Bikerscum - Patrick St. Jean

What did you do to get your Death Wobble fixed? I have a SEVERE problem with the TeraFlex S4W 4" lift kits on my WJ Grand Cherokees and am looking for ANY help and advice to make these vehicles safe to drive again.

Thanks!

After the upgrades, which included a much stiffer steering stabilizer, it all but went away. But I did start getting a little bit of a wiggle after a couple thousand miles. It finally came to a head with a busted ball joint on one of my tie rod ends. I replaced that and did an exhaustive front end alignment and it's really finally gone.

I've got a 99 WJ with the same problem from adding only 2" coil spacers (budget lift). The proper solution is supposedly to correct the caster angle that any lift added to a coil sprung jeep can effect. My castle angle (the rotation of the knuckles or axis of the axle) was only off about 1.5 degrees from factory specs. JKS makes a new product which is an adjustable pair of control arms good for lifts up to 6 inches. For my application, a pair of lowers should be enough to set the caster angle where it should be.

I have a 1994 Jeep Cherokee which just recieved a 4 inch skyjacker lift. But Now i have an unbelievable case of the "Death Wobble" it seems to happen right at about 40-45 mph and feels like i was just thrown into a paint shaker. I work at an alignment shop and just had it aligned to factor caster, camber, and toe settings. I've heard that i moght need new lower control arms or a new steering stablizer. If you have any suggestions as to where i should go from here, please let me know! Thanx!

Let's see, there's a few things I'd do. First, get those tires balanced. After that, upgrading the steering stabilizer would be a good thing. The stock one's pretty much junk.

I came across a really cool website displaying Jeep Wranglers with lifts, oversized tires, new custom alloy wheels and detailed to near new condition. Most of them have warranties. There is a video with an attractive young lady explaining their process. Worth checking out. Bob jones. http://funjeeps.com.

I have experienced this chilling ride years apart. The first time my jeep started this I replaced the stablizer and did't have any more trouble for about 3 years. It has recently started again and I replaced the trac bar witch got me from 40 miles a hour to 55. The stablizer looks wet and the tires are worn but I also would check your frame rails where the control arms are mounted to the frame. Mine was broken on the drivers side all the way around where it was welded from the factory and not noticable untill I got right directly up under it. I repaired that and it also helped. I guess it is time to retire it now.

I've had Death Wobble on 2 different jeeps and have read every post I could find.I would start by replacing your track bar bushings if you are using your stock track bar.It is the cheapest thing you can do,and there is a decent chance that is it.($13.00-15.00)The bushings in my track bar didn't look bad,but when I changed them it made a huge difference.I would go from cheapest to most expensive unless you can find something that is obviously wrong.I believe changing your steering stabalizer only calms Death Wobble down.I have read that tie rod ends, tires out of balance, and alignment are 3 of the other most frequentcauses. If you do change your track bar bushings with energy suspension replacements you have to cut the round piece of hardened steel out of the end of the track bar that connects to the axle.My tie rod ends were also bad. GOOD LUCK

Well, this saga's continued now for a year and then some. With the new tires it was pretty much gone but as they wore down it came back.

I took it over to the great folks at Dallas Frame and Alignment who diagnosed the underlying problem. Both axle housings are bent. It's being fixed now.

Hi, i have a 96 XJ and installed a rough country 3" lift on it on Saturday and immediatly experienced death wobble. I shook down the front end and found excessive play in the ball joint on my stock trackbar. I purchased a new one from my local parts store and installed it in about 3 hours, and my death wobble is gone. Check all your bushings in your track bar and make sure that where it meets the frame it isnt "eggholing" Any play in the track bar will throw your vehicle into Death Wobble. The whole purpose of the trackbar is to keep you axle from shifting left to right, which is what is happeneing during DW. Hope this helps, email me if you need more help, tomeagling@gmail.com

Ive been experiencing "death wobble" ever sense i got my jeep stuck in the woods a few months back....I have a 1990 jeep cherokee laredo..Im pretty sure my axle is broken on 1 side..and ive been told 2 of my balljoints are worn...could this be the cause? or should i try balancing tires,alignment,replacing shocks,replacing tracbar? im going to fix the balljoints and axle either way but im almost positive ill still have the "death wobble" and today when it happened I thought i was gunna die it was so bad...it usually happens at or around 55mph and stops at or around 60-65mph....i know jeeps are famous for this as i have 4 jeep sitting in my yard and 2 for sale...please help email me if need be mattydubs22@yahoo.com

I'm no mechanic so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I'd definitely see to your axle first. After that, replacing the ball joints, balancing, aligning, and replacing the steering stabilizer with a stiffer one will probably help...

Hi,I've just encountered death wobble after a 3.5 litf.
Today it definetly felt like the track bar was knockin from left to right at incredible speed.
I feel more vibes on the driver side.
After all this reading I think i will check the welds on the control arm mounts and the track bar mount.

Yes,Ilove my jeep, and spend alot of money
, including replacing every thing I could think of except balancing the tires.

I'll try that next.
Keep my fingers crossed.

94 jeep XJ

Well. I checked my all my control arm and tracbar weld mount brackets and they are all solid.
How ever I did find that the front driver side shock has sprung a leak,
there is a small fraction of play on my tie rods;mostly on the passenger side;and the passenger side ball joint is bad.HOPEFULLY,this will end my death wobble.I'll let you know in 2 weeks.Thanks guys for your help.

I have insane death wobble with my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, 10.5" lift with 33" Cepek Crushers, I dont know what to do, Help please I love my truck....

ok it is ur track bar and ur rotors becaue my 97 jeep grand cherokree did that and now it is fixed

I have a 96 cherokee with the Death
Wobble. No lift, everything is stock.
About 2 years ago I replaced the
Stabilizer shock (Dampener?) and four
new tire. It went away until the other
day when I had my tires rotated and
balanced.

I read that the bolt hole in the frame
where the Track Bar connects on the
pass. side, wheel side is too large.
It is suggested to drill out the
track bar bushing to 7/16" and use a
7/16" bolt (which fits the frame hole.

I'm going to do that and replace the
stabilizer shock with a better one. I
hope it fixes it.

Gene

Jeepman
I've owned and/ or driven some pretty cool cars in my day but I would have to say the most fun car I've had was a 1983 Jeep CJ- 7. There's just something about a car where you can not only take the top down but also take the doors off. It's kinda weird...