So I've been told that i shouldn't be putting any higher of a lift on my 96 ZJ. I currently have 2 inch coil spacers in it now. Apparently if I go any higher then I will have some serious death wobble. I guess the ZJ is bad for that? Just wanna see if any of u fellow ZJ owners have this issue at all? I'm wanting to do a total 3.5-4inch lift in it. But this is my daily driver as well and I don't wanna get into that death wobble crap

 

Any vehicle that is coil sprung in the front and has a track bar is prone to DW if not properly maintained so whoever your source is, is terribly wrong. There is no "if, then" relationship to DW. Death wobble is never (for the large majority of occurrences) one major problem, instead it's the accumulation of many small ones. I hope this helps.

 

I understand what needs to be done with the higher lifts. If done right then I should be fine? I don't understand how lifting it would cause a dw if the track bars are replaced to fit the lift and so on. Hence why I'm asking lol. Still learning more bout this stuff especially the ZJ since it's coils all around.

 

It doesn't matter how high you lift it, as long as the suspension geometry is still within limits of caster, camber and toe-in. It does, however, raise the center of gravity and make it more unstable in cornering. The increased angles of the drive shafts puts more load on the universals and axle pinion bearings.

You can get death wobble in a perfectly stock suspension if there are worn parts that let the axle or tires shift around, like ball joints, hub bearings, loose control arm or track bar bushings, tierod ends, steering linkage, anything that is supposed to keep the axles located under the vehicle. Even tire balance can be a factor.

The reason you may need longer or adjustable track bars & control arms is when you raise the body, you will move the axle off center and beyond the limits of the caster adjustment of the control arms. Beyond 2", you get into needing longer shocks, brake hoses, and swaybar links.

What I'm saying is, if the lift is done right, there shouldn't be a death wobble problem. High lifts do get squirrelly at high speed, so be aware of that also.

 

If you get a kit that is engineered properly for the vehicle in question there should be no problems. If you start piecing together a junkyard lift just for the purpose of making the vehicle higher, there will be all kinds of issues.

 

Lots of people mistake the term "Death Wobble". I've only experienced it once in a buddies ZJ. Someone told me that my XJ had a bad case of Death Wobble, but I was dealing with bump steer & trashed bushings / ball joints / steering components. Lift it if you want it higher (we all have solid axles w/coils up front). I'd recommend buying a kit that is proven & stay away from cheap parts/kits.

 

Thanks guys for the info. I've driven an xj with a death wobble and that was from an unbalanced tire. Could say that freaked me out a lot.