WTF!?!? Death wobble!?!?

sickboy433

sickboy433

New member
I have a 2006 TJ with a 2.5 Pro-comp lift and have been experiencing DW. I have lubed and aligned, changed steering dampener and tightened everything. What else can I do!?!? I had no idea this was an issue with the TJ's. What did you guys do to correct this matter? Thanks
 

If you are sure its in alignment and the tires are in good shape. Grab hold of the track bar and see if it has any play, could be worn out bushings.
 
Was it aligned proper. The toe needs to be to the higher side of the spec and caster needs to be on the lower side. Make sure the track bar is tight and that wheels are properly balanced. I always suggest road force balancing.
 
check that track arm is tight and also ball joint Tork them to spec and you should be golden
I found in repairing TJ YJ JK this works 99% of the time
 

Thank you guys for all the advice!
Question: Do any of you guys have lifts and if so did you have to beef up everything, track bars, steering components , shocks or upper/lower control arms?
 
I have 5.5 inches lift. I made my own control arms and my track bar and steering linkage is aftermarket. But I'm a lic tech for Chrysler all I do is alignments and see the dw all the time. Most of the time it's improper alignment or worn parts.
 
Well I've replaced steering dampener with one from pro-comp and re-tightened all bolts underneath. I should be getting a track bar bushing set from phantom off road in a few days.
Once I install I'll get you updated on how it turns out.

On a side note, I was talking to a JK owner and they said the issues of DW came from poor design in the axle. Has any one found the answer on that? Or do you get a different opinion every time you talk to someone different as well as me?

Again thanks you for all of your opinions !
 

Dw is pretty much there on anything with a solid front axle. I had problems with my 99 superduty. My 2010 cummins just about killed me after it was aligned wrong. Love my truck but had to set it up myself. My Cherokee had it a bit.
 
As you can see from the posts above, there are several things that may be the cause of your death wobble issue. My experience points me to 3 major causes.
1. Something loose in the front end.
Check bushings, TRE, ball joints, and all nuts and bolts. Often times the upper track bar mounting hole gets wallowed out and allows unwanted movement of the track bar.
2. Alignment not quite correct.
The Caster may have to be adjusted toward the upper end of the acceptable range or even out of it to alleviate DW.
3. Wheel and tire out of balance.
One bad tire or a balance issue may cause DW.
 
So I had done everything mentioned in this thread and it help alot btw! But still had an occasional wobble around 45 MPH. So after nosing around I noticed the steering stabilizer bushing connecting to the tie rod had only one washer on the top and was squishy on the bottom. So I added another washer on the bottom and tightened it until the bushing had compressed around the shank.
Its been solid ever since!!! I'm still changing the track bar bushings when they come in but for now I'm golden.
Your advice is greatly appreciated and wrenching on it helped me get to know my vehicle alot more! Now if I could only talk my wife back into the Jeep! Lol
 

Ok I have the same going on with my TJ, but MY problem now....after doing all of the above mentioned.....Trac bar changes, u joints, bushings, steering damper, alignment (by some freaky ass laser machine), and I have beads in my tires for balancing, etc.
The problem I have now, my garage tells me its still my trac bar.!!!???

So my questions boys.
1-What else can it be?? Seriously??!!
2-Anyone know of a garage where a girl can go and actually get listened to in my area?? I mean I had to go to 3 different places before someone actually sold me the trac bar I ordered!! Why cause none of them believed me what I had!! Even after I gave them the specs!!!

Any and all help would be appreciated!!
 
Dirtyjeepgirl,
I'm diggin your name btw, is your track bar stock?
Reason being is you may not have to buy an aftermarket track bar. Whaat you could try is buying the bushing kit for it for anywhere to $28-35 bucks. Its the bushings that go bad not the bar. I my self am a budget jeeper and have to keep control of my finances by not buying expensive parts I don't need. Give it a try. Also I put washers on both sides of the bushing on the steering stabilizer that connect to the tie rod that reduced the wobble dramatically. Be sure to let us know how it turns out good luck!
 
Hey guys! Well she is going in tomorrow...let's keep our fingers crossed. ;o)

SICKBOY - No my trac bar is a Terra-Flex adjustable.

Well I personally have my money set on my bushings I mean I can move the trac bar by hand. And I'm not a power house over here!! The cause me thinks ;o)....bead locks!! Anyone else have these?? Whats the feedback on them? I mean am I gonna have to get me another set of rims and tires and switch up every time I go off roading?? Cause they seem to be causing me more problems than what they are worth. All that extra weight can't be good...
 

Ok well here's the verdict: 4 new tie rods & yup...the track bar. I'm not replacing the track bar with the same TerraFlex as it is too HD for my needs at the moment, so I went with a Rough Country (I hope I made the right choice), it was like 200 bones cheaper!! As for the tie rods, they are on order from the US and will be in next week, I stayed with Rugged Ridge on these. Thanks for the replies guys!! Now onto my beadlocks & some POR15!! ;o)
 
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i had an adjustable rough country one on my cherokee and it was great. never had trouble with that trac bar.

of course, i never had death wobble either. after i installed everything, a buddy owns the most well known 4x4 shop in corpus and he is a jeep guy so he aligned it real quick for me. never once had a problem
 
Wicked! Thxs Superj - Adjustable Rough Country is what I got so I'm glad to hear some positive feedback. Ya death wobble on my Jeep is caused by the tie rod ends and tires needing rotating as well as I have a slow leak in one....so highly doubtful it has anything to do with the trac bar. Sucks for me, I have to pay someone to do the work, but hes a friend who does rock crawling and has 79"LTB's (if I'm not mistaken) on his rig which he builds himself a new one every winter. I'm sure he could do my alignment by eye!......well let's hope so eh?
 

sickboy433 said:
So I had done everything mentioned in this thread and it help alot btw! But still had an occasional wobble around 45 MPH. So after nosing around I noticed the steering stabilizer bushing connecting to the tie rod had only one washer on the top and was squishy on the bottom. So I added another washer on the bottom and tightened it until the bushing had compressed around the shank.
Its been solid ever since!!! I'm still changing the track bar bushings when they come in but for now I'm golden.
Your advice is greatly appreciated and wrenching on it helped me get to know my vehicle alot more! Now if I could only talk my wife back into the Jeep! Lol
Click to expand...

FWIW steering stabilizers do not fix DW. Some drive around without steering stabilizers. If you have a shimmy at 45 it is your alignment or tire balance. Definitely not the stabilizer.
 
I had it at same speeds and it was front lower control arm bushings. Just had replaced with Prothane and it drives great now. I got a kit for entire Jeep but only did lower front for now. Amazing difference... Will change all the rest when I get time. Found kit on eBay for less than $200
 
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