to replace the whole thing.

If theres something I missed add it.

Brian

 

[mbryson]

Stolen from UTAH 4X4 Club
http://www.utah4x4club.com/index.php?showtopic=364

First, what causes death wobble?

Theres a number of things that can contribute to it, but there is a couple that top the list. This list is in order of most common to least common causes.

1. Track Bar mounts, upper and lower.
2. Caster/Camber
3. Wheel Bearings
4. Allignment
5. Tire Balance
6. Tie rod ends/drag link

Now on how to fix it all, Ill try use diagrams when I can.

1. Just tighten the lower axle mount and the upper frame mount. What usually happens is the bolt will either become loose, or the bushing will go bad. Most commonly happens when a used track bar or a stock one is being used with alot of lift (5"+).

2. Heres one thats overlooked alot when lifting a 4 linked vehicle. (thats your suspension type) In the diagram, the red line is your outer knuckle, if it is not within .08* of center on a 90* level, you will get an over toe either in or out.

3. These are also known as unibearings, there the wheel mounting surface (WMS) for the front axle, they then mount to the knuckle. If these go bad there is an easy way to check. Jack the axle up so the tire is no longer in touch with the ground and push/pull the tire in and out from top to bottom. If theres a little play it is going bad, usually 1-2 cm, if theres alot of play, 1-2 in it is bad and needs replacing. They will go bad, its not a matter of as is when. With tires 32"+ its a common headache. You can get pretty decent replacements at any parts store for around $150 ea.

4, and 5 are pretty self explanatory, maintain your rig and take it to the tire shop.

6. If you didnt already know, even with a drop pitman arm, the joints on your steering will go bad. The drag link is the biggest PITA due to it only having 1 replaceable joint on the pitman end. The rest of the draglink has to be replaced to fix the lower mount. Tie rod ends (TRE) are fairly cheap at around 30$ or so a pop. There is a fix for the draglink. Cut the outer joint off. Take another draglink, unscrew the turn buckle style adjustment. Cut the turn buckle in half. Weld the unthreaded end to the cut lower end of the draglink. Now you are able to replace both ends without spending 160$ at a time to replace the whole thing.

If theres something I missed add it.

Brian

I'd go with #1 first, then continue on every other part of the suspension. Make sure your bushings and bolts are tight and in good repair. If those check out, I'd head immediately to the alignment, and then work the list from there.

 

[Jeeperman]

Also check your balljoints real close. Same way as you check your bearings...top to bottom, but do side to side just slightly. not enough to really turn the tire, just enough to see if they have any play.

 

[muddyjeep]

On my Jeep It had allot wrong with it but the main cause for the dw was worn out shocks. It also helped to replace the ball joints.

 

[gijohn40]

a friend of mine also found one of his rims was bent and it was the cause... so if you take your tires off and swap them with the ones on the back and it goes away you might have a bent rim...

 

[soda blaster]

try checking the ball joint and bolt on your pitman arm. Made a big difference on mine.

 

[JoeT]

Mepco?

 

[Chevycrew]

I would guess caster, make sure it is set at factory specs.

 

[Coco]

Mepco?

Teraflex PLUS, used to be Mepco

 

[ewander]

Is your drag link and track arm properly aligned, geometry wise? How much of a drop pitman arm do you have? I live in Lehi and have recently beaten this bad boy. I could swing by and check it out if you want.

Eric

 

[Jay5.9L]

What condition are you tires in? My Grand Cherokee had a bad case of the DW and nothing really helped (new track bar, aligned, tires rotated and balanced). Once I threw out the old Perelli Scorpions for some MTRs everything was good again.

 

[lostsamurai]

has someone cut and turned your spring cups to change the driveline angles that can really screw things up

 

[Coco]

has someone cut and turned your spring cups to change the driveline angles that can really screw things up

NO! But funny thing you should mention that, the passenger side Spring cup is bent, and I am going to get it bent back hopefully this week!

Ewandor, I could use some help of suggestions, if you are willing to sometime!

 

[piecesnparts]

ok, I have checked off the list and now I am ready for some help, 96 zj all wheel drive 5.2
the back story Last year had dw and replaced draglinks tie rods trackbar lca bushings.
dw went away all of those parts needed replaces so I dont really care which one fixed it. DW is back. I took it to les schaup on 72 who checked it and said everything was good except the tire presure, they let some air out and sent me on my way. I went to big O and talked with a fairly knowledgeable guy.

There was a loose bolt on the lca and they but a new bolt in and put it on the rack it was in spec before but they dialed it in a little more. here are the numbers

Left right
Actual Actual

0.0 -0.4 Camber
6.6 6.9 Caster
0.09 0.09 Toe
10.1 10.8 SAI
10.0 10.4 Included Angle

Cross Camber 0.3
Cross Caster -0.3
Cross SAI -0.7
Total Toe 0.18

I dont have a jack in slc right now so I havent looked at wheel beerings or ball joints myself but I asked both les schuab and big o and both said were good.

Please help. If someone has a minute and has dealt with this problem, I would love a second set (or forth really) of eyes to look at it.

I have a baby on the way and I cant just throw parts at it unless there bad. I called Teraflex and they quoted me 150 just to look at it and I cant afford or justify that when they problem will probably only cost 150.

oh and 29" big O all terrains not beefy and looked like they balanced easily.

 

[mbryson]

ok, I have checked off the list and now I am ready for some help, 96 zj all wheel drive 5.2
the back story Last year had dw and replaced draglinks tie rods trackbar lca bushings.
dw went away all of those parts needed replaces so I dont really care which one fixed it. DW is back. I took it to les schaup on 72 who checked it and said everything was good except the tire presure, they let some air out and sent me on my way. I went to big O and talked with a fairly knowledgeable guy.

There was a loose bolt on the lca and they but a new bolt in and put it on the rack it was in spec before but they dialed it in a little more. here are the numbers

Left right
Actual Actual

0.0 -0.4 Camber
6.6 6.9 Caster
0.09 0.09 Toe
10.1 10.8 SAI
10.0 10.4 Included Angle

Cross Camber 0.3
Cross Caster -0.3
Cross SAI -0.7
Total Toe 0.18

I dont have a jack in slc right now so I havent looked at wheel beerings or ball joints myself but I asked both les schuab and big o and both said were good.

Please help. If someone has a minute and has dealt with this problem, I would love a second set (or forth really) of eyes to look at it.

I have a baby on the way and I cant just throw parts at it unless there bad. I called Teraflex and they quoted me 150 just to look at it and I cant afford or justify that when they problem will probably only cost 150.

oh and 29" big O all terrains not beefy and looked like they balanced easily.

switch your tires from front to back and see if that helps (not a Big O tire fan at all)

 

[piecesnparts]

switch your tires from front to back and see if that helps (not a Big O tire fan at all)

Ill try that, I don't have a jack till Saturday and don't really want to wait. I had an old set of big Os on my cj and loved them, but there 10 yrs old and have changed a lot.

 

[Jay5.9L]

If you can swap your rims/tires with some one for a few days. Like I said earlier in this thread I had DW and after I did everything a new set of tires fixed it. Even though the old ones were rotated and balanced multiple times something in the tire was causing the problem. The tire guy said it may have been a defect or a broken belt with in the tire.