XJistheOnlyWay

I have a 2001 4dr xj with 4.5 inch lift and 31s iron rock off road track bar old man emu steering stabilizer jks quick discos and I got it aligned after everything was installed I didn't have any issues until recently there is a lot of play in the steering wheel and the DEATHWOBBLE IS WORSE THAN ever I NEED HELP IT SCARES THE S**t out of me when it happens and it's very dangerous on the highway because sometimes I can't get to the shoulder rite away again I need help I took it back to Firestone and they said tie rods ends and any joints are still good with no play but I just don't know anymore no body that I know can help me I am dreading the worse and that is just selling my xj I really don't want to do that I am willing to do anything upgrade the whole steering system as long as I know this will never happen again idk what to do any help/ suggestions are appreciated

93XJLI

iron rock, huh?

take some pics of the front end

exjay1027

if you're willing to do anything and never have to worry about it again look into the wj knuckle swap. lotsa work but worth it

letsgomuddin

This but it may not solve your problem. Is the trac bar tight with no play whatsoever? Alot of aftermarket bars do not come with the correct diameter bolts to attach it and this causes play. How is your steering stabilizer? Disconnect one end and move the stabilizer in and out. If you feel any dead zones (spots where there is no resistance) it is junk and needs to be replaced. Check your control arm bushings namely your lowers. Sloppy bushings will cause DW. Have an associate saw your wheel back and forth while you look for the source of your freeplay. You should have zero back and forth play in any of your tierods or your trac bar. If you do replace them! Good luck, let us know what you find!

vandelden21

I crawler had a nasty case of deathwobbles I mean like the front end would hunker down and basically it went whereever it wanted to go.

Ended up being the track bar was bad picked up a new trackbar and bam was gone. Ill post the best deathwobble site ive seen to date in a minute.

vandelden21

http://kevinsoffroad.com/techarticles/deathwobble.html



They also make it kit thats about 550 that has cured every death wobble ive seen. Just food for thought.

wiggles

Just go through and check every joint related to the front end, its one of them. Don't sell the jeep, everyone gets dw at some point and we all fix it

CherokeeJon

Just happened with my brothers jeep, my dad and I both drove it separately and had terrifying death wobble at 45+

My dad is a mechanic and I'm somewhat knowledgable on jeeps at this point and we simply couldn't find anything. Ended up swapping tires and wheels to spare ones I had laying around; fixed. Try finding a buddy with the same size tires and borrow his front ones for a day and see what happens

Lowrange2

...

Alignment - Particularly castor. Most alignment shops pay this no attention... What's it set at?

Joints - Are they all tight? Firestone says so... did you look? Have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you LOOK with your eyeballs for things with slack in it.

Tracbar - Again, look with your eyes while someone turns the wheel back and forth.

Balance - Tires balanced, swap tires around.

Control arm bushings - Are yours worn? Original? What arms do you have?

What have you changed recently? Did it start all of a sudden or did it get worst gradually?

Where are you located? If all else fails I'll give you $1k cash for your Jeep.

xjzaped

I haven't seen a death wobble cure that budget friendly for HD Dodges...yet.

vandelden21

Lol I highly doubt there will be a budget friendly cure.

xjzaped

It's called suck it up and take it to a double-triangulated 4-link and while your at it do it to the back and put air bags in place of the leafs.

mitchlikesbikes

you must be fun at parties.

vandelden21

The exact reason why I have a xj rather than a dodge.

xjzaped

Unfortunately for me I have a unique fascination for and actually am able to justify having diesels as daily drivers. Either way you look at it, Ford SDs have tie rod issues, GM's IFS is gonna break if you do much more than drive down dirt roads with it, Dodge's 5 link is gonna get death wobble unless you spend a bunch of money on a lift if you want to lift it.

Now days, the only reason I'd lift a pickup is to put the rear at dock height. My XJ will never be replaced by a pickup or lame excuse of an SUV that companies are building now.