BlackXJay

99 4wd xj
242 tcase
149k
31x10.5x15
New tires

Never experienced death wobble even after 3 inch lift.

Adjustable trackbar.
Checked trackbar bolts.
New steering stabilizer. (Checked bolts)
Stock UCAs (Checked bolts)
Fixed 3-4.5 lift LCAs (Checked bolts)
Ball joints all looked okay
Checked steering box bolts
Checked all wheel psi, balance weights, lug torque.
Went over all bolts for tightness.

Okay I have a 3 inch rc lift. It's about a year old. Truck was aligned after original lift.

Tcase drop for now but had an appointment to do a hack'n'tap I have to cancel until I fix this issue.

I was planning on larger tires in the future so I added a 3/4 inch spacer in the front and 1 inch lift shackles in the rear.

I thought all went well until I got the truck on the highway this morning and almost had a heart attack. I thought my jeep feel apart. It happened only past 50mph and when I got it below 40mph it went away.

So now I start to research and figured it was just in need of an alignment. Got an appointment after work and took it right there. Of course when it was done I asked for a print out, recieved a response of the printers broken.

Got it back to the highway and it starts death wobbling again.

So at this point I drove it into my driveway to check everything

Now the confusing issue comes into play.

-Did something I do while installing the spacer cause this issue?
-Did something else cause it and its just a coinsidence it happened after the spacer?
-Did I get a bad alignment?

- The few observations I have are when twisting the tie rod it felt to me like excessive play. I've read there should be some play but it didn't feel right.

My sway bar links are not in the best of shape, but I was under the impression this wouldn't cause DW.

I checked the trackbar bolt for tightness but did not drop it to check if the mount was in good condition.

I did not adjust the trackbar for the 3/4 coil spacer

I just figure what can be the chances of a part giving way the day after adding a spacer.

I'm at a loss. Very hard to pinpoint the problem. If anyone has any ideas i appeciate it. Thanks for your help.

jordan96xj

My first guess is that you were already up against the limit, but then added 3/4" more. Has anything ever been done to correct the caster angle on the front wheels? For example longer/adjustable lower control arms?

But to answer the question, yes, adding the spacer could have brought it on.

*Ok, just rechecked your list and you have LCAs on there. It would have been handy to have the printout from the shop. Normally, they might list the caster as non-adjustable, but it would be good to see the numbers.

BlackXJay

Seeing that adjustable control arms are on the list of things I want to do anyhow, I ordered arms from ironman4x4.

I also was planning on doing the zj tie rod swap so I ordered that as well.

Then off for another alignment. And saying a prayer it cures this frustrating death wobble.

BlackXJay

Well I just did the zj upgrade with a new drag link and a home alignment and the death wobble is gone

I don't know if it was a bad tre, one seemed iffy. Or the alignment shop sucked, which is a possibly judging from what I saw.

I bought adjustable upper and lower control arms from ironman4x4. Haven't got them yet but they were on my to do list anyhow. Thanks

Basslicks

Here's some more things to check in case you experience it again in the future:


Click for full res

And a funny/educational video on the importance of caster angle:

Kymasabe

Hey, I'm kinda new to this XJ thing, could you tell me more about this ZJ upgrade or send me a link to tell me what it is? I've got something weird going on in my front end and need to start going thru it, would like to know about some of these upgrades if possible. Thank you

extrashaky

Was it ever?

Basslicks

Well, first....

Click for full res

Second, the ZJ tie rod "upgrade" is simply replacing the flimsy hollow long-tube adjuster sleeve that the XJs and 6 cylinder ZJs use as a tie rod, with the solid, much more sturdy tie rod from a v8 ZJ.

Part#s:

ES3096L
DS1312
ES2079S

These three parts replace the XJ tie rod from the driver's side steering knuckle to the drag link.

Basically brings you from this:



to this:


Click for full res

If you're experiencing death wobble, be sure to inspect the joints at the pitman arm and the passenger's side steering knuckle too. The ZJ tie rod isn't necessarily a death wobble "fix" so much as new steering joints in general are. The ZJ tie rod is just a more durable answer to the stock steering setup that will bend if you just look at it wrong.

There's more to check than just steering though. Take a look at the infograph I posted above. If you recently lifted your Jeep and are experiencing issues, it may very well be that you need longer control arms to correct the caster angle.... or something else on that list.

Apparently to the OP it was

groundsage

back when i was in my early 20's the death wobble used to happen to me after a half dozen martinis; now approaching 70, all it takes is one. Do what I did and switch to beer.


https://www.allthingsjeep.com/jeep-b...s-t-shirt.html

Kymasabe

I appreciate the explanation, thank you.

BlackXJay

If you read you first sentence I wrote you would see I said I have never experienced death wobble. I'm sorry for the confusion. Next time I will write "death wobble" and keep it at a minimum. Thanks for posting to correct me.

Basslicks

Don't mind him... he's had so much DW, it's shaken his brain loose

In all seriousness though, we give each other a hard time around here. It's all in good fun man. Don't take it personal.

BlackXJay

Yeah of course. I was just making light of it. I don't take anything personal. I'm just happy I fixed the problem bc I don't want to ever have that happen again. Scary when youre going 60mph

Basslicks

Oh no doubt dude. First time it happened to me, I had my wife and 3 kids in the Jeep. Try explaining DEATH WOBBLE (using those words) to your wife right after it happens!

Rowan Lake

A few days ago I was on the freeway in my work van gliding along at 60. A stock ZJ came alongside from an onramp and passed me, on the right. Just as he hit 65ish, about 40 feet from me, his rig went into a ridiculously violent death wobble 😱 and I slowed to keep traffic from getting near him, and to watch.... He was down to 35 before he got control again. Then he did the craziest thing.... He speed up again...and it happened again. 😲 That happened twice more before I had to pull off the freeway.
What's that definition of insanity by, I believe, Albert Einstein?
Insanity...
Doing something over and over the same way and expecting different results?