Demolition_x

I am experiencing some pretty bad death wobble. I have installed a 4.5 rough country lift and had 32" tires. After the lift I got the truck aligned at the shop. During the lift I replaced the track bar and steering stabilizer. running 32's i never had a hint of death wobble. Truck ran great down the road at high way speeds and handled as great as a jeep without swaybars would handle.

Rewind to last weekend. I got a good deal on a set of 33's. They added the airsoft beads to balance them which seems to work great. I drive home and i get a slight vibration. nothing crazy yet but its there. It doesn't seem to happen after bumps just kinda happens.

Tires feel smooth as butter when there is no wobble.

Here is where i am stumped. If i didn't change anything else but the tires why would this be happening. Could the larger tires be putting more stress on the front end components?

My plan this weekend is to throw the front tires in the back, install my front bumper which has steering box support (should have done this a while ago) going to install the inner brace and hopefully a cross brace as well. I also plan in installing a v8 zj tie rod to replace the stock wooden one.

Should i bother getting it aligned again? I don't feel it is the problem since it worked great before.

What are your guys thoughts? Could a stressed/ loose / unbraced steering box be the cause of this and 33's just pushed it over the limit it could handle?

EUGENE the JEEP

Get the new wheels rebalanced try that.

gpXJ

I would be surprised if the difference of going from 32's to 33's pushed your jeep past some kind of limit. Sounds more to me like there is some issue with those 33's you bought.

Move the rears to the fronts and see if that works. If not, then I would have those tires checked and rebalanced somewhere else. Point out the issue you are now having and have them go over the tires well, looking for a possible separating belt or any uneven wear.

Are they mounted on the same wheels you had with the 32's? If you got new ones, check those for any possible bent places. Something may be screwy with those tires you got, and is most likely the cause of the newly found death wobble. I had this same issue when I got a good deal on a set of 33's.....gone back to my 31's and no more problems.

Demolition_x

I really can't imagine that is the issue since when ever its not DW'ing it rides smooth as butter.

I am going to try to swap tires front to back and see if that makes a difference.

Demolition_x

Same wheels. The tires are mint tread wear was all normal. Previous Owner bought a set of mtr's for rocks in size 35. I am wondering if maybe the air soft beads would be messing things up. I never have experienced them before.

If a tire was really screwy would it intermittently have issues?

EUGENE the JEEP

Try that first, that don't caust anything just time.

rweaver138

anything you could ever want to know about death wobble --> https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/di...21/#post626608

Demolition_x

I know thank you i read that when it first happened. I am going to use the torque specs on everything this weekend.

Demolition_x

Well I took it to the shop last night for them to do a free visual inspection. Turns out the Jam nut on my adjustable track bar loosened and allowed it to flex a tiny bit at the joint. I did not see that they tightened it up and it seemed to get rid of the problem.

Drive home and all was well.

Drove to work this am with the truck to see if it really was cured. Its not. It is def not as bad as a few instances I had with it. It really seems to happen at about 45 mph and i get the shimmy after a bump. On the highway going 60+ it seemed really solid. I think the beads are not doing a perfect job balancing the tires but thats something else I have to mess with.

I got to thinking could my track bar be shot? If you ask me the ball joint on the frame side of the track bar should be solid since it is threaded and the mechanic said the whole bar was flexing so that makes me believe that the track bar is shot more or less? I am going to take a closer look this weekend but maybe the Iron Rock double shear will be on its way to replace the RC bar. Or maybe RC will warentee it if it the threads have failed.

Bustedback

I wish people could tell the difference between a tire balance issue and a death wobble. There is no mistaking a death wobble, it is a violent shaking and total loss of control until the vehicle is almost at a complete stop. A tire balance issue is an annoying vibration at certain speeds, usually around 55mph.

Demolition_x

I know it is death wobble. Only because the steering wheel goes nuts and it is scary as hell and only stopping or slamming on the brakes makes it go away.

thelittlebrutethatcould

I have the exact same problem, and I did the exact same tire switch (from 32's A/T to 33's A/T on different rims)...and it was fine for the first few months, taking it up the mountain every weekend for a few months...due to my fenders, my tires are slightly cut on the outter tread...

but it seems around 25-40 mph, if i hit a bump, the steering wheel goes crazy and i have to brake check whoever is behind me to keep from running off the road...i've had the tires balanced again, i have a completely brand new front end steering components (and drive train for that matter), and everything has been torqued to spec recently.

That said, any help would be appreciated, and i'll be paying attention to this thread, and i'll go through the checklist on that link.

UserID6095

What are the Toe and Caster specs?

Demolition_x

I will check it out tonight I have the report at home. I am going to get it reinspected when I go up another inch or 2.

I am convinced its the balancing beads. The wobble happens like a split second after the bump. You can feel it get progressively worst. the beads must un jar and the tire comes out of balance and it enters DW. I am going to get the tires rebalanced this weekend with lead weights.

UserID6095

Try the lead weights and drop the air pressure. Caster makes a huge difference once these things get lifted.