So I'm hoping to cure my death wobble in my 88 Laredo so that I don't have to be afraid to drive it haha. It's pretty damn rusty under there so I've been spraying stuff down with pb blaster forthe past couple days

Here's what I got

4 new shocks
new upper and lower ball joints for both sides
New outer tie rod ends for both sides
New track bar
New upper control arms
New lower control arm bushings
New sway bar bushings
New sway bar link bushings

Where do you guys recommend I start haha?

Also, new front tires (wore down pretty good) and an alignment once this work is done. Think all of this should cure my death wobble?

Also got 3 new vacuum harnesses to cure the oil in the air filter using this writeup http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/tech/c...ter-19834.html

Also a new valve cover gasket

Thank you, RockAuto.

This will be the most extensive work on a vehicle that I've ever done. I'm kind of intimidated now that everything's here except for the control arms which will be here Saturday.

 

Good luck with your work.

I'm almost finished doing what you're about to start and IMO it was well worth it. My Jeep rides so nice now with all the new parts. The XJ is an awesome vehicle especially when well cared for.

 

Didn't get much done today. Replaced the hatch struts (5 minute job. So worth it. It practically opens itself now) and got the passengers side rear shock done today. The passenger side sits about half an inch higher than the other now haha. First upper bolt came out just fine and snapped the other one. Broke two bits while trying to drill it out until I found this guide

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/diy-no-worries-broken-upper-rear-shock-bolt-repair-556807/

What a great help that was. First time I've ever replaced a shock before and it was pretty straightforward. Hopefully now that I got that one under my belt the other one will go quicker tomorrow. Kind of afraid to start on the front with all the rust up there. I really don't want to snap anymore bolts. What a PITA!

 

The one tool that never failed to get a nut or bolt off the front end (or any place else for that matter) is the torch wrench.

I bought my oxy/acetylene set up a while back when i got into metal working. Little did I know what a god send it would be years later while I'm tearing my Jeep apart. But PB Blaster and a good breaker bar can do wonders.

 

A torch wrench sounds like an amazing luxury. Especially after dealing with that other rear shock! haha

Finally finished the rear shocks. ONly took a day and a half but admittedly I'm the kind of guy who work til he gets frustrated and then walks away for a while. Needless to say I probably spent a little more time away than I should have lol. My specialty is computers, not cars damnit! Snapped both of the the bolts from the drivers side but managed to get them cut out and punched out using the same technique as before. Old shock pretty much crumbled in my hands after I cut it out of there.

It's already an amazing improvement! Now when you pushed down really hard on it, the xj only bounces about 3 times instead of 10 times. Did the fuel filter too while I was down there.

On to the front. Hope it goes a bit smoother.

 

This may seem like a dumb question but how does a shock change how high the jeep sits?

 

I'm by no means an expert in the matter. I half expect one of the actual experts in the room here to come in a correct me. But I'm guessing my old ones were just so gone (I'm assuming that they were the originals because they literally fell apart once I got them out) that the car just sagged due to lack of pressure. It's noticeable now that I have both rear ones done with the front ones left to go. The *** end sits up ever so slightly higher than the front. More support, I guess.

 

Had another &^*%$#@ moment when I was looking at the front shocks and how to get them off.

Passengers side coil spring is snapped. *&&*^*!!!

How much of a PITA is it to replace these damn things?

 

coils are easy get the strut compressor kit from autozone rent a tool compress the new coil and chunk it in.

 

the easiest way to fix the death wabble and cheapest is to put a new steering stablizer and have it aligned

 

Thanks. Makes me a feel a little bit better. The $100 that I'm about to drop on these... notsomuch. This makes $400 in parts thus far and I've only been able to drive it once! And that was just driving it back home from where I bought it from! I haven't even had a chance to fall in love with it yet

 

except when something is actually wrong and all you do is mask the problem. yes a new stabilizer will hide alot of death wobble but fixing the problem removes the death wobble.

trust me i know every single bolt on mine was rusted beyond PB blaster. ended up using a torch and ice water on the tracbar. i think they just like to fight people. oh and do yourself a favor and order some 3" lift coils

 

I had read this about the steering stabilizer and it seems to be quite a contentious issue but from the hours of research that I did, the majority of people said that the stabilizer only masks the real issue. Everyone said that an alignment will also help. I'm hopefully covering just about every base that there is. And after getting under here and looking around... it looks pretty terrible and pretty much needs everything that I'm putting into it.

If after I'm done doing all of this and I still get that godforsaken wobble, I'll **** and moan and then buy a steering stabilizer, then cross my fingers.

 

That's exactly how mine looks. I've been PBing it for the past 5 days in preparation for inevitably snapping every single bolt anyways lol.

Care to elaborate at all on your torch and ice water technique? Also... 3" coils have me intrigued a little. Got a link to a set? I don't plan on doing any offroading with it but hey if the positives outweigh the negatives and they aren't that much more expensive or that much more work/parts involved, I just may do it.

 

http://store.fatbobsgarage.com/_jeep...001-p7612.aspx

still only $100 i am running a set of there 4.5" TJ coils in the front gave me about 3" and like the ride on them. ran those with stock everything no problems would look into a new set of lower control arms at least in the future if you are really going to offroad it.

mine was lifted pretty cheap if you are curious how to do it cheap...rough country adjustable tracbar ($50 used), TJ 4.5" coils ($20 used), rancho LCA's (free), BDS 2" TJ shocks ($20 used), chevy 2500 Z71 rear shocks (free), bastard pack in the rear ($60?), 2" coil spacers ($20 used)