elalr

i hate to beat a dead horse but i have questions. i have read on multiple forums about many types of 4x4s about death wobble. there is no deffinative answer about the cause in my opinion.just heated debate. some swear its tires, others say track bar. i dont want to start a debate id just like to start a poll on it and just list what mods you have done if any. when did it start and when or if it stopped. details please. i have a 2005 ram 2500 i installed the 2 inch leveling spacer in the front. no new track bar. same day added 315 tires (i will have to check load range) no drop pitman. and had alignment done. dw started same day. all steering/ front end parts checked and rechecked and rechecked again. 2 days ago i removed leveling kit, dw gone. i now have an xj with it and im not removing the lift. 1990 xj 4 inch coil lift in front, shackles in rear. track bar relocated, no drop pitman arm 31 10.50 treadwright recaps. maybe this can help me wrap my brain around it. thanks

fatboyadams

My old jeep had the dw we put on a new front stabilizer and it fixed it as for your truck the tires were most likely load range D and it needs load range E

elalr

i still have the tires on the truck without the lift and no more dw so thats what im trying to figure out. not trying to be mean. but im confused with it

ryan_kelly

I've heard all sorts of things also. All I know is when I lifted mine I was doing 80 and hit a bridge and started it off and thought I was going to bite the big one. From what I can see when mine happens its only the drivers tire. I think a steering stablizer and change the caster angle one way or another will fix it.

ryan_kelly

It only happens when the suspension is unloaded. How did the bushings look in your xj?

elalr

all new bushings in the xj. one funny thing is in the truck it never did it while loaded or pulling the gooseneck...

ryan_kelly

Had plenty of weight on the front axel with a gooseneck. Suspension never gets unloaded

kenjen11

Everything was torqued down correctly with the proper specs?

SeriousOffroad

Death Wobble is the end result of improper steering geometry.

Plan and simple.

There is no one single mechanical failure point that is common to all incidents of Death Wobble.

How do you correct it? Fix any and all items relating to maintaining proper streering geometry.

I think you're looking for an easy answer to a problem that does not have an easy answer.

You stae that you added a leveling kit and had problems as a result. Did you take the vehicle to an alighnment shop after installing the new parts? Changing the ride height affects steering...get it to an alignment shop and tell them exactly what you did.

Jeepnick

Death Wobble is only a mystery to those that do not understand vehicle suspension and alignment dynamics.

The wobble is a result of reduced castor. Castor is the king pin or steering knuckle pivot angle. If this angle is too steep, wobble becomes the result.

Death wobble can be made to happen on any vehicle by reducing castor. This includes semi tractors, buses, motorcycles, ATVs, race cars of all types.

As castor increases, straight line high speed stability increases at the expense of quick turn in. Dragsters and Salt Flat LSR races have a great amount of castor to keep them going straight at speed.

Roadrace cars, motorcycles, etc that have to turn quickly at speed have castor or rake angle reduced to the point that any more would cause instability.

So, what causes wobble on old jeeps? Several things. Installing a lift without lengthening the front lower control arms. Raising the rear a bit higher than the front. Weak front springs. Worn out suspension components. Basicly anything that reduces front castor will trigger a wobble.

This is so critical on race vehicles that suspension adjustments may be altered a mm (.040") at a time as far as front to rear ride height and minutes and seconds as fractions of degrees on alignment specs.

elalr

my crew cabs with a gooseneck will have less weight on the front axle with the rear loaded ive weigh all 3 of mine loaded and unloaded with the same result....i am thinking alot about the drop pitman arm. looking at the steering, non lifted trucks have steering rods that are in an inline position. as it is lifted the linkages are pulled more to an x or y shape. the load has gone from a push/pull as designed to a side load like a bowstring. too many lift kits are being sold incomplete to cut cost. this is purely opinion!!!! im sorry i didnt want a debate over the cause just looking for a poll on what you are runnin and if you have it or not. thanks for weighin in.

elalr

yes it went to the alignment shop after. a few times... and i did tell them. removing the leveling kit cured it.( the dodge) it feels completely different in the steering wheel especially when bumps are hit. again im not looking for a debate just a poll on what mods were made and if you have it or not. im not looking for an easy answer. just a poll.

TheJerm

Castor and the track bar (read: the correct control arm lengths and the axle being centered under the vehicle and ) are usually biggest issues when people slap on lift kits and dont understand why they have DW or a wobble at all.

elalr

thanks for all the info! again im not looking for a debate just a poll on what mods were made and if you have it or not. im not looking for an easy answer. just a poll there are enough debates about it already

xj wheeler

I had a R.E. 4.5" short arm lift put on my '92. The front part of the kit came with coils, upper and lower control arms, adjustable track bar, discos, and bumpstop extensions. The shop that installed the lift said they did an alignment. I had the DW starting at 45 mph. Put on better tires-still DW. New stabilizer and alignment. I can now go 70+ with no DW. The shop that did the second alignment said the first shop couldn't have aligned it because it was way off.