I have a 99 xj 4.0 its been sitting for a while I would love to drive it but can't because when I get up over 50 or so and hit a bump or a pot hole the whole front end shakes like crazy anyone have any ideas what the problem could be or if they have the same thing going on please send some advice I want to drive it again thank you
the death shake
- Thread starter xjman99
- Start date
tntchitwood
New member
Please search death wobble. There have been books written on the subject. there are about 200 things that cause this.
Mine was caused by wore out tires.
Mine was caused by wore out tires.
Last edited:
TwistedCU
New member
If the tires are in good condition I would try the simplest first. All are fairly common, but the first three are fairly easy fixes:
Tires unbalanced (possibly a weight got knocked off while offroad, or maybe they were never well balanced and this became more evident as they have worn-in a bit).
Loose or worn track bar joint or some other ball joint or mount. (if you crawl under there with the Jeep not running, and let someone cycle the steering back and forth all the way to each side, you may see or hear evidence of this)
Front end alignment. (With oversized tires it doesn't take much to get the alignment out of whack.)
Other steering geometry issues (this is where the several other fixes come into play...)
Tires unbalanced (possibly a weight got knocked off while offroad, or maybe they were never well balanced and this became more evident as they have worn-in a bit).
Loose or worn track bar joint or some other ball joint or mount. (if you crawl under there with the Jeep not running, and let someone cycle the steering back and forth all the way to each side, you may see or hear evidence of this)
Front end alignment. (With oversized tires it doesn't take much to get the alignment out of whack.)
Other steering geometry issues (this is where the several other fixes come into play...)
Here's my article on Death Wobble:
http://www.jeepz.com/forum/suspension/29510-wrangler-death-wobble-what-causes-how-fix.html
What type of lift (if any) do you have?
http://www.jeepz.com/forum/suspension/29510-wrangler-death-wobble-what-causes-how-fix.html
What type of lift (if any) do you have?
I'd focus on a worn bushing or track bar. Lay on the ground in front of the Jeep with the parking break on, and have someone turn the wheels from full left to full right and back again, looking for anything that appears loose.
You can normally rule out the tires by swapping the back tires onto the front. It's free and easy to do.
You can normally rule out the tires by swapping the back tires onto the front. It's free and easy to do.
54cj3b
New member
XJdunnz
New member
I'm not sure about mine having the death wobble but it's a chore to keep this beast in between the lines, and theres a popping noise from the left front area cant quite pin point it. my bushings are about to get replaced and I also noticed my track bar bushings are so bad that I can slide it side to side without any effort. I'm pretty sure that's not good
I'm also about to purchase adjustable upper control arms because the guy who lifted my jeep just rigged up some arms that are quite shady looking. So needles to say my jeep looks good but drives like crap.
I'm also about to purchase adjustable upper control arms because the guy who lifted my jeep just rigged up some arms that are quite shady looking. So needles to say my jeep looks good but drives like crap.Attachments
FloridaCherokee1988
New member
Ive had my XJ death wobble come and go, first it was an unbalanced tire after I slung the weight off on a trail, bad steering stabilizer, at one time I even had so much mud in the rims after hitting the mudhole that it threw my wheels off balance lol but basically just check everything and make sure its all still nice and tight and the rubber bushing aren't cracked/worn really bad. Re grease all the grease fittings in the front suspension, check to make sure your shocks aren't blown out, and make sure all your tires have weights on the inside and outside of the rim. Last ditch effort is just have an alignment job done, if there's a part that needs to be replaced you can guarantee the shop doing the alignment will tell you about it lol
hubbadub80
New member
i agree chances are it is a bushing issue i had this problem and replaced the lca bushings and the stabilizer now its gone and i have a 3" spacer lift with stoc control arms and i think with the offset wheels i have i would still feel it if not fixed
dustin g
New member
54cj3b said:That only masks the problem
My third round of DW was caused by this. I took it off and when pushing or pulling it was very springy. For instance pull it and let go it would spring back into its original position.
On a side note this is unlikely but check and replace with a heavy duty one (I use a pro comp) as this will A. Fix it or B. Make it driveable for the time being but it only fixes the symptoms not the problem.
TwistedCU
New member
FloridaCherokee1988
New member
So simple you overlook it sometimes lol
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