How To Fix Death Wobble in Your Jeep! The Ultimate Guide
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2024
- Does your Jeep have Death Wobble? It is almost never one single item causing your Jeep to death wobble. In this video we will teach you how to find the source OR sources of your death wobble to fix it for good. We have compiled the ultimate death wobble checklist to help you check each and every possible problem area.
Death Wobble Checklist:
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I have had 5 jeeps, YJs, TJs and even in MJ. They all had the death wobble in various forms. This is probably the best discussion of the issue. It is a beast to track down.
It can be tricky sometimes. But the good thing is it does not have to be permanent. Every case can be solved by identifying and fixing the cause.
Don’t mean to throw shade on your comment but I had a YJ and never had death wobble. How do you have death wobble with leaf springs?
@@user-fz2ot6wi2t Death Wobble can result from many things. Worn steering parts, bad alignment, unbalanced tires, etc.
@@IronRockOffRoad agreed. I owned a YJ and several friends owned YJ’s too and no one ever complained of death wobble with leaf springs. I don’t think it’s possible unless the shackles or u bolts on the perches are loose
@@user-fz2ot6wi2t You never know. If someone did get DW with leaf springs I wouldn't be too surprised. I do know we would try our best to help a YJ owner get to the bottom of the issue though.
I used to work in a shop that specialized in suspension and alignments. 90% of the time death wobble is caused by a bad trac bar, loose trac bar bolts, or incorrect castor settings. Ignore the factory castor settings if your rig is lifted and has bigger tires, as the effective castor angle changes as the distance from the ball joints to the ground changes. A steering dampner can not cause or repair death wobble, regardless of how many techs tell you it can. A dampner can only mask a problem, not create one, unless it is physically damaged and binding up. Dealerships specialize in replacing parts, not fixing problems. I can not count how many Jeeps I've had to fix after it left the dealer with a new steering stabilizer, but still had death wobble.
Thanks for sharing your past experience! You're right, there are many possible causes, and some tend to be more common than others.
Agreed
@@IronRockOffRoad
This video reminded me...
The other day I was looking on your website for something I thought I remembered you sold, but I couldn't find it.
Track bar oversize bolt and nut insert kit thingy for a Jeep WJ.
Have you still got a part number for this item?
What’s the normal cost to replace a trac bar?
@@monicarossow6052 It can vary depending on the model you're working on, but typically between 200-300.
Probably the best video I’ve seen to help with death wobble. Very helpful and thank you!
Thank you! We worked really hard to put this together and make it as thorough as possible. Glad it helped!
This is the best video I have come across on a death wobble issues since I had my jeep xj 1989.
@dawoodk103 Thank you for the feedback! We're just looking to spread the knowledge we've learned from the last 20 years of building Jeep parts.
Very interesting, I like your methodological way of addressing the issue and thanks for allowing us access to the checklist!! Great job!!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Better yet, we hope you found it useful.
@@IronRockOffRoad very much so, thanks
Excellent video. Thank you for all the accurate information and all the work to create this.
@wutranclan4266 Thank you for the complement!
Thank you for your very thorough explanation and inspection. I've learned a lot in this video
@America_took_my_zebra_stripes Glad it was helpful!
Ball joints can also contribute to the problem. I went through all of your checklist items on my 2017 Rubicon and still had a wobble. New tires, alignment, 1 ton tie rod ends, Teraflex oversized track bar, etc. all made improvements, but never totally fixed the wobble.
Changing the ball joints to the Teraflex adjustable ball joints made it rock solid. I don't know how that can be the problem, even the alignment shop said ball joints would not cause death wobble, but it was. And all that we could see was slight play on the driver side lower ball joint. It drives perfectly now.
I would add it to the checklist.
Ahh, thank you, If you look on page 2 of the checklist, we do have you check your ball joints 🙂 www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf
That is good. I didn't notice it in the video. Thanks! @@IronRockOffRoad
@@commonsense6050 Thanks for watching! If this video helped you, share it with others 🙂
Look on line, many jeeps with stock wheels and less than 500 miles are expieriencing this issue including my wifes 2022 with 12000k. More to come on this issue. So far Chrisler has ignored the issue. No recall to date.
Great video and great description of your troubleshooting process and fixes. Thanks.
@michaelbyers3094 Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!
This is an awesome video as you are very thorough in your coverage.
Thank you, we hope you and many others can be helped by the info we provide.
so many people go straight to the Steering Stabilizer as the cause, because they do not want to take the time and effort to track down the real cause.
You did a great job at explaining the procedure of tracking down and by offering a check list.
@TwoFeatherChannel Exactly! Thank you for the feedback!
In my case the steering stabilizer did start to leak. Which i believe is the root cause of my death wobble on my jeep. But will be replacing the whole steering kit together to make sure
@@zer0luink I don't think it is. some people take their steering stabilizer off completely and run with out one.
most of the time it is a wearable part such as a bushing, worn out bolt holes and joints.
Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends, Track Bar Bushings and the Brackets they bolt to.
a new steering stabilizer is a Band-Aid, it appears to solve the problem but it only covers up the problem and ruins the stabilizer later on.
Thank you for your video. Very educational. I had a TJL that had death wobble that was eliminated with new tires.
@tylamb2437 That is great to hear!
You guys are goated! I wish I would've found you guys sooner when I bought my WJ
@theadventuringcoonclan1942 Thank you for the complement! We're still coming out with new products for the WJ so keep us in mind for your next upgrade!
Nice work!
Thank you!
This was very informative. I have a '75 Ramcharger that I put a steering stabilize on some 20 years ago because I did not understand how to properly deal with a constant shimmying when going down the road. It is time to walk through that check list on that truck. Also, I am convinced that half the reason for this video was to show off all your t-shirts. Cool to see you throwing Rock Auto some love too. (-:
Glad you found it helpful! Let us know if you have any further questions!
Excellent video, thanks.
Glad it helped!
thanks for your video. My wife's JT had death wobble. Not bad, but enough to make it un-nerving. Read up a multiple other pages and watch a few videos about death wobble. Upgraded a couple steering parts ( drag link, trackbar that was planned to be upgraded this summer anyway). Did everything on the other's pages list (Tightened everything, removed one piece at a time and checked the bushings, checked the shocks, tire pressure..... with no change. Watched your video and the checklist. You talked about and provided numbers about tow. Down to my last straw and doubting it would work.... I took two pieces of angle iron and rubber clamps to clamp the angle iron to the rotors. Leveled the angle iron to the ground, plum bob from the center of the hub down to the angle iron to mark the center, then measured out a foot both ways. Measured across and found it towed in 1/8". Adjusted to 1/32". Death wobble gone. (Honestly, I doubted it would fix the issue and was surprised) . It's been two months with no signs of it. My wife is happy, So I'm happy.
@delbancroft9339 That is awesome! Glad we were able to help!
Excellent Video! Thank You! I am not having the death wobble often, but it does happen when I hit a bad part of the road every now and again. I do have a lot of upgrades, full King Coil-Overs, large over-sized tie rod, track bar, drag link and large polygon upper and lower control arms. Not sure about the links and I believe my pitman arm is a stocker. I am at max tires with 40's on 20' KMS Grenade bead-locks. Wish I could show you a picture. Anyways, I did download the checklist and will be going through the steps as I don't want the wobble to happen when my daughter drive the Jeep. BTW, it is a 2020 Rubicon / Recon. Like I said, I don't get the wobble very often and I make the drive from S Florida to upper Michigan at least once a year to hit trails with my 5 brothers and da; we all have Jeeps. Again, thank you for the video and all the info on your website. If anything I have stated here stands out to you, please yell at me and let me know LOL
@bobbyclayton7348 The Death Wobble checklist is a big help. Your setup sounds good to me. Let us know if we can help with anything!
In the early 80s I had a great 78 jeep Cherokee chief top of the line rig with locking differentials..it had a death wobble, very scary. Fixed it with a heavy duty steering stabilizer..
Glad to hear! Sometimes it is a simple fix.
Great info. Thanks so much. Lesson here is if you don’t know what you’re doing, take it to a shop that does and listen to what they say and if it’s a good shop, replace what they tell you needs to be replaced. Again awesome video.
Great tip!
Do note, fully extended the damper. They tend to have dead spots after full extension. Also the damper absolutely has been an issue many times. They basically turn into a spring when bad. The big thing I see is customers, and a lot of techs don’t know the difference between death wobble, and a minor steering shimmy. The shimmy is almost always the damper, and Dosent occur when removed. The death wobble is almost never the damper
The Jeep we were working on in this video had a good stabilizer. When it was installed, the shimmy was less than when we took it out. Then we went through our checklist and were able to make the jeep drive solid, without a stabilizer installed.
In my opinion 4 degrees of caster is not enough, you will get a twitchy steering wheel. I find the perfect amount to be 6 degrees on a 3 inch lift.
Caster settings can vary pretty widely depending on the model and lift height. Some models seem to want less caster and some want more.
I'm at 8deg + on a 6" lift heavy diesel JT. The lift manufacturer wanted 6.5deg at 3.5" lift. A bit of tuning finds the right amount. It's not as much of a factor in death wobble. The JT and JL Wrangers are really sensitive to wheel balance. In addition, the front drag link and track bar as factory units wear very quickly with any amount of lift and offroading schedule. Just replace them with 1 Ton options. Mine were very loose at 9k miles.
@@iamblaineful yes, thank you for pointing out that sometimes a bit of tuning may be needed. Lift manufacturers do their due diligence to offer a good starting point for alignments, however, people set up their Jeeps in an infinite number of ways so it's impossible to say an exact number will work with all Jeeps.
Good video thank you!
@VeeScaliaDesigns You're welcome! Let us know if we can help you any further!
My TJ has never did this. 120k Good video, thanks!
@kcbroncohater Glad to hear! Thanks for watching!
Great video, that said, I would have liked you to repair/replace one item at a time ( starting with tire rotation) to see if one item was the cause of the death wobble. Understanding that it may have been more than one item.
Because we know that any looseness or imbalance can cause steering shimmy, we went ahead and fixed all known issues right away. But we agree, that would have been a fun test, if nothing else, to see what changes in the shimmy (severity, speed) based on each single change.
Fixed my 2011 Wrangler Sport ( 2" lift springs) with adjustable front lower control arms, measured the stock ones and added 1/4" - 3/8" to the adjustable ones.
@LetTheJourneyBegin Glad to hear it! Sometimes it's a just a simple adjustment that needs to be made.
Can you just use adjustable lowers and not change uppers? Ball joints and adjustable CAs are phase 2 if phase 1 (drag link, TREs, new tires and alignment) doesn’t work.
@@JP-eb3oz You can use adjustable lower control arms by themselves if you need to.
great walkthrough video new subscriber here now.
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful.
Had my jeep for 22 years. Death wobble was a issue about 10 years of owning it. Replaced all the bushing on the front end of the Jeep. Control arms etc... from rubber to polyurathane and not only did it fix the issue but I have not had death wobble since. 2001 TJ.
Glad to hear it. Bushings are often overlooked when troubleshooting death wobble.
At the very end of this video it showed death wobble in slow motion. It looked like the stock trackbar was bowing a little.
Good eye! Yes, we believe the stock track bar is way too weak. Once we replaced it with our track bar and 1-ton steering we noticed a much more solid, planted feeling in the whole Jeep.
Awesome video wish you were my mechanic. Dealerships don't want to put in the time to fix your issues
Sadly, you're right. A good offroad shop may be a better choice for suspension and steering problems like this.
I have used iron rock off-road products for Uber 5 years to defeat death wobble you can stabilize your steering box with their products you can stop your tie rod from flexing these products are top-notch and I would highly recommend for an XJ with death wobble the heavy duty solid steel tie rod.
@thedeathwobblechannel6539 Thank you!
I owned many jeeps from 70s till now I currently have a 21 Rubicon. I never had a death wobble in any of them. I left them stock, I had no problems getting where I wanted to go in stock form.
@egman5225 unfortunately we are seeing people with 100% stock Jeep JLs and JTs get death wobble. Some at less than 15k miles. The shortcomings of the OEMs are why the aftermarket exists. We strive to provide insight and innovate creative solutions to help our customers when the dealership can't find a solution. Hopefully your Jeep never gets death wobble, but if it does, we hope this video will help you solve it. If you ever need further help you can reach out to us at Iron Rock Off Road 952-210-7185 or email us at contactus@ironrockoffroad.com or tech@ironrockoffroad.com. We will be happy to help you out!
I had a serious Death Wobble in my 2021 Deisel JL. The wobble started at about 4,500 miles. We had to replace almost every major part in the front end before we got rid of the wobble. The only thing we didn't have to replace were the ball joints. I am at 27,000 miles now and still watch it closely in case it returns.
Glad you were able to get it taken care of! Good Job!
how much did it cost to replace the front parts?
It was all done on warranty. It took about 8 visits to get it right.@@quincy189
I learned something new about the PSI. I didn’t know that going about 40 is too high a pressure 😮
Glad we could help!
Great video. Question.. if i'm looking for a used wrangler. what's the best way to check for death wobble. Will it show up in a typical test drive.. Show up at a certain speed? Thanks so much. New subscriber !!
In your test drive, intentionally hit smaller bumps and/or potholes at differing speeds with both the left and right front tires at different times. This is not a sure fire way to get it to show up, but it certainly would bring out a bad case right away.
I have to say I must be lucky because death wobble on any of my Jeeps since I was in the Marines over 45 years ago has never been an issue for me. I live in N.E. Wisconsin and do a lot of back woods trail riding and rock climbing. Because of the Jarhead abuse I put my Jeeps through I am always under it and checking things out with a fine tooth comb. The 2005 TJ I have now has all new heavy duty steering parts that exceed factory by a long shot. Because I bought this Jeep used I replaced the 3 lnch junk lift kit with a top self 3 1/2 inch lift kit and shocks. Stuck a lot of Moola in it but you get what you pay for and it handles and drives awesome. Also there are tire pressure charts for over sized tires that gives you recommended tire pressure for the tire size you are running for Jeeps. I have 15/33.5-12.50 and I like 28 lbs. on the front and 24 lbs on the back. This gives me a good foot print and pretty even wear. Just my opinion and something for all you brothers and sisters that are Jeepers out there to keep in mind. All this I have said has worked for me for 45 years now and I Love My Jeeps! Thank You for the awesome video and it is all dead on the money and correct!!!! Do It Right The First Time.
@jeffreystutzman5031 Glad to hear a good report! You are right, good maintenance can go a long way in preventing death wobble. We agree on the tire pressure, every wheel/tire combo is different, find the perfect PSI for you.
What about them negative offset wheels with bigger, heavier tires in conjunction with the wheel spacers ..they push the wheels out and multiply the stress on the steering components, especially the tie rod and ends.
@MrTurbo64 you're absolutely right about the compounded stresses added with these types of additions. In many cases, it's a necessary compromise when the vehicle owner wants to run larger tires without clearance problems. The good thing is, we have developed steering systems with larger, and more heavy duty tie rod ends and linkages, that drastically improve longevity in those components in a higher stress environment. Many don't realize the facts you brought up and how they can affect other vehicle components. We are here to answer any questions you may have when doing your build.
Waldy's Off Road the best of modified Jeep Puerto Rico and USA
Waldy's Off Road need to be an Iron Rock dealer!
you guys are cool
@stevesjeep175 Thanks!
You know.... after analyzing the slow motion video, it makes me wonder if a change in engine/transmission mounts can mitigate the death wobble a bit. In any case, it is my firm belief that the wobble is entirely a resonant frequency thing like the Tacoma narrows bridge. Also like how a person's voice can literally shatter a wine glass. It sure seems like the engine/transmission is moving around at a frequency identical to the wheel wobble.
Having tight parts eliminates the wobble to disallow it from getting set into motion in the first place, but the "problem" is that the natural resonant vibration frequency still exists. In theory, the heavier steering parts alone can change that frequency resonance so that the wobble is less likely to happen.
What to do about it? I have no idea. I would like to see a mechanical engineer do a white paper on this phenomenon.
Also, the flex of the track bar seems to act as a spring that pushes the axle back exactly at the right frequency that matches the wobble. Simply beefing up that so it does not flex, and having stiffer rubber bushings / no rubber bushings can change that frequency resonance.
Hey Paul! We couldn't agree more that adding harder engine/transmission mounts would help reduce the resonance transmitted through the drivetrain. One drawback to that is the driving experience could be degraded because normal engine operation vibrations would be more easily transmitted to the driver's seat. And you're right about the flexing factory bar acting like a spring. We have had great success reducing and eliminating steering shimmy with our HD track bars, especially when using flex joint ends.
@@IronRockOffRoad I never found enjoyment in driving proverbial orbital sanders down the highway. My Jeep came with brown dog mounts and they are free to whoever wants them.
We could go on all day about what could possibly cause this wobble and what can be done to alleviate it. Even bump steer could theoretically be what sends the wobble into motion.
@@paulstandaert5709 Orbital sanders, lol, I like that! Not sure what I would hate worse, driving an orbital sander or intermittant Death Wobble......I mean if you had the choice to pick one or the other. DW is never the choice, but luckily, it can be fixed. 🙂
@@IronRockOffRoad So is replacing worn out parts a band-aide or a cure? The more I think about what might cause death wobble the more I suspect that it is likely to be an unbalance rotating mass. If that is the case then replacing worn parts, while necessary, is only a temporary solution.
I have a 95 series 80 Landcruiser 3” lift running 33” tires with close to 400,000 miles and have never had DW. However, bought a new jeep for my daughter…hence why I’m reading all your comments. I bought a new bronco for my other daughter…NO Problems 😮
@user-tr4cu1sn1e Glad to hear you haven't experienced Death Wobble on your Toyota. When it comes to Jeeps, we do our best to try and help when we can!
Great video...I have had a thrum in my 2019 JLUR since I drove it off the lot. Had it factory built and shipped so it did not have a chance to sit at all on the lot. Happens at around 60 - 66mph then go away at any other speeds. That thrum will change when it happens at certain speed ranges. It changes when I adjust the tire pressure up or down. Any ideas? The dealer has checked suspension and relaced the stabilizer just to do something but it did not work. They put on sahara tires and thrum was totally gone. I have the bfg ko2s stock size and all else is stock. I did have bfg replace the tires once and it still happend at different speed ranges at different pressures also so I think it's the tires. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
@mikeschmitt5273 We have heard of certain brands of tires being more prone to DW than others. Sometimes that's all it takes is just a different set of tires to fix the problem.
4 degrees of + caster is way too low, IMO. A slight toe out helps to mitigate DW. That's per the engineers at Steer Smarts. A sector shaft brace, like the one from Metalcloak, is highly recommended.
A common issue is that a steering stabilizer will mask DW until it's worn out from being overworked. As you mentioned in your process, a properly setup vehicle will drive with no DW with the stabilizer removed, but it's an easy and cheap bandaid for dealerships. Finally, or perhaps foremost, get a good torque wrench and go over everything when you get home from the dealership. Too many Jeeps are delivered with loose steering box bolts, loose Pitman arm nuts, loose control arm bolts, loose ball joints, and more. It's like they don't even own a torque wrench in Toledo. It's scary the stuff they let go.
Thanks for your feedback. Depending on the Jeep, lift height, and other accompanying modifications, a wide range of caster could be used. Reducing caster in most cases does reduce steering shimmy. We produced our death wobble checklist over 15 years ago, and have always maintained that a slight tow out can help with steering shimmy. If other manufacturers are agreeing, that solidifies our recommendation. We can't agree with you more about double checking torque on all your suspension and steering fasteners. That is good practice whether you are experiencing an issue or not. Especially 200-500 miles after an initial installation, and after any moderate to heavy or high speed off road driving.
What do you do when the death wobble is on a brand new Jeep like mine. I purchased a brand new 2019 Jeep JL Rubicon Unlimited It started to death wobble 2 weeks after I purchased it with less the 400 miles on it. It was so new that the dealer had no parts to fix it. After a month or so they put a new steering damper on it. It lasted maybe 2000 miles and death wobbled again, any way it is on it's 4th damper and the Jeep only has 16000 miles on it and starting to get that feeling again. Jeep refuses to replace the aluminum steering box because they claim it's not the problem. I have a Jeep that I don't trust and one my wife refuses to drive and no help from Jeep. I have a 7 year 70K bumper to bumper warranty which does no good if they can't fix the death wobble. I feel that I shouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars to repair a Jeep that was not right from the factory. But I will end up taking it the shorts to sell or trade it. Next vehicle will be a Toyota 4Runner TRD pro.
It's unfortunate many dealers are incompetent what it comes to suspension and steering diagnosis and repair. However many dealers have excellent technicians who are very knowledgeable and able to help you. Stand your your ground when you bring it in, stating that the condition recurs even after multiple attempts at throwing a steering stabilizer at it. Our guess is that some other loose/worn/improperly adjusted or balanced part(s) are attributing to the problem, and prematurely overstressing your stabilizer to the point of failure. Insist that they watch this video and complete the tests within our steering shimmy checklist: www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf
How about caster indexing washers? I didn’t want to shell out a bunch of money for adjustable control arms just yet. Hard to find anything about adjusting caster with indexing washers and I just got mine in today and would love some pointers!
@umustbbornagainActs2-38 caster indexing washers can also work to get your Jeep the adjustment you want. Thanks for calling them out. We sell some for other Jeep models, but not for the JL/JT.
Dang I want to take my Jeep to you guys. I have taken it to three different shops and it kinda gos away but after a month or two it’s back. I have a 3 1/2 inch lift running 35 inch tires. And now I need to replace my front drive shaft.
We know what you're going through. Good help is hard to find! Reach out to your local Jeep group for a reputable shop in your area. If you can, take a look at our Death Wobble Checklist and see how your Jeep stacks up. Or, if you can find a good shop, have them go through the Death Wobble Checklist. Let us know if we can help!
www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf
My 2 jeep/1Glladiator/1Wrangler SS using Falcon stearing stabilizer an no problem on any speed. Is running 55 to 102 miles por hour constantly any days.
@gabrielnazario3581 Glad to hear you haven't experienced Death Wobble!
Solution: Tighten every single nut and bolt possible down there to spec.
@BlackJeepConvertible That is a good place to start but there are many things that contribute to Death Wobble.
Your tires look like slicks homie
@justinneedham1791 Agreed! We told the customer to get new tires and he did right after this video.
I used to have a 2007 jeep JK. Chased down a death wobble for months. It ended up being the passenger side lower ball joint. Did the 12 to 6 oclock test with hands nothing. But then I stuck a long shovel underneath tire and pryed upward there was like 3mm of play. Replaced it. Wobble went away.
@tribulation138 Great to hear a success story!
Bought a 2012 jk already lifted, looks like it has flipped steering, one tie rod drops in from the top, dont know the brand.do you have replcement part?
@Ron-jj3lt We can probably help with your steering. Give us a call or shoot us an email so we can see what you are working with. 952-210-7185 or tech@ironrockoffroad.com
Come on people, it's a simple toe adjustment.
It's very touchy, but you can always dial it out.
If your toed in at all, thats your problem.
Turn your toe slightly out and try it.
Keep doing it until the death wobble stops.
It's that easy.
Tires with big footprints can fight to go the same direction.
They'll actually load up (bend the sidewall) if their not pointing in the same direction, and either slip , or load and skip. Aka, deathwobble.
Camber angle affects tracking if the tires footprint isn't parallel to the axle.
That being said, crown of the road affects actual camber, or footprint angle.
So a slight road crown will make your front tires track towards each other.
That being said, a slight toe out usually makes them track together.
You cant measure, it's too touchy.
You just have to toe it out slightly at a time till you find it.
A hair too far and it'll come back.
You can hide it by throwing parts at it but thats not the root.
It should run straight with loose stuff.
Mike, while we agree that toe out of spec can be a cause of DW, it most certainly is not the only cause. If anything is loose, you MUST tighten it. If anything is work out, you MUST replace it. If anything is improperly adjusted, you MUST adjust to correct. If your tires are out of balance, you MUST balance them dynamically.
I see a fellow iowan 🤙🤙🤙
Stabilizer shocks are a must 😎😎😎😎
If you have everything setup properly then you don't even need them
@BeersAndBeatsPDX Steering stabilizers are an important piece of any steering system. Do they fix death wobble? That isn't their true purpose. Check out our video on stabilizers. ruclips.net/video/2giiC8Oruh8/видео.htmlsi=CNZDYS9S6PtERC8A
There’s no way you’re the same dude I’ve been watching for years lol
Scratch that yes you are
It depends how long you've been watching!
I am new to the Jeep thing. Is the death wobble mostly a problem when you have big tires like the one in the video?
It seems to be far more common in modified vehicles, but it can happen on completely stock vehicles as well.
New tires dude ,it fixed my prob
In many cases we find this to the the culprit as well.
None of the manufacturers put stiff enough track bar, drag link and tie rods in live axle vehicles. Replace all three with heavy duty components and you don't need a steering stabilizer. Stabilizers just mask the problems until they get to a point where the problems are too big to mask.
The steering stabilizer still is an important part of your steering system. We agree, most people don't understand what the steering stabilizer is for and assume it is the fix. Check out our video on steering stabilizers:
ruclips.net/video/2giiC8Oruh8/видео.html
I own a 2008 Jeep Wrangler and it had a death wobble when I purchased it after changing the tires and having them rebalance the death wobble went away and haven't had it since been almost 5 years
Sometimes the simple fix is all that is needed. I'm glad you didn't end up throwing a bunch of parts and money at the problem.
I'm having troubles finding a worthy alignment shop here in El paso Texas. I'm not finding many trustworthy places to get stuff done
That is a common story that we hear from our customers. That is part of the reason we developed our toe alignment tools. The alignment tools are cheaper than a professional alignment job and that is usually the only thing a professional alignment shop will adjust on a Jeep.
www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/wheel-alignment-tool.html
@IronRockOffRoad i spoke with 4 wheel parts and they said they can do an "adjust everything adjustable alignment" for 300 something bucks. Seeing how that's a ton of work it might be worth it but it dang sure better be right on the money whenb they are done
@autotek7930 yes, it is more work than a factory alignment, so it will typically cost more to have a shop do it. But you're right, that's a good chunk of change, so hold them to making sure it's right.
Another thing to point out that death wobble is an oscillation and generally happens when bigger wheels and tires are installed. More unsprung mass that a lot of the cheap shocks cant cope with. Ive seen good shocks like a bilstien completely remove death wobble. Many different things cause it i guess.
@440capnhook It is true, Death Wobble can be caused by a lot of different things.
I have found its better to make a single change then test drive. Then make another. If you change everything at once and nothing changes, what didn't work?
We like that approach as well, especially if you're doing the work yourself. However, many shops will do their best to idenitfy all problems at once, and that's not a bad approach when you're paying them to do the work, because diagnostic (test drives) can take a lot of time that you're paying for.
What about the TPMS? If i reduce the tire pressure to low on my Jeep i get a Low Tire Pressure warning on the dash.
There is a threshhold (I think it's 32psi?? - please correct me TPMS experts 🙂) if you stay above the dash light will remain off. If you go below that, you will have to reset them by going back up to a certain pressure (37psi?? again please correct me if I'm wrong). Alternatively, there are products on the market that can turn that light off permanently if you are wanting to run a lower pressure or if you decided you don't want to use TPMS sensors. I use the zautomotive.com Tazer. It has a lot of great features for the price.
Just bought my first Jeep the other day and it’s a 2023 Gladiator Rubicon. Can this death wobble happen on a completely stock Jeep?
@pjfan173 Unfortunately, yes. We have seen this happen on completely stock Jeeps. If you have any problem with yours, we will be glad to help. Give us a call and talk to a real person! 952-210-7185 or sent us an email tech@ironrockoffroad.com
@@IronRockOffRoad I appreciate the response. It’ll most likely never go off-road, because I’ve mainly bought it to take the grandkids for rides in the summer with the roof off. I’m going to go with 35-11.50R17 Falken tires. Can you suggest a say 2” lift or leveling kit. I want to use the OEM shocks.
@@pjfan173 Absolutely! We offer an affordable 2" lift kit that will keep your OEM shocks. Made in the USA! www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/Gladiator-2-lift-kit.html
@@pjfan173 Don't worry about never going off road! These Jeeps are super cool no matter where they go! To be honest, a lot of Jeeps see 99% road and go off road once a year.
Is a crotch rocket similar? Mine gets a horrible wobble around 185 mph
@granitecolorado I thought death wobble was bad at 55mph, I can't imagine death wobble at 185 mph! be careful out there!
Can you please write in a comment what parts you installed, and where you got them. Thx
@kolob316 We installed our JL/JT 1-Ton steering kit and a new solid track bar with Flex Joints.
1-Ton Steering:
www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/jljt-rubicon-1-ton-steering-kit.html
Track Bar:
www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/jljt-front-adjustable-track-bar-kit.html
Thx so much! Can you describe the parts so that I can order them for my 2018 JL wrangler unlimited sport?
@@kolob316 Please click on the links provided above to read the product descriptions 🙂
my jeep has had the death wobble since i purchased it from new..so what does that mean? any help out there?
@nickylowe4381 That's crazy! I would go through the death wobble checklist and see what you find. Afterward I would take your Jeep to a trusted shop and let them go through the same checklist and compare your results. If you still need help, give us a call! You will talk to a real person, and we'll help you get it figured out! 952-210-7185
Death Wobble Checklist:
www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf
Whoah that opening part of the video! My jk has a slight vibration at 60 mph every time accelerating or decelerating when it passes that speed. Nothing even close to this video though.
@thomastrain7311 Yes, this JL is one of the worst cases we have ever seen! The change was night and day different at the end, though! No steering stabilizer and solid as a rock at any speed. We made sure to reinstall the stabilizer before sending it out though.
Toe in more add good stablizer
@timsimerson5629 Death wobble can stem from many areas. We found that just a small amount of toe out can help.
The first thing you need to do is scrap those tires before you get busted for driving with bald tires. I'll bet the death wobble will be eliminated or greatly reduced. If not, check all the suspension parts like you did in the video. Replace the track bar bushings even if they show no signs of wear. They're cheap and easy to replace. Buy Moog suspension parts. They're the best. One thing that mechanics fail to inspect is if the steering gear box is bolted tight to the frame. I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that had a serious death wobble. I replaced all the worn parts and replaced the track bar busings. It helped but did not eliminate the death wobble. I put the Jeep on ramps and had my son turn the steering wheel side to side. The suspension needs to be loaded in order to perform a proper suspension wear check. I heard a clunking noise, which came from the steering gear box being loose on the frame. I removed one bolt at a time from the gear box, cleaned it , lubed it with grease, then torqued it to 80 ft/lbs. Jeep uses a thread locker on their bolts that is extremely strong. Those bolts were tough to get out. If you check them for being tight, the thread locker will fool you into thinking they are tight, that's why you should remove them, clean them up, add lube, and re-torque to the manufacturer specs, minus 10% to allow for a lubed fastener. The death wobble completely disappeared and has never returned. It's been about 75,000 miles ago since I did this.
@dingznthingz We agree, the tires needed to be replaced. We recommended new tires to the owner and he replaced them. BUT we were able to eliminate the Death Wobble with these tires. We're glad to hear you performed your own Steering Shimmy Test to find your Death Wobble cause!
How is it this is a huge problem with jeeps but hardly heard of with other vehicles?
Jeeps are FAR more popular as far as modifications go. Many modifications change the geometry of the suspension and steering, and if those things are not addressed appropriately, driveability problems become more common. Not to mention, there are not many other vehicles with solid front axles anymore.
I would always remove the steering stabilizer when testing to see if I had in fact removed the death wobble.
@arlendavis That can be very dangerous. Use caution if you decide to do so. We have seen DW get MUCH worse with the steering stabilizer removed.
I need to take my jeep to you guys to fix my death wobble
@ZjOverlander Come on over to Minnesota, we'll give you a hand! We would love to help every Jeep owner across the globe, that's why we put everything we could think of into this video. Print out our Death Wobble checklist and work your way through it. Afterwards give us a call and let us know how it went. We'll be happy to help!
www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf
In Australia 40psi in standard on a large 4wd
@user-zh9qc4oe2o The tire pressure can vary depending on the load range of the tire and the weight of the vehicle it is installed onto.
That beginning video looks like the engine and transmission mounts are loose or broke.
On another note I had jeep maxed big tires massive lift etc. Jeep next to me on the interstate and he drifted into my lane trying to stop the wobble. I due have issues with
"Mall Terrain" vehicles and the safety of other people when owners are irresponsible.
@markcollins457 Death Wobble can be very unsafe. Glad to hear there wasn't a serious accident!
mine was trac bar and control arms. rubber was worn. put poly in.
@azthundercloud Good to hear!
I had a 1965 cj 5 Jeep that had death wobble. Replaced the steering with one long bar and one short and problem went away!
@robertmiller1916 Good to hear!
As 4Runner owner I’ve always heard of Jeep death wobble but wow never knew it was that bad , I thought it was just a steering wheel shake .
@dsaltlife2925 It can be dangerous, but we do our best to help people solve it.
Don't you need to have the vehicle on its own weight when adjusting the alignment?
Good eye Jarred, yes, the most accurate alignment measurements would be done under the full weight of the vehicle. We should have mentioned that in the video. Thank you!
@@IronRockOffRoad you're welcome. I just wanted to make while I'm working on this death wobble on this 2012, that I get the most accurate. However with them having straight axles and not independent suspension like most other vehicles, it probably won't make too big of a difference. But obviously obviously it's best lol
In the last clip it looked like the differential vent tube wasn't hooked up to the differential. No Buenos for the gears
Good eye. We noticed that when it came in. Maybe it shook itself loose? We checked the fluid and made sure it was hooked up before it went back to our customer.
Be aware im NOT an expert but this is not some witchcraft.
I see this car has wheel spacers.. after checking everything in the front suspension try test drive the car without them, and a other set of tires if possible.
Running much negative offset on the tires make the steering very sensitive to unbalance in wheels and worn out parts.
Lift the car up and lower it to rest on it's axles on a WERY sturdy pile of wooden blocks.
Start the car and run it up to speed at least to the speed where the wobble exist.
At the same time watch the tires for vibration, not being circular, not warped etc..
Then you wil really find out if you have a set of balanced tires on exactly YOUR car with that set, maybe your spacers are badly machined etc.
Wide rims and spacers that give mutch negative wheel offset witch mess up your scrub radius that is known for causing wobble issues.
What i been told is lower your caster close to the minimum spec and the toe in close to the lower specs from the car manufacturer if you run tires with very negative offset.
Of course upgrading the steering system will also help like it's done in this video.
If you really want the wide look and tires outside the fenders the best option is to upgrade to a wider axle but that is obviously not a cheap route..
@jada1173 👍
I'm not sure i agree with you on the tire PSI the PSI on the door label is for the factory tires and each tire size and manufacturer has there PSI raiding IF you install a larger tire that requires a certain PSI for that tire and you under flight or over Will void the warranty I always go by the tire But i could be wrong
@deandye3255 The tire pressure can vary depending on the load range of the tire and the weight of the vehicle it is installed onto.
Dealing with this on my girlfriends 2015 Wrangler with a small lift the aftermarket Pitman arm is actually wallowed out at the splines, the wobble got severe enough to bind up the aftermarket dual steering stabilizer and dent the stabilizer bodies and also noticed that the tires have broken belts in them, I’ll be fixing all of this and correcting the alignment we run auto repair business and I fix a lot of stuff like this I will say this I don’t care what wheel weights are on your setup almost every single time I’ve taken somebody else’s balance job and put it on our machine it is shown to be off so don’t take having weights on your wheels as a sign that they are balanced correctly fyi
@DSRE535 Good advice on the wheel weights! At a minimum we recommend dynamically balancing your tires. What type of balancing do you do at your auto repair business?
@@IronRockOffRoad thanks, i dynamically balance everything using our Hunter tire balancer, which I can also do centering checks to make sure you don’t have any bent wheels as well, this is a nice feature to have especially when you have something with Bigger Tires!
@@IronRockOffRoad also something to watch out for is putting 10 ply LT truck tires tires designed for big heavy diesel pick ups 3/4 ton + Is probably not the greatest idea for something you’re driving on the street 95% of the time not only are they way heavier and harder on Parts but I can make a vehicle really ride like a rock it’s just something to keep an eye out for you to think about when you’re modifying these rigs, because most of the aftermarket tires in the common off-road sizes are E-load range
I've been driving 4x4s for years. Never once had a wobble. I don't know anyone who has experienced it. Do you not take your vehicles in for repairs? I've broken a few steering boxes but never had a wobble.
@grimacres It happens to new vehicles and old ones too. If you ever have a problem with Death Wobble we'll be here to help you solve it!
Key point.. “dial in “ or adjusted ..
just throwing new parts at it…
And not knowing how to adjust
Or dial it in.. can be frustrating
It can be frustrating, no doubt. Not knowing how is not the end of the world though. Even 4x4 shops and alignment techs can benefit from the info in this video and from using our steering shimmy checklist.
Wow. Known issue, I guess this is one of them jeep things! LOL 😂
@danelhouseofel7634 We don't judge. If you have a problem with your vehicle, we'll try our best to help you make it right!
It's fine, it's a jeep thing. All jeep owners love that.
@scottfirman If you have a problem with your vehicle, we'll try our best to help you make it right!
It's actually sad brand new vehicles still get the death wobble under 20k, 40 years of death wobble. And technology to correct it. But choose not to. 😊pile of garbage costs 30-100k I had an 04 dodge that had the death wobble replaced every single part on the front end stabilizers, shocks, control arms track bar ect ect. After 3 years of driving it started again. So I figured if I made an axle truss and completely changed the geometry and configuration of the control arms to eliminate alot of lateral movement, eliminating the track bar all together. Best thing I ever did to that pile of dodge, My dad couldn't believe the ride going 75 mph on a wash board dirt road. drove like a Cadillac. Unfortunately my physcotic ex ripped the doors off the hinges,
@lennyjohnson1585 Wow!
Man jeeps are so great 😂
@komando8365 I know right?! We do our best to try and help when we can!
Just fixed mine, the control arm needs to be replaced. Did that no more death wobble
Glad to hear it's fixed!
it had to do with the mass of the tires. add the lift and drop brackets and the improper caster settings. yep you think you can take an unstable utility vehicle at best then re engineer it and then drive faster then 45 mph what can go wrong. ive had every imaginable lifted truck. tires up to 42 inches tall.... never ever has one felt safe to operate on the road faster then 45 mph. never not a 5k junker not a 50k custom build. one domain or the other do not waste your money like the rest of us did. its a money pit to daily a rock crawler and expect not to pay a heavy price in parts and time.
@ivanyurkinov It is possible to daily a lifted Jeep with big tires and feel confident and comfortable with no death wobble.
I've seen eight videos so far about death wobble. It almost every one of them was the track bar.
That's a very common cause, but only one of many!
90% of the time the trac bar is the problem, but a shop that sells heavy duty steering components isn't going to tell you that.
lol that was me in my jeep jk i was blasting my music going down the high way,then bam full on death wobble all most crashed lol a mess
@waynec17 WOW! I'm glad you are ok!
Крутая вещь! Сам ловил.
@user-nl2fk9le1b Great! 👍
Careful. It might loosen ya moose. LOL
@zdavidzz I've got a moose joke. Never mind, you've probably already herd it!
Hurts like hell getting that long hair caught in creeper wheels. It happens to me all the time.
@timetraverler1709 Haha! Gotta be careful! Looking like a rock star comes at a cost sometimes!
Jeep has multiple car models on the least reliable car list. The answer to fixing the death wobble is to not buy a POS Jeep in the first place. I would know, I own one.
We can understand this type of reaction. However, death wobble, while being fairly common, does not happen to every Jeep. When it does happen, it's fixable. What I like about Jeeps is their out of the box capability is second to none, and with some upgrades, they can become nearly unstoppable. For me, the fun factor outweighs having to do some maintenace or repair after a hard wheeling trip.
JUST ADD A STIFFENING MEMBER JUST BEHIND RADIATOR FROM ONE SIDE OF SHAZY OR UNITARY BODY TO THE OTHER ..2" WATERPIPE OR EQUALIENT DOES THE JOB,SO YOU HAVE TO STIFFEN THE FRONT END ..SHOULD FIX THE WOBBLE. CHECKING YOUR ALIGNMENT..
@MichaelLovric-wu4mv Interesting idea. I would love to see how you do it.
I have a 22’ 2dr base sport with less than 20k miles No mods and it has death wobble :/
@user-lr3oi2yi7f Sorry to hear that. It is fixable! Try our Death Wobble Checklist: www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/DeathWobbleChecklist.pdf
Solve forever by converting to leaf springs.
That's not always the case. There are leaf sprung trucks with death wobble.