Still having death wobble issues

[CMBD]

Then why do we get DW with good steering dampers?

Do you really believe that weak 50:50 valve can stop it?

As much as I hate answering a question with a question, why does it go away when replacing a blown out damper? Just like replacing any other worn out component.

No. It is what it is and always has been. Its not some sort of witchcraft. Not sure where you are going, but your 50:50 is sort of a relative term. Zero valving in your 50:50 could equal no damper. So .

 

[MikeE024]

Hey guys. Still having death wobble issues. There’s no play in any components. I have replaced the track bar, hubs, and rotors (spacers were seized to hubs). Walmart did my new tires and balancing in august, don’t flame me lol, and I had an alignment done at a tire shop. It still had a little bit of a shuffle when you hit bumps a certain way, but now it has come back. I have taken my spacers off (2 in spring lift) and now are on stock wheels. The stock wheels get death wobble more, but they’re old and have bead weights and are a little corroded. I have an appointment to get new tires (going to 29”) on Sunday. I’m lost and am seriously considering selling the Jeep. Issue after issue is getting old.

Have you changed your ball joints, pitman arm, and properly torqued all suspension & steering related fasteners?

Or maybe try swapping your rear tires to the front and maybe your spare in the mix to see if things change. Have you had the tires balanced more than once using a different location to confirm they are truly good?

If it’s not a balancing problem, I’d likely change all steering components at the same time that way DW doesn’t potentially trash the new parts causing you to be in an endless loop.

I’d be willing to be you do have play somewhere you just aren’t finding it until things get crazy. Have you inspected the steering during a dry steering test with someone else behind the wheel?

 

[Cooper Smith]

OP, what is the condition of your shocks? When I had DW, it was a combination of 5 year old original tires, and a blown drivers shock.

Shocks have been replaced before. Rides tight.

 

[AndyG]

This is where I have a problem with absolutes because it can to an extent.

No wall of text can deny it.

No, if the stabilizer is preventing it, the cause needs to be corrected. Dampening away death wobble is not fixing death wobble. How do you not see that?

 

[RangerTJ]

A damper is like somebody's makeup in that it can make pretty rough appear OK.

It doesn't change what it's covering up.

 

[Juggernaut]

I didn’t see you mention ball joints. Check them. I just went through this with my JK. Never had it and then it developed and worsened fairly quickly. Replacements cured it.

 

[Cooper Smith]

I didn’t see you mention ball joints. Check them. I just went through this with my JK. Never had it and then it developed and worsened fairly quickly. Replacements cured it.

No play in ball joints.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

As much as I hate answering a question with a question, why does it go away when replacing a blown out damper? Just like replacing any other worn out component.

No. It is what it is and always has been. Its not some sort of witchcraft. Not sure where you are going, but your 50:50 is sort of a relative term. Zero valving in your 50:50 could equal no damper. So .

You didn't get what I told you early in this thread. The steering damper is only suppressing the symptoms of DW, it is NOT curing the actual root cause of DW whatever that root cause might be. A steering damper CANNOT shake the front/end or cause the giant oscillations that are DW. The steering damper is a shock absorber, a passive device, it cannot CAUSE anything to shake or oscillate, it can only suppress shake, shock, etc. but the DW shaking itself is always caused by something else.

A new steering damper can only APPEAR to have cured DW but it has only temporarily SUPPRESSED its symptoms until the steering damper wears out prematurely from having suppressed the oscillations/DW it wasn't designed to do. Something else is causing the DW, not the absence of a steering damper or a worn out steering damper. A steering damper can resist shaking and vibration but, again, it's not actually causing that shaking and vibration... something else is doing that... the root cause of the DW which has to be cured whether it be balancing an imperfectly balanced tire or replacing a worn out component in the front-end.

We GET that installing a new steering damper can stop/suppress the symptoms so to some it might appear to have cured the DW but in reality it only temporarily suppressed the symptoms. It didn't actually cure the root cause. And only temporarily because if the symptoms are severe, like from DW, the steering damper isn't going to last long. When the damper fails from DW overworking it the DW will come back because, again, the steering damper did not cure the root cause of DW that is still there.

The root cause of DW is most commonly caused by an improperly/imperfectly balanced tire, especially when something else is loose/worn out like rod end joints, ball joints, loose shocks, etc.. Cure those issues and a steering damper isn't even needed other than to help protect the steering system from jolts, shock, etc.. And. again, a steering damper is a passive device so it CANNOT power the oscillations/vibrations cause by something with power like an imperfectly balanced tire that can really shake the front-end. A steering stabilizer has no ability to shake anything or cure the actual root cause of the DW.

 

[MikeE024]

OP, if you want to fix your issue, I suggest put an end to the steering damper talk that’s dominating the thread and getting you nowhere.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Update: I looked closer at these stock wheels I bought, and the drivers side front doesn’t have any wheel weights. Tires look like shit too. Seems this is a tire issue, not linkage.

 

[JMT]

Update: I looked closer at these stock wheels I bought, and the drivers side front doesn’t have any wheel weights. Tires look like shit too. Seems this is a tire issue, not linkage.

Yeah, like I said on page 1 of this sh— show, just wait till you get the new tires and balance on Sunday.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Yeah, like I said on page 1 of this sh— show, just wait till you get the new tires and balance on Sunday.

Yep! Thank you all for the help. Really helped put my mind at ease. I’m in college and run forklifts part time and just don’t have time and money to put into this old Jeep. Also, steering stabilizer guy: thanks for hijacking the thread. I came here to learn and get help and your ego/wrong advice didn’t help. I wouldn’t have minded if you said “oh okay I understand” but… yeah.

 

[joniki]

This entire thread should be made a sticky...

 

[AndyG]

If a stabilizer fails and you immediately have deathwobble, it likely failed from being overworked by the root cause.

Do shocks make the road smoother? No. They dampen the effects.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Whoa now. I got a hankering and grabbed a pry bar. The control arms moved a lot after being pryed on. Maybe 1:16 or 1/8 of an inch side to side? Would that be the winner?

 

[AndyG]

Whoa now. I got a hankering and grabbed a pry bar. The control arms moved a lot after being pryed on. Maybe 1:16 or 1/8 of an inch side to side? Would that be the winner?

Your front uppers always need considered- toe it out 5/8” and drive it - if that stops it you need to focus on them.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Your front uppers always need considered- toe it out 5/8” and drive it - if that stops it you need to focus on them.

They move side to side a lot, not really up and down.

 

[AndyG]

They move side to side a lot, not really up and down.

Doesn’t matter-

Sounds like they are loose in the mounts, and if they are loose in the mount, they are moving more than you realize under force- or worse, allowing the axle to move preventing the steering from having the resistance it needs to allow the wheels to stay steady. Aka, Death Wobble.

Tires, track bar connections, all 8 front control arm connections, tie rod/Drag link ends are all suspect in death wobble.

The front uppers have a lot of influence on axle stability.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Doesn’t matter-

Sounds like they are loose in the mounts, and if they are loose in the mount, they are moving more than you realize under force- or worse, allowing the axle to move preventing the steering from having the resistance it needs to allow the wheels to stay steady. Aka, Death Wobble.

Tires, track bar connections, all 8 front control arm connections, tie rod/Drag link ends are all suspect in death wobble.

The front uppers have a lot of influence on axle stability.

Right, I’m with you on that. What I mean is if they move side to side a lot, and not up and down, what is my next step? Leave it, replace it, or torque it down?

 

[AndyG]

Right, I’m with you on that. What I mean is if they move side to side a lot, and not up and down, what is my next step? Leave it, replace it, or torque it down?

Can’t say with no visual-

First tighten the bolts- don’t just throw parts at it.

Don’t go crazy with the wrench, the upper front stock bolts aren’t that big-

But they have to be properly torqued.

If they are clevites, the rubber may be so far gone it doesn’t matter.