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Death wobble 2 weeks after lift.

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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 08:29 AM
  #1  
clockwise's Avatar
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From: McCall Idaho!
Year: 97
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Engine: 5.2
Default Death wobble 2 weeks after lift.

Soo last night went mudding didnt really mean to because the jeep isnt ready yet still.... been really busy..but anyway it happened and i got pulled out by both shackles..... and when i was going home at about 50 in 2 wheeldrive i hit a bump and holy **** that scared me XD lol the death wobble was intense idk what it is it feels like its coming from the front end..... if my control arms were loose would that cause it or maybe my spring wasnt turned in enough havent gotten a alingment yet but it hasnt done it at all yet.... I marked everything out with a sharpie sooo possibly i could avoid the alingment
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 08:37 AM
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Year: 1995
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Knocked Alignment off or Unbalanced Tires.

Trac Bar(bushings, angles, bolts), Axle Mounts, Tie Rods, Caster Angle, Control arm bushings, Steering box bolts/spacer, Frame(cracks in frame could make steering box feel loose), Damaged steering stabilizer, Bad ball/u joint, drive shaft not balanced, bad front hub, idler arm.

Check those.
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:09 AM
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Couple things could have happened. Were you stuck in deep mud? If it's all caked in your rims that can throw the balance off a TON.

Did you replace your steering stabilizer when you did the lift? If you still had the old one it could have blown out.
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:19 AM
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Get the alignment, then go from there. You haven't finished your lift yet.
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:22 AM
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From: wasilla ak
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the problems in the track bar it`s loose or socket end is bad. check it for side to side movement. start jeep move steering wheel back and forth quickly sort stokes have someone watch the track bar. what tells me this is the problem is it started after hitting a bump. seen this alot.
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Diesel
Knocked Alignment off or Unbalanced Tires.

Trac Bar(bushings, angles, bolts), Axle Mounts, Tie Rods, Caster Angle, Control arm bushings, Steering box bolts/spacer, Frame(cracks in frame could make steering box feel loose), Damaged steering stabilizer, Bad ball/u joint, drive shaft not balanced, bad front hub, idler arm.

Check those.
Originally Posted by ak81jeep
the problems in the track bar it`s loose or socket end is bad. check it for side to side movement. start jeep move steering wheel back and forth quickly sort stokes have someone watch the track bar. what tells me this is the problem is it started after hitting a bump. seen this alot.
Everything stated above could be from hitting too big of a bump.
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:31 AM
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loose trac bar or control arm will do it. i had death wobble on my old stock 86 xj a while back, and my dad said it was too much toe in, you hit a bump with one tire then it hops and then the front tires fight over which one is going to go strait and he was right, he had the same thing happen to him in high school. check your tie rod you might have bent it, thats what happened to me and it gave me more toe in
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 06:39 PM
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found the problem lastnight it was dark and i skipped it it was my streering stablizer
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted by clockwise
found the problem lastnight it was dark and i skipped it it was my streering stablizer
What about the steering stabilizer was the issue?

You should be able to drive down the road without a stabilizer and not have death wobble. If not, something else is wrong as a steering stabilizer is a band-aid for another issue. Also, you should have a correct alignment done after lifting it.
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:37 PM
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no more death wobble tested it out today... hit bumps at 65 nothing
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Old Aug 31, 2010 | 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by OnlyInMyXJ22
What about the steering stabilizer was the issue?

You should be able to drive down the road without a stabilizer and not have death wobble. If not, something else is wrong as a steering stabilizer is a band-aid for another issue. Also, you should have a correct alignment done after lifting it.
That is true, you should be able to drive down the road. But the bumps are what become the problem, bumps are what start the wobble and in my experience the steering stabilizer takes care of that for sure.

Usually it's a dead, and offers no resistance at all that is the issue. Least the one I just changed in my TJ was. Solved my issue too.
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Old Aug 31, 2010 | 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by clockwise
no more death wobble tested it out today... hit bumps at 65 nothing
you still have an issue. the stabilizer is just a band aid. will properly aligned you shouldn't need a stabilizer. start looking for the issue
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Old Aug 31, 2010 | 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by xjoffroad
you still have an issue. the stabilizer is just a band aid. will properly aligned you shouldn't need a stabilizer. start looking for the issue
You beat me to the punch here. I agree , installing a stabilizer is like putting a band aid on a gun shot wound to the chest. Get an alignment first. They shop where you get the alignment should tell you how "bad" the alignment was. If that's not the problem , then go to the trac-bar.
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Old Sep 1, 2010 | 01:20 AM
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Originally Posted by RkyMtnH
You beat me to the punch here. I agree , installing a stabilizer is like putting a band aid on a gun shot wound to the chest. Get an alignment first. They shop where you get the alignment should tell you how "bad" the alignment was. If that's not the problem , then go to the trac-bar.
I beat you both to the punch.

Originally Posted by Midgar357
That is true, you should be able to drive down the road. But the bumps are what become the problem, bumps are what start the wobble and in my experience the steering stabilizer takes care of that for sure.

Usually it's a dead, and offers no resistance at all that is the issue. Least the one I just changed in my TJ was. Solved my issue too.
It takes care of it because it is band-aiding the true issue....
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Old Sep 1, 2010 | 03:30 AM
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In my eperience:
1990 XJ w. 6.5 Lift
1999 TJ w. 8 Lift
2000 XJ w. 8.5 Lift

My 2000 XJ has a Rusty's long arm. Steering box stabilizer brace and a tie in to the arb bumper for support on the other side.
JKS Trac bar drop, JKS trac-bar. Swat bar relocators, and I'm currently on my 2nd high dollar steering upgrade kit in an effort to get the whobble out. Oh, and a pricey OME stabilizer that does nothing.
Everything is tip-top, but the geometry is off and it causes an angle problem due to the ammount of lift. I should have went this route first, but I am about to install a Terra hi-steer kit with the upper knuckle. That's what I have on my Tj and I run 37's without a stabilizer.

Said all that to say this. Parts, even good ones cant stop the wobble if your geometry is off. I'm learning that the hard way.
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