7:42 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline
I need some insight and experience to weigh in on an issue I am dealing with on my jeep.
For those that don't know, I am running a 2014 JK with UD60s and 40" Mickey Thompson tires with upgraded tie rod, drag link and PSC Big Bore Steering box.
Ever since I had to pull Jeff out of Barrett, I have been fighting a small shimmy in my front end between 40-50mph. Initially on the ride home from Barrett, I had two episodes of death wobble down Hazel. I checked everything under my rig. I checked tire pressure and had a realignment and put a crappy new steering stabilizer on the front end.
Everything has seemed fine for a little while. until recently I had death wobble again. I noticed my steering stabilizer is thrashed. I was having major cupping on my front tires also. I decided to have my tires rebalanced and rotated. That made the wobble even worse...
So now I can't seem to figure it out. I am taking my jeep to a shop after having another shop look at it and they wanted to start throwing parts at the jeep. Replace all tie rod and drag link ends and then if that doesn't fix it buy new tires. But then what if that doesn't fix it?
The new shop wants to start by putting a fox ATS steering stabilizer on it for $450.
I am becoming frustrated as this jeep is my daily driver and death wobble is miserable. I think my tires are crappy. They have nearly 40K miles on them and I'd like to switch to a smother tire. I also don't want to spend $1700 on tires to still have the same problem. I know if I put hydraulic assist on that it will make my issue go away. But I also don't want to mask a potential issue. What would you guys do?
P.S. death wobble is hit and miss. It seems as though a smooth road is a non issue. If I'm in the 40-50mph range and I stay there or make a sweeping turn, that is when the wobble will start. If I throttle through to 50+ it is not a problem.
Um...what?
8:59 am
Club Member
March 5, 2015
Offline First of all if you’re Dana 60 has king pins make sure they are good in shape and check the spring that tensions them is not wore out and the second thing I would check is the actual U joints on your axle shafts I had that happen on a pick up truck of mine they had basically rusted up and we’re not Rotating when I was turning the steering wheel so they would bind up and give me the wobble good luck friend
9:10 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline No king pins, they are ball joints. I had the ball joints checked and they are good. I'm pretty positive it's not the ujoints. They are disconnect with my manual hubs on the front end.
Um...what?
9:17 am
Club Member
March 5, 2015
Offline I also had manual locking hubs and they were in the unlocked position and I was still having that trouble because the U joint Hass to rotate in order for the knuckle to be able to turn freely
9:50 am
Club Member
July 14, 2016
Offline Why don't you get someone to let you put their tires and wheels on it and take it for a test drive to confirm or rule out tires and wheel as the cause?
10:05 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline Jeff_R said
Why don't you get someone to let you put their tires and wheels on it and take it for a test drive to confirm or rule out tires and wheel as the cause?
I thought about that. I need a friend with 8 lugs. I was hoping this new shop I am scheduled for might have some tires I can try. I feel confident it is the tires, but not confident to buy some. LOL.
Um...what?
5:03 pm
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline Just say "No" to the fancy steering stabilizer. If properly aligned, your Jeep shouldn't even need a steering stabilizer.
Bad tires causes speed wobble, not death wobble. Death wobble always comes down to one of two things... Bad geometry or worn parts.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
5:49 pm
July 14, 2016
Offline Gregulator said
thought about that. I need a friend with 8 lugs. I was hoping this new shop I am scheduled for might have some tires I can try. I feel confident it is the tires, but not confident to buy some. LOL.
I got near new stt pros on my truck if you want to try them on your Jeep 8 lug
3:51 pm
Club President
April 2, 2003
Offline Don’t waste money on band aids. You likely have simply a bad bushing or joint. Find a friend (the most difficult part).
Sit them in the driver seat, start the jeep and slowly turn left to right and back again. You sit in front of the jeep and look at every front end bushing and joint. You will find play, and you just replace the bad bushings. That will fix your problem. And I’ve had bump steer in 3 of my jeeps previously.
‘Good luck!
8:16 pm
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline Mike G said
Gregulator said
thought about that. I need a friend with 8 lugs. I was hoping this new shop I am scheduled for might have some tires I can try. I feel confident it is the tires, but not confident to buy some. LOL.
I got near new stt pros on my truck if you want to try them on your Jeep 8 lug
Thanks Mike, I’ll let you know if I end up trying the tire route.
BKGM Jeepers said
Don’t waste money on band aids. You likely have simply a bad bushing or joint. Find a friend (the most difficult part).Sit them in the driver seat, start the jeep and slowly turn left to right and back again. You sit in front of the jeep and look at every front end bushing and joint. You will find play, and you just replace the bad bushings. That will fix your problem. And I’ve had bump steer in 3 of my jeeps previously.
‘Good luck!
That’s what I’ve been trying to do. Had a friend help today. It might be a tie rod end but I ran out of time.
JohnDF said
Just say "No" to the fancy steering stabilizer. If properly aligned, your Jeep shouldn't even need a steering stabilizer.Bad tires causes speed wobble, not death wobble. Death wobble always comes down to one of two things... Bad geometry or worn parts.
I don’t like the idea of the expensive bandaid.
Um...what?
7:52 am
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline I agree that you likely have a bushing or joint loose somewhere in the system and worn tires are exacerbating the issue and letting the wobble start easily. Check the torque on all the control arm bolts and pull the track bar out to check the ends. Steering linkage would be secondary place to look
12:24 am
April 23, 2012
Offline I had an issue with an inconsistent death wobble at the 40-50mph range - after looking forever, changing out some bushings, loosening and tightening bolts, adjusting the toe a dozen times it ended up being the caster. I rolled the axel a bit and solved the issue.
7:26 am
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline scoped said
I had an issue with an inconsistent death wobble at the 40-50mph range - after looking forever, changing out some bushings, loosening and tightening bolts, adjusting the toe a dozen times it ended up being the caster. I rolled the axel a bit and solved the issue.
I had a very smart repair guy once tell me, "Death Wobble is ALWAYS caused by caster!"
I used to wheel a lot. . .
9:33 am
Club Member
February 26, 2014
Offline When I had this problem I did the rebalance tire, wheel alignment, replace tire thing. And after all that it ended up being a loose track bar mounting bolt.
7:15 pm
Club Member
January 20, 2009
Offline Probably not the issue, but check your caliper bolts. I lost one of the smaller ones on mine.
8:13 am
July 12, 2017
Offline Agree, you probably have a loose bolt/joint/end somewhere that is worn out. DD'ing 40s takes a toll on rod ends. You probably havent had them replaced since you did the axle, right?
Let me know if you need a buddy... you can bring it over to Loomis on a weekend that Jimmy and I are there and we can play around with all your bolts/joints/ends 🙂
7:48 pm
July 14, 2016
Offline Tyler - K6TLR said
Let me know if you need a buddy... you can bring it over to Loomis on a weekend that Jimmy and I are there and we can play around with all your bolts/joints/ends 🙂
Your in Loomis on the weekends and you haven't make the 2 mile trek up to my place and checked out my new rig....
6:08 am
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline Loomis is where all the cool kids hang out.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
6:18 am
Club Member
July 14, 2016
Offline JohnDF said
Loomis is where all the cool kids hang out.
I though they hung out in Cool. 
Just shows what I know.
7:02 am
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline Jeff_R said
JohnDF said
Loomis is where all the cool kids hang out.
I though they hung out in Cool.
Could be true... I don't know much either.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
8:03 pm
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline Well, I had Cloakworks check it out for me. The said I have a loose ball joint and my PSC Big Bore Box sector shaft has a small amount of play. They said all my joints were good and suspension felt tight.
They suggested moving to hydro assist with daily driving 40s. They said they would replace the ball joints later when more than one starts to have play.
Um...what?
8:48 pm
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline 40s do wear stuff out quickly.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
10:53 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline I think my tires are playing a factor as well. I may need to host a beadlock uninstall/install party. Any interest?
Um...what?
7:08 pm
July 14, 2016
Offline Gregulator said
I think my tires are playing a factor as well. I may need to host a beadlock uninstall/install party. Any interest?
I'd be glad to help as long as I can bring my 5 over as well and we can spend the whole day doing them all...
No but really I have 5 new tires and rebuilt beadlocks that need to be done too
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