well here's the story... i have a 97 cherokee with a 3" lift and 30" tires. back in february, it started developing somewhat of a death wobble... although it was mild at first. it gradually got worse and worse, so i decided to put a heavy duty old man emu steering stabilizer on. that seemed to help for a while, but a few days ago it started up again... this time MUCH worse. any small bump on the interstate over about 60 mph gets it shaking so bad i almost wreck. i put some new bushings on the tracbar... but that didn't help at all. so right now i'm in the process of putting an adjustable BDS tracbar on it. i really hope this fixes it, because if it doesn't, i don't know what else to try. its also going in for an alignment as soon as the tracbar is on. any advice will be appreciated!
death wobble woes...
- Thread starter mujaman
- Start date
88Wrangles
New member
RE: Just a gal with an 05 JGC Laredo...with a few questions!
I would check all the joints and everything on all the steering arms and everything else that is steering related. Check to make sure your steering gearbox is bolted on real well and check all the other bolts down there on the front end.
Make sure your lug nuts are tight too!
I would check all the joints and everything on all the steering arms and everything else that is steering related. Check to make sure your steering gearbox is bolted on real well and check all the other bolts down there on the front end.
Make sure your lug nuts are tight too!
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
RE: wrangler rims on a xj?
Could be the upper mount on the track bar, or could be worn control arm bushings. Inspect all the control arm bushings with a flashlight and screwdriver, looking for splits in the rubber.
Are you using longer lower control arms with that lift? If not, that's a good step towards fixing the wobble.
Could be the upper mount on the track bar, or could be worn control arm bushings. Inspect all the control arm bushings with a flashlight and screwdriver, looking for splits in the rubber.
Are you using longer lower control arms with that lift? If not, that's a good step towards fixing the wobble.
RE: oil
well i think i got it all fixed... finally. i originally was going to put an adjustable BDS tracbar on, but after some more consideration decided to try replacing the control arms with some heavy duty BDS ones and got a good alignment job done. It seems to be working great for now. I may still put the adjustable BDS bar on sometime though... would that give me any additional benefits?
well i think i got it all fixed... finally. i originally was going to put an adjustable BDS tracbar on, but after some more consideration decided to try replacing the control arms with some heavy duty BDS ones and got a good alignment job done. It seems to be working great for now. I may still put the adjustable BDS bar on sometime though... would that give me any additional benefits?
TwistedCU
New member
from your first post:
From your last post:
That is the cause and fix. You need to have an alignment done anytime you lift a vehicle. With 3" of lift, a proper front end alignment, and the stock control arms you should not have D.W. It was from your front end not being adjusted to the new height.
Incidently, if you are experiencing any bumpsteer (hard bumps causing the steering wheel to pull to one side) then an adjustable trackbar would be your solution, or you could re-drill the lower trackbar bracket to relocate it. Don't waste your time or money on a trackbar relocation bracket... they are junk. The adj. bar or re-drilling the lower mount will re-center your front axle as well.
Glad you got it worked out, and I am not implying the control arms were a waste of money, as they will allow you better atriculation with the swaybar disconnected, they are much stronger than the stock ones, and they probably put your caster closer to where it should be.
mujaman said:
From your last post:
mujaman said:
That is the cause and fix. You need to have an alignment done anytime you lift a vehicle. With 3" of lift, a proper front end alignment, and the stock control arms you should not have D.W. It was from your front end not being adjusted to the new height.
Incidently, if you are experiencing any bumpsteer (hard bumps causing the steering wheel to pull to one side) then an adjustable trackbar would be your solution, or you could re-drill the lower trackbar bracket to relocate it. Don't waste your time or money on a trackbar relocation bracket... they are junk. The adj. bar or re-drilling the lower mount will re-center your front axle as well.
Glad you got it worked out, and I am not implying the control arms were a waste of money, as they will allow you better atriculation with the swaybar disconnected, they are much stronger than the stock ones, and they probably put your caster closer to where it should be.
twistedcopper... i've had the lift on for about 2 years now, and hadn't had any trouble until about 3 months ago. it was aligned right after i installed the lift and worked beautifully. i suppose it probably has just gotten knocked out of alignment over the past couple years or whatever... and i maybe could have just gotten it aligned and not worried with the control arms. either way though, my old control arm bushings were really worn, so i'm sure the new arms will help since they have new bushings and allow for a better geometry with the lift and all. as far as bumpsteer goes... i do get some, but it seems to be relatively minor now that everything is lined up and the death wobble is fixed. thanks for all the info!
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