Hi all,
2001 XJ all stock, 190K miles.

I am chasing a death wobble and hard clunk when I turn or go over a bump. I went to check if the coil spring retainer clip on the passenger side was tight. I put a ratchet on it and it spun and spun.

Is there a nut inside the perch for the shock? Or does this screw just spin in without a nut?

Is there any way that a loose coil would cause the clunk?

 

I'll check mine when I leave in a few minutes, but I don't believe there is a nut for the coil retainer.

If the coil is rebounding and creating an oscillation then it could cause your wobble.

 

It threads into the axle bracket.

 

IMO your is spinning because it is stripped out.

 

No nut - yours is stripped. Rethread that puppy.

 

Hi all,
Thank you very much. I guess I'll have to try to back it out and see what is left of the threads on the bottom perch.

Can I get away with a new screw, or do I have to drill bigger and retap?

I am wondering if self tapping screws would work.

Lastly (and most importantly), could this be partly the cause of death wobble and hard clunks?

 

My clip is not flush against the bracket like yours. This picture helps a lot. Mine has a slight gap (about 1/16 inch) between the clip and the bracket. I guess that might cause a little movement, but I am wondering if this is just one of many little things that I am chasing down to stop the wobble.

 

Is it backwards?? Could be - each side is angled different. But really sounds like It's stripped out.

 

Probably not causing the DW. Shouldn't cause a clunk unless you are hitting bumps big enough to cause the spring to come unseated, not likely on-road, but not impossible.

 

I had a loud popping/clunking noise when turning and going over bumps on my 94, didn't cause DW but when I finally figured it out and fixed it the steering felt a lot tighter. Mine was the factory frame side track bar bracket bolts, nice and tight but crappy bolt strip was allowing it to move around and pop. Replaced with grade 8 flange bolts and was cured.

 

U might be able to. I fixed a buddies when doing a long arm. I just tapped it to a slightly bigger standard hole and put a std bolt in. I didn't feel like drilling and the only new bolts in shop were standard. It worked great.

IMO I doubt its causing DW. DW could have helped strip the bolt though.