I have been having a bit of a little death wobble situation. Until this afternoon it has been livable. I just got back from a wheeling trip and it is worse!! I have checked every link, end, joint, etc... that it can be. The only thing that I have not personally looked at was the alignment, I dont have the tools for that! One thing that I noticed is that there is a slight amount of play in the track bar joint, frame end. Other than that there are no other problems at all!! I am really leaning toward alignment. Now for the fun stuff!! What I want is all of the angles and lengths of my links etc... and alignment checked and corrected. Is this better done at a 4X4 shop or an alignment shop?? I have heard little from both, so maybe one of you guys know something that will help me!!

 

a 4x4 shop that does alignments. an alignment shop wont have the knowledge or the patience to deal with it, find a GOOD shop, preferable one specializing in jeeps, and have them do it. You can do alignment on your own though, its easy. make sure your track bar is parallel to your drag link. See if any weights fell off the tires, if theyre mud terrains then have them balanced, they go out of balance pretty easy. Tires need to be balanced good. track bar bushings go out over time, it happens.

I suggest you go to a 4x4 shop, have htat bushing replaced and re-tightened if you cannot do it your self, then take it to a tire place, get a balancing done and then have an alignment done, BUT go online and find out the adjusted alignment numbers for your lift! do NOT use stock. If you have rubicon express, they can tell you. Any lift kit you buy shoule come with the new specifications. Anyway id take it after the balancing and get an alignment and then you should be set. If you dont feel like messing with those numbers, just loosen up the tie rod and make it so both tires are pointed straight (measure the distance from the rear tires, middle seam of tire to the middle seam of the other tire, and then take that distance, subtract 5/8" and tighten the tie rod till the distance between the two front tires is that distance minus 5/8") and then loosen/tighten your pitman arm till your steering wheel is centered. These are called tow-in and steer-ahead, respectively. Do that, get a balancing, and get that track bar fixed and you'll be good to go. personally id just have the tires balanced first...

My suggestion, take it to

 

what lift do you have btw?

 

today i installed a v8 zj tie-rod and drag link on mine, consequently i needed an alignment. being cheap and eager to learn at the same time, i followed instructions from go-jeep and it was a breeze. my toe, steer-ahead and caster were all off since i lifted the front end so i did all three. took me about 2 hours for everything(including installation), i took it for a test drive and it tracks straight, handles great and my steering is a lot less touchy than it was.

i say give it a shot, you dont need any special tools. mine took a tape measure, a buddy to hold the tape, pair of vise grips and a socket set. although a stock xj tie rod can seize and a monkey wrench may be necessary to break it free.

i would get that track bar fixed though, any play in a track bar could cause DW(the trackbar is what holds the axle where it is). are you running a stock track bar? if you are, and you have a lift then your axle will be off center. although this alone shouldnt cause DW, it may be reason enough to just get a new adjustable trackbar.

 

http://mrmontez2000.proboards70.com/...ay&thread=6257

 

I have RE arms and BDS springs, resulting in 6"+ on the front. Thanks for all the info so far guys!! Peace out!!

 

You might want to double check the frame side tracbar bracket, and make sure that the bolts are TIGHT. They can work loose over time, espc. if you wheel hard, also, it is possible that the axle end of the tracbar has "worried" the bolt hole in the bracket (normally, the hole on the rear of the bracket is what gets oblonged and lets the tracbar "walk").

 

Put a lot of locktite on those frame side bolts as they come loose frequently.

 

"0" toe in will also cause some death wobble if everything is tight. Add a little to the toe in to see if it disappears. If it does then you have a bad frontend component. You then have to pin down each of the possible candidates.