death wobble.....kind a?

[135Boom]

......SO, at about 55-65mph I hit a bump or a rutt in the road and it starts the "death wobble" and gets worst and worst unless I let up on the gas and let it calm down at about 50? Is that really "death wobble".....its pretty damn bad, haha. What would be causing that if it gets started after hitting a bump or rutt? Smooth pavement I can 80 85mph no prob....and most the time it doesnt do this horrible wobble ever...just now an then. tires/wheels just got balanced....I have one rear tire that I know is not round and I get a little vibration from...

Thank you!

 

 

....I'm new to a lot of this stuff, and have been searching my butt off about things...learning a lot now...but it seemed like the "death wobble" was all the time after 45mph and with both tires. Mine is just the front right and its a greater speeds, and I just have to let off a little to get it to go away???

[pingpong]

I think You got a worn out bushing or something, that is causing it.

[mvusse]

The definition of death wobble I learned was a violent side to side shaking that would rattle the teeth out of your head, Usually the thought going through your head is "holy crud I'm going to die!" Hence the name "death" wobble. The only way to stop it was to slow down to 25-30 mph, and I have never had it happen at speeds below 50 mph.

 

My track bar ball joint was bad, but replacing the track bar didn't solve the problem. What finally got rid of it was any combination of replacing a bad lca, replacing lca bushings and replace a bad wheel u-joint. I did all of that without a lot of driving in between, but it has not occurred in about 500 miles of driving since then.

 

I imaging worn tie rod ends on your steering system could also cause your symptoms.

[james750]

The definition of death wobble I learned was a violent side to side shaking that would rattle the teeth out of your head, Usually the thought going through your head is "holy crud I'm going to die!" Hence the name "death" wobble. The only way to stop it was to slow down to 25-30 mph, and I have never had it happen at speeds below 50 mph.

 

My track bar ball joint was bad, but replacing the track bar didn't solve the problem. What finally got rid of it was any combination of replacing a bad lca, replacing lca bushings and replace a bad wheel u-joint. I did all of that without a lot of driving in between, but it has not occurred in about 500 miles of driving since then.

 

I imaging worn tie rod ends on your steering system could also cause your symptoms.

 

Ive only had dw once and it was one of the scariest things ive ever experienced! mine happened b/c my lugnuts were not properly tightened down at Firestone (shouldve checked this b4 i left the lot but thought the boneheads that work there knew what they were doing)

 

On another note, i was having something similar awhile back whenever i turned left and hit bumps, it ended up being my passenger side unit bearing.

[Pete M]

Run down the checklist and see what condition your truck is in.

 

Check the condition of your shocks.

Check your wheel bearings for slop

Check all your steering components for any slop.

Check your control arm bushings for cracking and mushiness.

Check that your wheels are mounted properly

Check the balance on your tires

Check your track bar for slop.

 

 

Anything I miss?

[BLHTAZ]

Yes...real death wobble is something that you do not want to experience. The only way it will stop once started is to bring the Jeep to a stop. If yours calms down simply by slowing down a little, it's not DW, but rather something worn or loose as suggested by "pingpong".

[135Boom]

awesome! Well, not awesome....but thanks guys. Yeah, this is still plenty scary...feels like the wheel is coming off on the left side after hitting a bump. I'll check all that stuff. Thanks again guys! :cheers:

[JohnQ]

I just recently experience DW. Mine was so bad that I had to come almost to a complete stop when it happened. I couldn't do anything but fight the steering wheel, slam on the brakes, and start talking to the man upstairs! It was pretty darn scary in Houston's traffic.

 

The problem I had was that all my steering linkage was worn out to the point where I could shake it and move everything around. My tires weren't balanced right, my steering stabalizer was shot, and my sway bar links had loosened up. I've had no DW issues since I have corrected all of these problems.

[Geonovast]

Run down the checklist and see what condition your truck is in.

 

Check the condition of your shocks.

Check your wheel bearings for slop

Check all your steering components for any slop.

Check your control arm bushings for cracking and mushiness.

Check that your wheels are mounted properly

Check the balance on your tires

Check your track bar for slop.

 

 

Anything I miss?

 

Ball joints and U joints.

[brigarpeon]

Right now my beater Comanche does the same thing. There are a lot of issues that can cause death wobble, nothing specific about it. It's kind of a wondering, different solution problem. My beater does exactly what you describe; a vibration sort of wobble 45mph and below that you can brake or accelerate through, a real death wobble above 45 mph that requires a vehicular stop to bring to a halt. I had my first 60 mph death wobble last Thursday that scared me and I ain't askeert of nothing. My trucks bushings are shot, turn hard left or right sitting still and it cracks under the drivers floorboard. Turning left or right on a slight uphill grade it cracks under the drivers floorboard. Matter of fact no matter where you turn it cracks under the drivers floorboard. Everything on the truck needs replaced bushings, steering etc... but I bought a truck to redo so I don't want to put any money in it right now. The other day when I had that 60 mph wobble I was on my way to get sand. I bought 1500 lb what I got was 1757 lb... on a Comanche for cripes sake. :nuts: It has the Metric ton springs w/ homebrew coils on the rear axle 6 ply tires @50 psi and will haul. Point is it DID NOT even attempt to wobble with near a ton on it, even with the front up. Because the bushings were not free to move with all that weight. Too bad it's stuck up to the axle in the back yard with a ton of sand on it for a little beach at the pool. Can't afford gas for vacation, well just won't, so we're bringing the beach to us.