bmar15

I know this has been beaten into the ground, and I have read ALOT on here about here, but I need help. The vehicle is a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited V8 with 86,000 miles. I have an intermittent death wobble. Meaning sometimes it will do it, other times it won't. Example, I drove it to work yesterday, and it started to shake around 40mph, and shook violently. But on my home this morning....nothing, at any speed. Silky smooth. I got it up to 85 on the interstate, nothing. Took some sharp turns, went over some RR tracks, and even went over some bumps....nothing at all. No shake, not even a shimmy in the steering wheel. Tires have been rotated, balanced and aligned. Outer tie rods were changed, and had a full evaluation done and was told they can't find anything wrong (track bar tight, control arms good, ball joints are good). I was just now under myself, while she turned the steering back and forth, and found where the drag link connects to the pittman arm, there is a very tiny amount of up/down play in it. When I lay my hand on it, I can feel a slight "bump", if you will, when it moves. I took it to the shop, (it shook on the way there) and went back with the mechanic to show him. After a few minutes, he saw it, but said it wasn't enough to cause the shaking. He recommends changing the steering stabilizer, but from what I've read, that is just a band-aid, and not a cause. I took it to a second shop, and was told the same thing. Also, on the way home, it didn't shake at all. This is my girlfriends Jeep, and I'm losing my mind trying to get it fixed. Any help is appreciated.

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

From what you say has been checked, I'd say check the wheel bearings.

The only other thing I've experienced is ice in a wheel throwing off the balance until it gets slung out. The definition of "Death Wobble" is a violent shaking that is so bad you can't control the vehicle's direction. Do you have death wobble or a mild shaking?

sycoglitch

I feel people throw the term DW around WAYyHgYgYyy too much.

bmar15

Oh no, I'm sure it was DW. My old jeep had it, and it ended up being the track bar. In any case, yes, when her jeep starts, it's extremely violent. It feels like I'm driving through an earthquake, and the front of the jeep is about to fly apart. To get it to stop, I have to come to near stop. Trying to hold on to the wheel while it shaking is difficult. About the wheel bearings, I did the basic check (lifting the tires off the ground, rocking the wheel) they seemed nice and sound. I didn't note any excessive play. Do you know of a more thorough check?

Red River T

My feeling is that the steering stabilizer is there because there is an inherent issue with the suspension arrangement, namely induced oscillation (or feedback loop). So to say the stabilizer is a band-aid is not entirely true because it is a necessary part of the steering. Sure, a new one can mask another problem in a worn system.

In your case, I believe the other problem is the drag link that "isn't bad enough to cause the shaking". Your stabilizer is probably weak, or completely shot, and combined with the mild looseness of the drag link is allowing the system to go into oscillation. Maybe you can get by with just changing one of them, but I would change both.

dave1123

My opinion is the steering stabilizer is there to dampen "kick back" of the steering wheel caused by sudden impacts with "surface anomalies" like rocks and fallen tree trunks and such. I drove my '97 ZJ for 2 weeks without one and didn't notice any problems. The front end parts had 185K miles on them at the time.

sycoglitch

Its true. It just dampens. A brand new one will give you tighter steering until it breaks in and itll be back to normal feeling. A properly tight front end will give the best ride

bmar15

Yea, it's just a horizontal shock. Is far from necessary. It's nice, but ultimately not needed. My old jeep, while troubleshooting the shaking in it, I pulled it off and never put it back on. Drove it for another year before selling it without it. Besides, I pulled hers off, and the movement in it seemed nice and smooth. No grinding or jerking. I'm taking her tires and getting them check for "roundness" tomorrow. She failed to tell me that she hit a pothole right before all of this started, so I'm wondering if one of tires got knocked out-of-round.

dave1123

It might have broken internal cords. Look for radial depressions in the sidewalls.

bmar15

I didn't see any from a quick look, but I really didn't go over them real well. I'll look closer/better tonight

boardutah

I just came across this exact problem with my 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has a very small lift on it and larger tires. I took it to a shop in which they eventually replaced both upper control arms, both lower control arms, and a few other things I forget what they called them. None of those "fixes" fixed my Jeep, it still had a violent death wobble hitting random bumps in the road. So after all that I myself replaced the track bar, tie rod, and sway bar link and poof... problem solved! So if you are experiencing the same problems, I would try replacing the track bar, tie rod, and sway bars first. Good luck.