somehow i'm still posting about DEATH WOBBLE...

[mujaman]

well the fight continues. in my attempt to defeat the DW on my '97 3" XJ i have replaced the following:

- new OME steering stablizer
- 4 new OME nitrocharger heavy duty shocks
- a new tracbar
- BDS lca's (for 3" lift) and BDS uca's (adjustable)
- new steering box
- all new bushings
- new upper and lower ball joints

i also put on a brand new set of tires and different rims (borrowed from the stealership) to see if that corrected the problem... and although it seemed to help, it didn't offer a complete fix by any means. a lot of the work listed above has helped, but only to a degree. i think i have a lot of small issues contributing to the overall wobble.

the biggest difference seemed to come with the new control arms. without them, the thing would go crazy at the slightest bump. now i have to hit something pretty good to get it to wobble (well, actually i just discovered the other day that i can sometimes induce the wobble just by jerking my steering wheel back and forth a few times... that sucks).

back to the control arms though... i'm guessing that means i'm dealing mostly with a caster angle problem. i still have a lot of adjustment in my uca's and plan to keep messing with them. i've read the stock XJ caster angles are 5-7 degrees. is that correct? i guess the guys at the alignment shop should be able to tell me what my caster is and i can adjust the uppers to bring it back to spec and get a good alignment.

i know i've posted basically the same message quite a few times over the past few months... but i'm getting pretty desperate. oh and here's the weird thing... it worked perfectly fine for well over a year after i put the lift on (with stock arms/stock everything). go figure...

 

[Sully]

I had the same thing and I know this is really a general answer probably not what your looking for but I fixed mine by getting it aligned and tightening every nut and bolt in my front end. Go over everything and see if that makes a change. I was also going to say check your frame for a possible crack but you have a unibody. Good luck!

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Check the condition of the upper track bar mount, make sure it's intact and securely bolted on. Also make sure the track bar bolts are as tight as humanly possible.

I've recently read where too much caster can also be a bad thing, aggravating a DW issue. I'd stick as close to 5º as possible.

 

[redlightstalker]

whats up mujaman.if your pitman arm and your track bar are not droped to compensate for your suspension that can cause problems also.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

whats up mujaman.if your pitman arm and your track bar are not droped to compensate for your suspension that can cause problems also.

When the draglink is not close to parallel with the track bar it causes bumpsteer, often confused with Death Wobble (DW) but very different.

 

[90Xjay]

When the draglink is not close to parallel with the track bar it causes bumpsteer, often confused with Death Wobble (DW) but very different.

I was thinking along that line also Bounty..

 

[mujaman]

thanks for the input... i'm taking it to get it aligned today and hopefully that will help me get my caster angles set. i'm pretty sure thats got to be the problem. i haven't had too much trouble with bump steer fortunately... but if i ever do, i know how to fix it now! thanks again.

 

[jakbob]

ok i know this might sound stupid...but what is death wobble and bump steer? could anyone give me any input?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

DW is an uncontrollable shaking of the front end of the jeep, usually induced by hitting a bump in the road. Severe cases require coming to a near stop to end the shaking.

Bumpsteer is when the steering wheel turns slightly to one side by itself when a bump is encountered, caused by incorrect steering geometry in relation to the front track bar (panhard bar).

 

[jakbob]

ok thanks for the info...hijack over...

 

[mujaman]

so a shop that is looking at my jeep came up with another possible explanation for my ongoing death-wobble:

they say it has a vacuum diaphram (?) that may be leaking when i go over a bump that allows the 4-wheel drive system to try and engage - this then causes the u-joints to allow a hop and lead to the wobble... or something to that effect.

i got the info second hand so didn't get a clear explanation seeing how i'm away at school and didn't talk to the shop directly. just wanted to see if any of you guys had ever heard or something like that...?