dcramer67 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I am getting really bad death wobble, but it is only happening around 25-30 mph after I hit a pothole or large bump in the road. What would be causing it to happen only after an impact like that? 1987 MJ, 4.0 Automatic, 91 or 92 HO 4x4 Swap, SYE, C8.25 SOA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marine1Texas Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 first go check your tire balance, it is the easiest and cheapest thing to start on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Any recent suspension changes? If you've got a lift, toss up some pictures of it. Death wobble is a vibration that gets transmitted from one wheel to the other, and could be triggered by anything. Tire balance is an easy one, which you could even check by rotating the tires, but wouldn't be hugely significant at only 30mph. Poor-quality lifts, or even decent quality components with poor geometry are also common culprits. Worn bushings or other worn or bent/broken suspension or steering components could be triggering it as well. Everyone has a different answer, because there are so many things that could trigger it, and it could even be a combination of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Trackbar bushing at either end is my guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tj1 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Trackbar bushing at either end is my guess.X2Also the tires, my mickeys were terrible and caused DW at low speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big66440 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 You can find TONS of info on the cause and even how to fix it using Google and Youtube, it can be a single component or a combination of things causing it ( I agree with the above posts and start with inspecting the trackbar) good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcramer67 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Does anyone see anything wrong that sticks out? 1987 MJ, 4.0 Automatic, 91 or 92 HO 4x4 Swap, SYE, C8.25 SOA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComancheKid45 Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Holy sway bar drop.... idk something is screwy with that steering setup imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 As far as I can see, the steering geometry is AFU. It looks like that goofy drag link needs to drop down at least a couple of inches on the frame end. And the sway bar ends are nearly vertical when they should only be ~20 degrees above horizontal. Might be causing binding. Have you tried disconnecting the sway bar and driving in over a pot hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Could be just the picture but the passenger side coil has a good hint. The curl to that spring suggests the caster is out, and looking at the pictures makes the knuckle appear to be "straight up". The upper balljoint should be slightly behind the lower if you were to draw a level line from bottom to top. Typically you want between 5 and 7 degrees of caster angle there. Looks closer to zero. Did you make sure the lowers are equal lengths on those long arms? Is the Crossmember tight? As mentioned the drag link and Trac bar at at the wrong angles in relation to each other (draw a straight line between each mount end and compare). Usually not a cause of DW ... But Wil cause bumpsteer and when mixed with poor caster ... What is you Toe-in set to? If it's in too much ... DW especially when other issues are present. This is not an "it's this" kind of problem. Death Wobble, true Death Wobble, is the result of several issues in harmonic, the experience usually starts as a "wiggle" which then shifts into "holy $#*+ mode as it kicks it up a notch and you think you and the cars around you are about to stain the highway red. I've driven with a bad Tracbar before (3/8" of play) and other than some slow steering input response nothing was wrong ... because everything else was still good. Not saying it's not the Tracbar by any means, I AM saying it's more than just that one thing. It can be caused by worn out steering linkage (what shape are this heims in?), or worn balljoint, or a bad bearing, or worn bushings (the uppers cause the most issue there, the lowers are more forgiving). A bad tire can set it off, usually the swaybar isn't an issue, but stranger things have happened (as mentioned above with that drop and the angle it may be exacerbating the problem and helping to create the harmonic. Those sway links are pretty long, you can likely lose the swaybar drops and bring that back closer to normal range again. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Now I remember why you added the drops, they sway was rubbing the coils, you may need to move the location of the sway bar then. But given the coils look bowed I would recheck the suspension geometry and then go back to the swaybar. I relocated my sway bar on my XJ about 6" forward (it actually mounts off the front bumper mounts now). Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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