desertmike Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Death wobble is pretty much a common thing with me. Sometimes its there and sometimes not. Some minor, some severe. Change this, change that, balance tires, new tires etc. Everything helps but nothing seems to cure it. My steering stabilizer has been there for 15 to 20 years. Its an Rancho 5401 kit. I took the shock out to do some work and noticed that the bolt was sloppy inside the sleeve. The first pic shows the bolt inside the sleeve. Not a good fit. Its hard to see but the second pic shows that the sleeve is oblong. This is the sleeve that came originally with it. The new shock came with 3 different size sleeves. With bad fit of the bolt/sleeve and the banging of death wobble it made the sleeve oblong. Haven't put the new shock on yet but will update. Also installing new ZJ tie rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 14 minutes ago, desertmike said: Death wobble is pretty much a common thing with me. Sometimes its there and sometimes not. Some minor, some severe. There is no such thing as "minor" death wobble. If it's minor, it's not death wobble. Death wobble is so named because, when it strikes, you aren't afraid you'll die any minute -- you KNOW you're going to die RIGHT NOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmike Posted April 23, 2019 Author Share Posted April 23, 2019 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Also, steering stabilizers only mask potential problems/death wobble. I'm not recommending anybody to run without one, especially on a daily driven MJ but personally I havent had one on mine for years and have zero shaking/death wobble issues. 80mph on high way, hitting pot holes, etc. Nothing, smooth as glass. Edit: I should mention hitting puddles at speed without a stabilizer is the only issue I've encountered, but it is a BIG issue. Puddles should be avoided at all costs. They can jerk the wheel clean out of your hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 2 hours ago, Eagle said: There is no such thing as "minor" death wobble. If it's minor, it's not death wobble. Death wobble is so named because, when it strikes, you aren't afraid you'll die any minute -- you KNOW you're going to die RIGHT NOW! This. If you've crapped your pants, then once you get it stopped you just pull over and cry for a while, it's death wobble. If not, it's just a shake. 2 hours ago, ftpiercecracker1 said: Edit: I should mention hitting puddles at speed without a stabilizer is the only issue I've encountered, but it is a BIG issue. Puddles should be avoided at all costs. They can jerk the wheel clean out of your hand. Shouldn't matter that much. Probably has more to do with whatever tires you are running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Deep puddles on one side of the vehicle (or puddles that are deeper on one side than the other) will pull hard because suddenly your pushing through a substance that's over 700 times more dense with significantly more drag. Wider tires have more surface area getting hit by water which exaggerates the effect. Any vehicle hitting a puddle at speed will pull hard in the direction of the deeper part of the puddle. As for steering dampers, they exist to reduce oscillations. Death wobble is an oscillation that hits resonance. Oscillations (or vibrations) can be caused by anything... loose or worn pivot points, poor steering geometry, tire balance... all it takes is vibration at the wrong frequency. The steering damper prevents the vibration from resonating. Now clearly if the triggering vibration is severe enough it'll overwhelm the damper, (probably blow it out, TBH) and do its thing anyhow, but that doesn't mean it's not helping to stop small vibrations due to road surface or whatever that you would otherwise ignore from resonating and causing death wobble. And sloppy mounting points basically turn it useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 4 hours ago, desertmike said: lol No, there's no "lol" about it. Either you had death wobble or you didn't, and from your description it sounds like you didn't. There is no "minor" death wobble. Back a decade or so on the NAXJA forum, somebody complained about having his XJ at "the verge of death wobble." The responses he got were the same as the responses you are getting. Death wobble either is ... or it isn't. When it is, it IS. There's no "minor." Death wobble is when the truck is shaking so badly you think the front end will fall off and your teeth will fall out, you don't know if you can even keep it on the road, and the only way to stop it is to slow down either to a complete stop or very nearly to a complete stop ... like around 5 MPH or less. Sorry to make a big deal about it, but diagnosing death wobble is more complicated than diagnosing a minor shimmy. Since you have come here looking for help, it's important for us to properly understand the problem or we'll be handing out advice by the shovelful that may not apply to your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Again, see what Eagle said. Because it is spot on. If you're not scared you're about to die, it is not death wobble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Fellas, there is such a thing as minor death wobble. If you have been around these turds long enough you can feel the DW coming on. It will start as a pretty decent shake in the steering wheel. Not a shimmy, a pronounced shake. If you are fast enough you can stab the brakes to stop it and take the vehicle out of the vibration zone that is bringing on the wobble. Yes it can strike with little to no warning. With my LJ and WJ I could tell when it was coming. I fought them for so long I just learned not to induce it totally. Mike has probably nursed his rig home from the desert 1000X trying to avoid the DW. I know I have driven from the Hammers to 29 Palms several times at 46 MPH to keep the shimmy shakes away. I could keep my XJ just on the edge of full blown DW. It would shake the hell out of the steering wheel but not go into full on DW. With that said, to say there isn't such a thing as minor DW is just not correct. There is a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEEP_cannible Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 I've had the same problem with my XJ DW's. At first it started out small,and I thought it was one of the drive shaft's.Replaced all the U joints,(didn't help)it came back.Greased the tierod ends,and it got worse.Replacing the damper didn't help at all.I drove like Shelbyluvv for a couple of years,and even put new tires on it(didn't help).I have plan.s on swapping to newer steering parts off my ZJ with new tierod ends.Anything else I should look for ? The last time I drove it I had the 31X10/50's on it.Its was so bad it felt like the hole Jeep was shaking apart,and it didn't want to stop shaking untill I stopped completely.The DW's are a serious issue with these things.I haven't had any problems with the MJ yet,but I would like to be prepared.With the 6inch lift,and the bigger tires it dosn't sound like much fun to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEEP_cannible Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Never mind I hit the search bar for Death wobbles,and found my info.I even think I found the problem already. Worn lower control arm bushings,and a bent control arm.One question are the lower control arms on a ZJ the same as the MJ,XJ ? Or do I have to locate another lower control arm ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omega_rugal Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 in a solid axle setup , anything loose in the steering can cause death wooble, worn engine mounts will increase it even more by adding the engine´s weight in the ecuation, more unspring mass, more vibration stop trying to find the exact cuase, the right spot, the right bolt, the precise nut... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 49 minutes ago, JEEP_cannible said: One question are the lower control arms on a ZJ the same as the MJ,XJ ? Or do I have to locate another lower control arm ? Part numbers are the same for the first year or so of the ZJ then they change. I don't know what the difference is if any. But I'd go with WJ lower control arms given the choice. Might as well upgrade while you're at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big66440 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 +2 on the WJ upgrade, they’re fully boxed and have a “relief” if you ever want to go with bigger tires. 56 minutes ago, gogmorgo said: Part numbers are the same for the first year or so of the ZJ then they change. I don't know what the difference is if any. But I'd go with WJ lower control arms given the choice. Might as well upgrade while you're at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbos440rt Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 On the TJ's I have owned tires seemed to make a huge difference even when the front end was in good shape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmike Posted April 23, 2019 Author Share Posted April 23, 2019 First I didn't mean for my "lol" post to be a jab at anybody. I found "you KNOW you're going to die RIGHT NOW!" a little humorous. but it is true. Like I said Iv'e had some form of death wobble for 30 years or so and learned to live with it. shelbyluvv said it pretty well. Second I was trying to show another weak spot in the stabilizer. I haven't had mine off for 15 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmike Posted April 27, 2019 Author Share Posted April 27, 2019 Ok, got the stabilizer and ZJ tie rod installed. Also had to shorten the sway disconnects. They hit the inner fender when hitting a good bump. Had to thread 1 and 1/2 more inches and cut off the same amount. Will take for a test drive tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJXJjeepguy Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 That is the real death wobble lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 The Official "Death Wobble Starter Kit"......I just shot iced tea out of my nose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoCherokee Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 for me it was crappy old tires. i had replaced everything up to that point. changed to non 20 year old tires, and DW went away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 When I converted mine to 4x4, I just did a toe and go because I didnt have time to check caster. I got my first death wobble after that while doing 60-65 on the interstate in the middle lane. The traffic around me was not happy as I tried to limp over to the shoulder with people trying to go around me on both sides. With no other changes, I took the time to adjust my caster. It was at 4.5 degrees pos. Spec is 6.5-7.5. I got it adjusted as far as I could, which only got me to 6.0 degrees, and I never had it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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