I have had this ever since I bought my Jeep back in '10. I have gone underneath it and greased and tighten every bolt I could. I even put an adjustable track bar from Rough Country on there and it work for a while but now its back again. I tried greasing everything and tightening everything again but I still cannot fix it!
Maybe one you pros could tell me what I need!

Thanks!

 

well you first need to search and find all kinds of vital info regarding DW. there are so many variables that diagnosing over the internet is nearly impossible.

most dw I have seen came from a loose trackbar, trackbar bracket, bushings, or ball joints.

 

It's usually caused by worn or loose components so tightening everything is just a starting point. Is your XJ lifted? Are your track bar and drag link parallel? Are your bushings in good shape? Worn ball joints? Tires balanced? Aligned?

It seems like DW is one of the few things on a Jeep where often times the cause is simply undiagnosable and requires throwing parts at it until it goes away and even that is no guarantee because it sometimes comes back right when you were starting to feel confident.

I managed to tame mine by replacing my steering stabilizer which was badly worn and mostly just along for the ride and running my tires at 30 PSI rather than the recommended 35. I'm only masking the problem for now, until I can afford a full bushing kit and new ball joints and tire balance and alignment and track bar and shocks and...

 

Alright thanks fellas. My Jeep is not lifted. I am going to get a steering stabilizer and a bushing kit and see if that does anything.

 

From my history with DW you should know that a rotation balancing and alignment can go a loooonggg way! I had the same issue before, and just like you, even after installing an adjustable tracbar the DW still plagued my XJ....all I can say is get the thing professionally straightened out!

 

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 possibly 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.
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-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

 

Every rig is different and will experience it in different forms. When I first got my XJ, I had DW... I rotated the tires and just like that, it was gone. So the two tires on my rear are out of balance, which isn't a big deal back there right now.

I'd start with the simple things like getting your tires balanced and then getting it aligned. And since you say everything is tight, my guess would be ball joints are what is doing it.

How many miles are on your rig? If it has over 100k, my guess would be that the ball joints are original and could use replacing

 

read the stuff on > http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAlignment.htm

 

many dont think of this but also just check to make sure your lug nuts are torqued down. i had DW for 3 days after the front end just got worked on to find out that the shop didnt torque the lug nuts down. i torqued them and DW has been gone for almost a year. also check your wheel bearing hubs.