Finally got all the shimmys and shakes out of my xj after my 3" lift and t-case drop and was jusy running my 235's bald until I needed new tires. Did a driveway alignment with the 235's and was running smooth.
Just got a set of bfg at 31/10.5/15 with 3/4 tread mounted and and balanced but no alignment and I have an early stage death wobble shimmy from 48-52 mph. It's annoying so I power through it and I hit 55 and up and its fine. I just jacked it up to recheck my front and back measurements and I'm only of an 1/8" from front to back.
Front measures 64 1/4 and back is 64 1/8.
I think when I aligned it with the 235's that's what I left it at cause it was getting dark and I said F it. It's only off by a 1/16.

What do yous think?

 

Trackbar? Does the axle look centered or does one tire stick out more than the other?

 

Easiest thing I would do first is swap tires front to back and see if its any different. Lots of people want to call " a little shimmy" death wobble. Death wobble, you will know it. Feels like your Jeep is about to tear itself apart.

 

I have death wobble, and i have to slow down, other wise i feel the word DEATH is correct!

 

It's not DW. But a shimmy can lead up to it. I could tell when I didn't have sometime dialed in by a shimmy in the front end at those speeds. So it doesn't hurt to check all the problem areas of DW just to make sure

 

I had the same problem. I replaced my drag link and tie rod, problem solved.

 

Now that u say that it did look like no matter how perfectly I tried to get the d/s tire straight the p/s looked kicked way out. I thought it was just the way the way I was lookin at it or the driveway is pitched.

I had the dw with the 235's once on a back road after I smashed a pothole and another on i81 at 65mph where the road meets a bridge. I know all about it. This shake felt like the first 2 sec before the dw gets uncontrolable. But if I keep the throttle where its at it will just continue to shake away. No better no worse.

 

Like any other front-end shake, I'd go through anything that flexes and moves and look for play: ball joints; track bar, bushings, and TB mounting hole; tie rod ends; et cetera. I'd also get a shop alignment and a shop wheel balance, from a shop you can really trust: just 'cause it's a Jeep doesn't mean we have to do it all ourselves.

 

I didn't have to move my trackbar until I went to 4" but every Jeep is different. I would find a constant point, like the body under the fender, and measure to a point of the tire, and do the same on the other side. If its different, you can either drill a hole in the TB mount and relocate it over to center the axle, or just get an adjustable.

 

I had a shimmy at those exact same speeds. It was definitely a side to side movement of the whole front end and my tires were scrubbing and wearing fast. New RE track bar and it was gone. Also tightened up the steering quite a bit, eliminated a ton of play in the wheel.

 

Any updates?

 

I realize this is an old thread!
So please don't ridicule, insult, and chastise me!
But I just noticed OP is towed out instead of in!