shimmy

[Swagger]

So today on my way home from work, i put my foot in the pedal speeding up, and at about 25 MPH i got the dreadded death wobble.I slowed down to idle speed and it went away and didnt come backafter that.  I had the same problem with my commanche, and it was because the track bar came undone. But i checked under the jeep today and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Help...

[kirksjeep]

Pull and tug on the control arms, sway bars, track bars etc.  It is best done if you can get the front end in the air.  Death wobble can be from a lot of things like the tie rod being bent, alignment problems etc...   The fact that it went away and didn't come back makes me think it is something that has come loose.

[Gastank]

Pull and tug on the control arms, sway bars, track bars etc.  It is best done if you can get the front end in the air.  Death wobble can be from a lot of things like the tie rod being bent, alignment problems etc...   The fact that it went away and didn't come back makes me think it is something that has come loose.

X2

also to slow did you hit your brakes? might want to look at wheel bearings/balance/wieghts. I threw a weight in my Bimmer over here and it felt like I was driving my YJ. took about 15 minutes to fix.... lift/tire off/mount to balancer and so on

[PaulW]

just play the song from the fiftys "shimmy shimmy shake"

[Swagger]

ok, so jacked the front end up and got shakin and grabbin. the only thing that i cold find that might be wrong was that i could rotate all of the arms back and forth on the linkage easily and by hand.  It didnt feel like anything was wrong with the hub assemblies, so.... I'm lost. any more suggestions.  I started looking at prices for tie rod and drag link kits and it looks like the best deal i could find was for the heavy duty kit fro currie. But i dont want to spend the 300 bucks if i dont have to. 

I checked another spot on the front end.  I think theyre are called radius arms but those are connected by heims joints, plus they are as new as the lift kit, as they came with it. And i didnt see any heavy duty apps for those on 4WD hardware, 4X4 Group buy, or Quadratec. Any one got any ideas.  It didnt happen when i went to and from work again this morning, and it aint drivin funny at all, but still scared to get above 35 or 40 MPH, incase it happens again.

[kirksjeep]

Look at rugged ridge for their HD tie rod.  I think they run between $200 and $230 depending on who has them on sale.  You can also convert to a V8 ZJ set up which you can buy at a junk yard or even new from advance or auto zone and then you can get replacement parts easy. 

I don't have any other ideas for what you could check. 

[calvynandhobbs]

The steering kit I have on my XJ is from Rugged Ridge. I bought my kit at Jeeperz-Creeperz and it is under $200. Here's a link to the one for a TJ. Kevin is the owner and is a great guy. I've wheeled with him several times in the past.

http://www.jeeperz-creeperz.com/crossover-steering-conversion-p-12948.html

[PaulW]

with the wheels on the ground have a cronie turn the steering wheel back and forth fairly rapidly, but only in an small arc as to where the tires start to move.  when they are doing that hold all of the ball sockets on the tie rods and physically look for anything loose while you are feeling for a snap in the ball socket of the tie rods and drag link.  also watch for the track bar to make sure that that ball socket is still tight.  i've had trac bar mounts on my xj's come loose but yours is welded on so you should be ok.

[Gastank]

When is the last alignment? is it since the lift... if it's a death wobble one of the contributing factors is the wheels not being in line, also the Caster angle, but not even knowing what your driving or what size lift that might be irrellevant.

[Swagger]

Ok, so big scare today. At 55 Mph goin down Hartford Tpke on my way to Home Depot, the damn death wobble hit me again, and i mean hard..  I immediatley stopped and got underneath to check things out, but to my surprise, nothing was wrong or out of place.  I'm freakin out again and this has to stop. I thought i was going flip it today when it happened.  I am busy all week, but, i can rescedule incase anybody would be able to come and take a look at it. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes and hands underneath  her would be able to notice something i havent.  I have a floor jack here at my house, so if any body could stop  by and help get on the right path of what i need to buy/fix/replace/rig, i would greatley appreciate it. I'm in Navy housing so it wont be a far drive for most of you guys

- Gastank, thanks for all the advice and pointers, but i just cant key board diagnose this thing anymore, especially since its getting worse.

[Gastank]

No worries man, This is the only thing I can do to help. Trust me, I'd be there looking if I could.











Should have bought a YJ. We don't tend to have the "Death Wobble" problem as much as the TJ's do.

[Seabee_BUC]

Here's a few things to look at:

When our TJs get lifted, the angle of the drag link(connects the pitman arm to the tie rod) in relation to the tie rod is what allows it to happen. On a stock TJ, these two are pretty much parallel. When we lift the Jeep this is no longer is the case. One of the things that can improve this is to relocate your tie rod to the top of the steering knuckles which brings these two back to near stock angles. (Kirk did this on his YJ and there is a TJ kit available.

Even though your track bar only locates the axle under the Jeep, make sure your track bar bushings are good as well.

Finally, after doing the tie rod flip, have your jeep aligned to FACTORY specs. That is: the camber should be betwen 4 and 5 1/2 degrees and the toe in(front of the tires) should be somewhat positive. When I align ours myself, I usually set the toe in to between 1/8" and 1/4". I just drove from RI to MS and even at 82mph, I had no wobble whatsoever.

Hope this helps...

[Swagger]

ok thanks man.  i now know what i need to spend my money on.

[PaulW]

ever locate the source?

[Swagger]

nah, i've been out at sea.