DEATH WOBBLE!!!!
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Year: 1993
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L
are you getting death wobble or are you just curious?
i've owned 10 jeeps, 9 of them lifted. from my experiences death wobble can come from a varity of places. worn suspension parts ( stabalizer shock, ball joints, Tie rod ends, bushings, sway bar links..etc) if your jeeps lifted if could be due to you axle not being centered under your rig.
maybe give some more info about your jeep and when its happening and search threads, its probably been covered on here plenty of times.
i've owned 10 jeeps, 9 of them lifted. from my experiences death wobble can come from a varity of places. worn suspension parts ( stabalizer shock, ball joints, Tie rod ends, bushings, sway bar links..etc) if your jeeps lifted if could be due to you axle not being centered under your rig.
maybe give some more info about your jeep and when its happening and search threads, its probably been covered on here plenty of times.
Last edited by mynameismud; 01-23-2012 at 06:20 PM. Reason: grammer
#4
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Year: 1993
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I've had 10 XJs and 2 of them did it... the 2 lifted ones. I have a spacer/shackle econo lift on mine and if you nail a pot hole 45-50mph with the left front tire, off it goes till you slam on the brakes. All the suspension looks good of course I can't judge the stabilizer shock just by looking at it. Thanks ^^^^ that helped
Last edited by XJdryva; 01-23-2012 at 06:32 PM.
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Year: 1996
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Engine: 4.0 HO Straight Six
Steering stabilizer doesn't cause it. Only masks the real problem. More than likely it's either your track bar or your ball joints. Also, get your wheels balanced and get an alignment. But read the link I posted above and you'll have a much better understanding
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Yeah I read it. I need to get the adjustable track bar. My tires were just recently balanced so I can rule that out. My alignment was a little wandering so I gave the tie rod a good half crank toed out to counter the 2in. lift but I need it professionally aligned
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Year: 1996
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Yeah that probably has a lot to do with it. Alignment should come first before you start replacing parts. And of course, an alignment should be done after any sort of suspension or steering component is replaced in the front end
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My understanding of “death wobble” is this. Somewhere in the vehicle, one or more components is worn beyond tolerances, and when oscillation initiates from a suspension “traumatic” event (hitting a bump or a pothole) or also when a vibration reaches a certain point and harmonic at a certain speed, it causes the other components to react. This is called the “multiplier effect”, where one component affects one or more other components as the event travels through the front end of the vehicle.
Death wobble is not uncommon with the XJ. It is even more common with a lifted XJ. Finding the worn component or components is not always easy. It can sometimes be downright difficult. Sometimes it’s obvious, other times everything appears to be okay when you perform an inspection on a hoist, but getting the vehicle up in the air and going over everything with a fine tough comb is always a good first step. It is very helpful if you know exactly how to perform a comprehensive inspection of every single front end part, looking for abnormal wear and or play in that hardware. If you do not know how to do this type of inspection, pay an experienced professional to do it. Be sure to ask them if they are familiar with “death wobble”, as not all technicians are versed in this…..
Check out the below link if you would like some extensive reading on “death wobble” causes and cures. From my research, Kevin (the author of this tutorial) is one of the best in the business with tracking down root cause of death wobble. He does offer hardware for sale that can help resolve death wobble, but even if you don’t buy any parts from him, you can still get some excellent ideas on what to look at in resolving your death wobble.
http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/how-to-...-death-wobble/
Possible causes of death wobble are listed below. Isolating death wobble is a process of elimination and the root cause is not always obvious and it can often be caused by a combination of things! From my personal experience, I would first concentrate on the track bar and the control arms and associated bushings.
--------------------------------------------------------
-Front tires out of balance (try swapping fronts to rear; see if symptoms change)
-Tire pressure. Don’t laugh. It’s not a root cause but can exaggerate the problem. Experiment with lower tire pressure to see if it helps
-Improper lug nut torque on wheels
-Front alignment out of spec
-Loose track bar
-Worn track bar bushings
-Worn track bar (check for play!!)
-Bad control arms and associated bushings
-Worn/damaged steering stabilizer (not generally a cause in and by itself)
-Worn/damaged shocks
-Worn/damaged tie rod end
-Bad U Joint
-Bad ball joint
-Loose frame mount
-Steering box loose
-Bad front hub assembly
Death wobble is not uncommon with the XJ. It is even more common with a lifted XJ. Finding the worn component or components is not always easy. It can sometimes be downright difficult. Sometimes it’s obvious, other times everything appears to be okay when you perform an inspection on a hoist, but getting the vehicle up in the air and going over everything with a fine tough comb is always a good first step. It is very helpful if you know exactly how to perform a comprehensive inspection of every single front end part, looking for abnormal wear and or play in that hardware. If you do not know how to do this type of inspection, pay an experienced professional to do it. Be sure to ask them if they are familiar with “death wobble”, as not all technicians are versed in this…..
Check out the below link if you would like some extensive reading on “death wobble” causes and cures. From my research, Kevin (the author of this tutorial) is one of the best in the business with tracking down root cause of death wobble. He does offer hardware for sale that can help resolve death wobble, but even if you don’t buy any parts from him, you can still get some excellent ideas on what to look at in resolving your death wobble.
http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/how-to-...-death-wobble/
Possible causes of death wobble are listed below. Isolating death wobble is a process of elimination and the root cause is not always obvious and it can often be caused by a combination of things! From my personal experience, I would first concentrate on the track bar and the control arms and associated bushings.
--------------------------------------------------------
-Front tires out of balance (try swapping fronts to rear; see if symptoms change)
-Tire pressure. Don’t laugh. It’s not a root cause but can exaggerate the problem. Experiment with lower tire pressure to see if it helps
-Improper lug nut torque on wheels
-Front alignment out of spec
-Loose track bar
-Worn track bar bushings
-Worn track bar (check for play!!)
-Bad control arms and associated bushings
-Worn/damaged steering stabilizer (not generally a cause in and by itself)
-Worn/damaged shocks
-Worn/damaged tie rod end
-Bad U Joint
-Bad ball joint
-Loose frame mount
-Steering box loose
-Bad front hub assembly
#9
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After I got to thinking about it, I know I'm an idiot for posting this. I have had 2 wheel drive twin I beam Fords do it cuz the I beam bushing was scrap. In that particular case the whole axle was moving from side to side
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