so on the internet i hear one thing and from actual people i know i hear another. Will or will not the steering damper cause DW. everything has been replaced that can be. But the steering damper is a ****ty one and you can pull it out easily. also i was thinking of getting an adjustable track bar as i have been told this will also solve the problem. short of getting something else (which i dont wanna do. . i love my jeep)_ what else can i do without dumping lots of money into it to maybe or maybe not figure it out

 

No the steering stabilizer wont do anything for death wobble. Plenty of people run without one and dont have any issues. If you are at stock height, there is no need for an adjustable track bar. The stock one will be fine as long as its in good condition. Have you looked at the bushing on the arms? How about tie rod ends? Tire condition? Alignment? Lots of other things to check. Stick your head under the Jeep while someone else moves the steering wheel and see if anything has play.

 

I have been through this twice on my '99. A steering damper will definitely not cause DW. It may mask the problem a little bit, but isn't really involved. I had replaced all the bushings, shocks, steering damper etc. and still was getting DW in some conditions. Turns out the track bar mount was just a little loos eon the passenger side. Didn't really feel it with weight on the suspension. Once I jacked it up, I could feel it. Second time was a loose shock mount on the top. You have to go through each piece meticulously to find the culprit.

Here is a diagram I refer to when looking at all the parts to inspect. It's from a Grand Cherokee, but it's close enough. http://www.j33pin.com/2016/02/wj-fro...uspension.html

Ball joints
upper/lower control arms/bushings
Track bar tightness/bushings
Tie rod ends
Drag link
Sway Bar links
Alignment
Wheel blance
Tire pressures

Steering dampener is pretty cheap so if it's questionable definitely worth repalcing, but won't solve your problem in my opinion.

 

You've listed is either new or just checked today actually. Brand new tires and an alignment last week. New shocks, upper &lower control arms. Ball joints bushings. Track bar and steering damper. . the ****ed up thing is it came . . I replaced some stuff it went away then came back months later. . I don't know what else to do. .

 

Double check the torque on all the hardware.

How are the shocks and mounts? Tires?

I had a horrid vibration on my TJ and it was one tire that was bad - it didn't look bad, was balanced, just warped or something.

 

another thing to check would be your upper control arm bushing on the axle assembly itself there cheap and just use a air hammer and ball joint press to install, oh and did you say ball joints were replaced?

 

I agree with this. A bad steering damper will not "cause death wobble". A new steering damper will not "fix death wobble". A new steering damper can however "mask death wobble", making you believe that is fixed.

I've resolved death wobble on a number of XJs and the root cause has been different things, but the biggest culprit I've found has been the track bar and track bar mounting and also control arm bushings. But plenty of other reasons are in play as well. Death wobble can be a bearcat to find/fix and one of the reasons is that there can be multiple things contributing to it. More on DW below. Good luck!
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My understanding of “death wobble” is this. Somewhere on the vehicle, one or more components is worn beyond tolerances, and when oscillation initiates from a suspension “traumatic” event (like hitting a bump or a pothole) or also when a vibration reaches a certain point and harmonic at a certain speed, it causes the other components to react. This is called the “multiplier effect”, where one component affects one or more other components as the event travels through the front end of the vehicle.

Death wobble is not uncommon with the XJ! It is even more common with a lifted XJ. Finding the worn component or components is not always easy and can sometimes be downright difficult. Sometimes it’s obvious, other times everything appears to be okay when you perform an inspection on a hoist, but getting the vehicle up in the air and going over everything with a fine tough comb is always a good first step. Have a friend turn the steering wheel back and forth full travel as you perform the inspection. It is very helpful if you know exactly how to perform a comprehensive inspection of every single front end part, looking for abnormal wear and or play in that hardware. If you do not know how to do this type of inspection, pay an experienced professional to do it. Be sure to ask them if they are familiar with “death wobble”, as not all technicians are versed in this…..

Possible causes of death wobble are listed below. Isolating death wobble is a process of elimination; the root cause is not always obvious and it can often be caused by a combination of things! Always chase and resolve death wobble because if it is not resolved, it is such a violent event that it has the potential to seriously damage front end parts. From my personal experience, I would first concentrate on the track bar and the control arms and associated bushings.
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-Front tires out of balance (try swapping fronts to rear; see if symptoms change)
-Tire pressure. Don’t laugh. It’s not a root cause but can exaggerate the problem. Experiment with lower tire pressure to see if it helps
-Improper lug nut torque on wheels
-Front alignment out of spec
-Loose track bar
-Worn track bar bushings
-Worn track bar (check for play!!)
-Bad control arms and associated bushings
-Worn/damaged steering stabilizer (not generally a cause in and by itself)
-Worn/damaged shocks
-Worn/damaged tie rod end
-Bad U Joint
-Bad ball joint
-Loose frame mount
-Steering box loose
-Bad front hub assembly

 

Everything has be n replaced?

Track bar?
Drag link?
Tie rod?
End on tie rod?
End on drag link?
Unit bearings/hubs?
Ball joints?
All 8 bushings in control arms?

If all of this has been replaced it only leaves:
-Incorrectly torqued bolts on one or more of the above components.
-crack in uniframe near steering box.
-oblonged hole on track bar to axle bracket.
I've had bad tires before but they didn't cause death wobble just a constant shimmy. If all of the above checks out then it would seem near impossible for death wobble to occur. Not likely the front axle will be able to shake back and forth violently if everything is as tight as it should be.

 

DW threads seem to always avoid listing/mentioning the steering gear. If it has play or is failing to damp sudden steering shocks (one of its functions) it can be the root cause of DW just like any other worn steering component. It needs to be on the list.

 

This is exactly why you hear two different stories on this: A fancy new steering damper will hide the problem for a while, so people who who do not understand the real problem will replace the steering damper and think their problem is solved. Then they tell everybody they know that the steering damper was the culprit.

And the myth lives on.....