Non Fixable Death Wobble From Hell
 

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting on here. I have been using this site for several months to help me fix a lot of problems with my XJ. It has helped out a lot and I thanks everyone for that.
I have read through just about every post about death wobble since I have purchased my Jeep (96' Cherokee Country). I have gone down every check list there is on how to fix it. Allthough I have not tried everything, I have tried most of it. I figured before I spend another dime I better ask for some help.
To give you some backround, The person I bought it off of used it for a couple of years offroad. Before I started It had a 3" Rustys lift plus 1 1/2" spacers to make a total of a 4 1/2" lift. Also 31" tires, Adjustable Track bar, Longer adjustable LCAs and an 1" T-case drop.

Things done since then;
-taken out the extra 1 1/2" spacers to lower it to just a 3" lift.
-replaced both inner tie rods (everything moog), outters are good -replaced the track bar end
-replaced track bar bushing
-replaced Sway bar links
-Welded some thick washers over an oblong hole on the passenger side of the track bar to get rid of slop
- balanced the tires (they said they looked good except 1 that had a bend in the wheel witch they moved to the RR)
-Had an alignment done (Camber at +7, total toe in at +0.25, Camber at +0.25 on the right and the left was off a half degree at +0.75) it was recommended that I get an adj upper ball joint for the left side. There is no play in it just need and adjustable to make up for the half degree. I'm not sure if that could lead to DW or not. I'm affraid to spend $100 on it and it not work.
-Also did new front brakes and rotors, like that has anything to do with it.
-Torqued everything in the front end
-U-joints are tight
-I was going to replace the steering stabilizer but it seemed tight and I didn't want to mask the actual problem.
- replaced FR hub since there was some play in it
-No cracks on the steering box
- PS Pump needs replaced but again, not sure if that could lead to death wobble
-There is more but nothing else related to The front end.
Just tryting to give all the details so I don't miss anything. Sorry it's so long. Please, someone help :cry: I'm afraid to spend another dime on this Jeep that dosen't fix the DW. After everything that I did the only thing that helped a LITTLE was the alignment and balancing the tires. And that only helped the wobble at 45mph. It gets really bad around 55mph.

Thanks in advance for any help

Check your hubs. They were the number one cause of DW for me

bump for a good question....My jeep has a 4.5" lift kit and 2" spacers on 33s and it doesn't have a hint of DW. I'm curious as to what causes it.

I thought that also but I just replaced the right hub today cause it had a lot of play in it. Still didn't fix the problem. The right side is as tight as can be now with no play but still didn't help in the slightest. The left side is really tight so I didn't see a reason to replace it as they are pretty exspensive.

Control arms tight? Bushings on them good? What's your steering angles look like? The track bar and draglink should be perpendicular. Steering box loose?

I'm just spit balling ideas here to see if any of these are it. There never is just one sole cause of death wobble.

Hey, I'll take any spit balls you got. I'm having nightmares about this thing litterally. I'm not used to finding problems I can't fix. The LCAs are good, they tightended them to spec when they did the alighnment and they are aftermarket with poly bushings that look good. I was going to try and tighten the UCAs but I don't have the star bit required to do it. I'll have to pick one up today and try to tighten it. I guess I could replace the bushings too, they look pretty warn down. The steering box is tight I did check that. Now what do you mean by the drag link and track bar being perpendicular?

Check the tierod at the drag link and pitman arm.

Check the axle nut at the unit bearing , make sure it's tight.

wow...totally screwed that up....meant to say parallel.

Edit-- Here is an example. Just make imaginary lines that run from one end to the other for both the track bar and drag link. Then see if they are parallel.

A list in no particular order:

• Shot ball joints
• Shot tie rod ends
• Wasted control arm bushings
• Shot wheel bearings
• Loose hubs
• Alignment
• Loose/worn/wallowed track bar
• **** steering geometry (See above picture for correct geometry)
• Wheel/tire balance
• Loose steering box
• Just about anything loose in the front end

And no I didn't forget the steering stabilizer. A stabilizer is never the cause of death wobble. A good stabilizer can mask it but a bad one never causes it.

Death wobble usually starts with some bump steer. Since the inverted Y sucks it allows the left and right side to turn at different rates and even different directions. Once the bump steer occurs the 2 sides start to battle each other back and forth. At this point the worn/loose components kick in to high gear and you know the rest.

I have already replaced both

I checked both sides when I did the brakes and replaced the right hub

OK, I'll go out and take a pic of it and draw lines like that on the computer to see if they are parallel. That should be the most accurate way of doing it. I'll post it on here asap so you guys can have a look.:gunsmilie:

Thats the thing, It dosen't seem to be any worse by hitting a bump. It does it consistantly, a little wobble at 45, then real bad at 55. then a little less at 57 then worse at 60 and so on. :confused1: