55-60 mph is the magic number for a bad or out of balance tire. You can buy new control arms complete with bushings for like $20 each, search ebay. Don't let $$$ guide you in this, if it's not fixed it can be real expensive.

 

i just had the tires balanced and rotated yesterday, nothing changed.

*update* I realized it happens when going 55-60 AND i hit a bump or rough road. Once i hit a bump, it goes into the shakes. I'm going to start with the track bar bushings. I think in my case, the rough road lets the axle shimmy to the left and right. We'll see here in about 30 mins...

 

Gosh dang.....i didn't get ANYTHING done. The track bar bolts are SEIZED. i applied penetrating oil and gave it a wrench, ratchet, breaker bar, and a impact wrench....nothing.

I moved on to the control arms and got the front bolt out of the passenger side arm. I went for the second one and the nut came off, but the bolt would not come out. I was whaling on it with a jack stand arm and a hammer.

I put everything back together and walked away before i set the damn thing on fire.....

It's such a solid Jeep suffering from death wobble.

I'm pretty frustrated right now. I have a YJ with a blown motor, an XJ with a burnt tranny, and another XJ with death wobble.

 

I decided to take the bushings back and just order new control arms and a track bar. I'm positive it's not the tires, they were re-balanced and rotated with the same effects. The Jeep has a 'new' paint job, and it looks like the went to town on the underneath and just sprayed everything in view. It has the effect of the entire axle moving, so i'm really hoping its either the track bar or the control arms. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I'll try to resolve this without driving this thing off a cliff.

 

Crossing my fingers for you. The parts you ordered (control arms and track bar) are absolutely primary suspects for XJ death wobble.

Good luck and keep us updated! We're always learning here.

 

I suggest to check steering stabilizer even if it looks like new.

 

This might sound ridiculous, but inspect your hubs. Make sure the bearings are good. My left front bearing was howling just a bit, I mean you could hear it but it didn't sound like it was shot, and there was no play in it at all even when wiggling the hell out of it while it was on a hoist... BUT I could feel the vibration coming through the tire when I turned it by hand.

I ended up replacing it and my death wobble is completely gone.

I would get some shaking around 40-50mph, but it only turned into full on dw once, when I hit a railroad track during the shaking. Usually the dw came on full force during a left hand bend between 60-70mph on the highway.

Replacing the hub completely cured it.

 

ok i replaced the track bear because the ball joint was bad. Took it on the highway....STILL have death wobble. New lower control arms came in today. I'll replace them in the morning.

Also, i have notice that i am getting two popping noises when turning left. Any common associated problems with popping only when turning left?

 

Ok i just went back out to investigate the sound. I had the lady turn the steering wheel back and forth. The sound is definitely coming from the passenger upper control arm. When the wheel goes back and forth, the axle is allowed to move side to side....which is now what i'm associating the death wobble with

 

I found free play in steering box, I'll adjust it tomorrow.
Check if you have that problem.

 

i dont think so. Everything seems old, but tight and serviceable. i think the fact that my upper control arms are letting the axle move is going to be my problem. I'll replace the lowers tmrw and see if i can't get my hands on a set of uppers

 

OK, I just got through dealing with death wobble on my 01 XJ. Before I ever noticed it, I replaced all four shocks and the steering stabilizer just because they appeared to be original. DW started about 3 weeks ago and grew worse. I took it to a guy who knows jeeps and DW. I should add that it was almost unavoidable on highway exits when braking...I know my warped rotors triggered that.So, track bar and bushings, ball joints tight, brake

 

good gracious guys....seriously.....i'm going insane. Today i tightened the track bar bracket (was loose), installed a new passenger's side upper control arm, and both lower control arms. That puts the total parts replaced at:

Passenger side ball joints
Passenger side hub
Steering stabilizer
Track bar
Track bar bracket tightened
All 4 tires balanced and rotated
Passenger side upper control arm
Both lower control arms

Literally nothing has changed. The shaking is just as bad and still hits at around 50-60 and will not stop until you slow down to about 35. You can feel it coming on and can brace yourself for it. It feels like a side-to-side shimmy.

 

You should replace that drivers side upper control arm so you can rule out control arms.

 

i would have, but the parts store only had one. i don't know though...with all those new parts....could one control arm really cause all this ruckus?