OK, since you said you did change out you track bar. I would balance you tires and take care of the alignment then check out the steering box. At least that's what I would look into first. After all you did mention that the tires are out of balance and you still need to take a little more time on the alignment. Mainly because bad tire balance and alignment will cause a DW.

 

So i decided to try your idea a little bit. My two rear tires were still in great shape so i swapped them to the front. It pretty much fixed most of the wobble. Now i have no wobble thats triggered at certain speeds. It does still wobble if i hit something over 45mph or if i'm turning right over 45mph (highway interchanges) I'm starting to think it has something to do with the ball joints as well. They are only a few months old but when i jacked it up the other day to swap the tires, i noticed that once the tire leaves the ground, the bottom of the tire swings in a little bit.

 

Bingo. You are on the right track. How was the wear on the front tires before you swapped them?

 

When checking your ball joints take a look at your hub unit too. They can go bad causing all sorts of play in the wheel similar to what your described.

 

my fronts were horribly worn out. when u take off the pass side tire and roll it on the conrete, it rolls like a back slash / lol. I bought all four tires almost new and the two fronts lost almost all tread within 2 or 3 months. i'm pretty pissed.

 

now what do i look for on the hub unit to see if it's bad. I've had them off for the ball joints and again for the wheel bearings. Everything seemed ok to me. I do have two used spares off a 96 grand cherokee though.

 

Well, glad you found the problem. Sucks about the tires though.

 

I would think it needs ball joints from the tire wear description.
What happened when you checked the ball joints?

 

all 4 ball joints are brand new but i got them off ebay. i'm gonna order the spicer ones from serious this time. I hate this whole damn front axle. i have another HP D30 that i'm waitin on cash to build but i think i might throw the new ball joints in that one and swap the whole damn thing.

 

This is important to point out.

Death Wobble might be inherent - meaning, there is something wrong with the suspension geometry, and it creates the potential for death wobble.

Loose or worn parts up front, ANYTHING the links the axle to the body, could reveal death wobble.

A bad sway bar link might not CAUSE death wobble, but it could reveal it since it's the weak link in the system.

Death wobble could already be there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for some part to fail so it can strike.

 

That's great. I think i've narrowed it down to being low quality ball joints. I'm gonna order up some spicer ones next week and see how that goes.

 

death wobble isn't just the axle moving under the body. it could be a tre or ball joint, which would have nothing to do with the sway bar.

 

Oh. I'm not into the lifts and the 4wd suspension and all. I think all I've done in like 10 years is change one wheel bearing, (maybe two). (& lube, lube,lube). I have done quite a lot to quite a few rigs over the years though..

You gotta have the wheels well balanced.

Jeep happens to be the only place I've seen a "Zero" toe-in spec. (Haven't checked them all). The idea of having just a tad, (lets say 1/8" at the rim bead), is to keep a genital pressure on the linkage between the wheels. With no toe in, (both wheels dead ahead), any play whatsoever could magnify, feed back, hammer and cause MORE play since its beating it's-self up. (one Audi actually uses toe-out!, (same difference though))

Having the toe-in way off will grind away a new pair or tires in no time. You can feel the tread with your fingers, it will be feathered one way or the other if it's bad.

Specs aside, myself, If I had that problem I might give it 1/8-3/16" toe-in at the tread, (on a 15"). Maybe Jeep knows some thing I don't, or maybe it's just "wishful thinking" that there will never be enough play for it to set up a wobble.

So there's that, good luck!

 

When i set the alignment that's what i did. I set the front of the tires 1/8-1/4" closer than the back of the front tires. This , of course, was done after all my tread was left on the streets of western mass.

 

Yea, sorry to hear that. Once my mom had her tie-rod ends changed at a shop and new fronts put on (72 Scout). They didn't align it and the tires were gone before I got back in town! I went and met the fellow, he decided to mount some more tires and align it.

A trick/method. Jack up a wheel and spin it, and spray a white line on the tire. Then you can draw, or scratch a fine line in or on the paint, (spinning it again). Then roll it forward on level ground then measure.

Where you can't get a tape across on some, you can use a level, or even a plumb-bob to transfer the line down to cardboard or something secure on the ground. I'd always finish by rolling forward to a stop and doing a final check. Anyway I'd only do my own that I could watch. I wouldn't do that and "send someone out".

"back in the day", you could have your toe in set for 10 or $20, but now it seems to always be the full boat, 4 wheel alignment. (even if they just set the toe in.

Idk, you might ask your shop. maybe some chance they could warranty it as a "road hazard" or something. Can't hurt to ask anyway.