I put a 2" lift on my 2003 Cherokee about a month ago. I started getting death wobble so I read through some threads and checked some common causes.


I ended up replacing a bad tie rod, the track bar, steering stabilizer, and all 4 shocks. I also had the front end aligned. Unfortunately Im still experiencing death wobble. It happens very infrequently and only on certain roads. I've learned to avoid those parts in the road on my way to work everyday.


Does anyone have any ideas or know a good Jeep mechanic on Long Island?


Thanks

 

You have a grand Cherokee. Go get your tires balanced. Or new tires

 

Ball joints, other tie rods, steering box, hubs, control arm bushings and check tightness of nuts and bolts

 

The tires were balanced at the time of the alignment. I'll check the other tie rods, ball joints, etc today.

Do you think I need longer sway bar links?

 

Probably not, but that wouldnt cause it. I ran no sway bars on my old jeep for years.

 

Hows the wear on them? I know when I lifted my XJ my tires were worn down unevenly causing my wobbles. Once I got my new tires it stopped.

 

Rotate your tires front to rear, or borrow a different set. I had the tires and wheels balanced three time when I first got my 95 ZJ, to no avail. I had a pair of wheels that wouldn't stay tight, no matter what. Was it the wobble causing the wheels to loosen, or the loosened wheels causing the wobble? Regardless, a different set of wheels and tires fixed the problem.

 

If he's got some vibrations at speed it could be something like this or bad hubs, drive shafts and the like. I don't know if people understand deathwobble. It should scare the hell out of you. It's like your front axle has become 300 lb slide hammer gone mad.

 

Yeah death wobble feels like you are trying to keep this from moving.

Miles

 

Absolutely believe me, I know what its like when the front end is coming apart underneath you at speed. What it feels like. I had already replaced tierodends, bushings and balljoints. In the end, moving tires front to rear resolved the issue, so those tires and wheels were gone...

I can drive without a steering stabilizer now. But have one for offroad impacts to protect the steering box.

 

Im going to try swapping the tires front to rear when I get home from work today. If that doesn't work I'll try a different set of tires. Thanks for the input.

 

If you have steel wheels, check for a bent rim. as little as 1/4" can be hard to find and cause problems. Jack it up and spin the tires.

 

Hey let me know if you get to the bottom of this. I have a 93 cherokee and have survived the death wobble a few times now. At first it only happened when I hit a bump with the right front. Today it happened twice at high speed and man that is a scary thing to go through on the interstate. I don't think I will have it out again until I can jack it up and try to see whats loose. I took it to a couple of shops and they have never been able to find out whats loose. But after today something has to be loose. It shook so hard that the steering will is out about 1/8th of a turn. Sounds like we have a similar problem resulting from several worn out or slightly worn parts contributing to the problem. Unfortunately it may take replacing most of the front end components to fix it.
Thanks
Sonny B

 

That is pretty close to the death wobble. But your not trying to keep it in the road at 55!
Funny