will lam

Hi All

I believe i may have the death wobble tonight while driving home at 70mph the jeep was nice and smooth and suddenly the steering wheel and the whole Jeep started to shake!! straight i pulled over to check and all seems fine and contuine my journey home with no problems at all. I since googled it and alot of info points to something called the death wobble!! What acturally causes this and how do i fix the problem?

The Jeep is mainly used by my partner with our daughter and i dredd to thinkk that this would cause a terrible accident if it happens again.

My Jeep is a 2004 2.7 crd grand cherokee and apart from the 22" alloy wheels and tyres the Jeep is totally standard and recently had new brake pads and track rod ends fitted

thank you for your time

William

Bustedback

That is death wobble alright. In most cases the track bar is the main cause.

PeterB

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Welcome to the forum. Nice looking SUV. Like the wheels. Where are you from guy?

Its a ***** isn't it? Feel like the entire vehicles front end is about a block back. LOL.

From my experience with my Jeep WJ. Warped rotors also causes this to happen.

Good luck and take care.

PeterB



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TheRoflWaffle

Honestly, i've seen people drop $2,000 on it in replacing parts and years of work trying to find it, and sooner or later it just seemed to go away.

It could be a list of things, but as the guy said above, it might be the track bar. I've also heard your alignment can cause it, but, in very rare cases and i don't even know if it's correct.

jmonts

Nice WJ! Really like the front guard.

Did the Jeep start shaking after you hit a pothole?
Do you mean the Tie Rod Ends or Trac bar bushings?
If TREs, make sure the new ones do not have play in them. And that they are tightened down and have cotter pins installed.
Make sure the trac bar bolts are properly torqued down also. Mine gradually acquired death wobble and come to find out the trac bar bolt was finger loose! Torqued the bolt down and I've never had is since.

Also I would really like to see the adjustable headlights in action. Along with the power folding mirrors in action on a WJ. So jealous, we do not have those features in the US.

Bustedback

I think the OP is from across the pond, they call tie rods track rods over there.

jmonts

Makes sense. That is a Europe model WJ. And he did just put "tyres" on it.

will lam

Good morning

Yes am from the Uk, and in Nottinghamshire the home of Robin Hood
Thanks for the comments, and yeah its horrible feeling driving along and felt like the wheels about to drop off.
No didnt hit a pothole or anything like that it just suddenly happened. I just had the track rod end replaced on the drivers side as there were alot of play, to the point that the entire rod could be twisted quite easliy. The garage say the drivers side end is fine.. I read that alot of people speak the cause maybe to do with the steering stabilizing arm, could this be the culprit?

If its possible i will upload video of the adjustment headlight and folding wing mirrors for you Jmonts

will lam

[QUOTE=jmonts;2853460]Nice WJ! Really like the front guard.

Did the Jeep start shaking after you hit a pothole?
Do you mean the Tie Rod Ends or Trac bar bushings?
If TREs, make sure the new ones do not have play in them. And that they are tightened down and have cotter pins installed.
Make sure the trac bar bolts are properly torqued down also. Mine gradually acquired death wobble and come to find out the trac bar bolt was finger loose! Torqued the bolt down and I've never had is since.
QUOTE]

Tie rod ends and trac bar what is the differences? thank you

jmonts

We call the "track rod end" tie rods over here. The trac bar keeps the axle positioned under the vehicle from side to side movement and should only move up or down when hitting bumps, helps keep the axle "track"ing properly.
Trac rod ends connect the wheels to each other and sets the Toe, they help the wheels "trac" properly. They should never have up or down movement. If so they are worn out and need replaced.
The steering stabalizer being good or bad does not have anything to do with death wobble. If it's good it will mask the effect of worn out suspension parts.
Hope that helps.

will lam

thank you for the info.. it seems the track rod end i havent change has got some play in it, as i got a friend to have a look while i steer side to side. I was told it maybe the Panhard (trac bar to you guys) as this is normally the main culprit but we couldnt see no play at all.

dave1123

One other often overlooked reason is tyre balance. Worn axle bearings and ball joints can also be a factor.

About the tyre balance, try switching the front tyres and rear tyres, or have the balance checked. Sometimes even new tyres can be out of balance due to manufacturing defects.

catsartcox

I have had the death wobble on my WJ. What it turned out to be was the adjusting nut on the tracbar cracked so the bar was loose. Just a place to check. Given my WJ is lifted though.

Also, I really want the power fold mirrors.....Thats one upgrade i have on my list. haha.

Stevee

By the name of it sounds scary! Hope u get it fixed

dave1123

Now my memory kicks in! Yes we are talking about the panhard rod. That's attached to the axle on one side and the frame on the other. It stabilizes the sideways motion of the axle assembly. On the older ZJs, the frame end was a ball joint. On the WJs, it's a rubber bushing.

The steering linkage consists of a link from the steering box to the right front spindle carrier. Then there is a link between the two front wheels. There is a shock absorber type dampener on the link from the steering box whose purpose is to reduce "bump-steer", that is the tendency for the steering to change direction when you hit a bump with one wheel.

There are 4 frame-to-axle control arms with bushings on both ends, 4 ball joints for turning the wheels, and the hub bearings.

That just about covers all the points that can contribute to death wobble, as well as tyre balance.

The two live axles is what makes a jeep a very stable platform but it can get very complex trying to maintain it. What I love about the WJ is you can throw it into a corner without much body roll and it will stay planted on the road.