Here are the parts tools and parts that I installed on this Jeep JK to fix the death wobble: Steering Linkage Assembly (tie rods, drag link, & hardware): amzn.to/3onMRS6 Front Upper Control Arm Bushings: amzn.to/3byOhEf Track Bar: amzn.to/33OeR8d Steering Stabilizer: amzn.to/3hyB5D9 Balljoint Press (Used to press in the control arm bushings): amzn.to/3yl33Io "Big Nasty" Air Hammer: amzn.to/3ywx9sI My Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/repairgeek Help support the channel, buy using my Amazon links As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and your cost is exactly the same.
Great explanation on the effects of caster. Many people notice the worn suspension components and believe these are what's causing the "death wobble", or add additional steering stabilizers. These worn components are the resulting damage, or symptom, caused by the death wobble. After replacing these worn components, the death wobble will return with time if the caster isn't properly adjusted.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Finally somebody makes an indepth, logical explanation of, how and why this occurs, instead of the hunt and search method of trying to fix this issue. Can't fix myself, but now know the questions to ask. Much appreciated.
Got to be one of the best explanations of something with multiple causes. I don’t own a Jeep but the logic behind “don’t lift your daily driver” still applies. Thank you for making this.
@@pierredelecto7069if not done properly and the proper alignment specs not followed. I have been daily driving a 98 Xj with a rough country 3 inch lift for 9 years with zero issues. I have done the proper suspension maintenance as needed but I also have a fully adjustable setup so I can keep all my angles within spec. It's all in how you drive and doing your due diligence on maintaining the vehicle.
2.5 inch lift will not decrease caster enough to cause death wobble by itself. That being said, you did an amazing job articulating multiple causes of DW which most Jeepers misunderstand. Bad bushings and reduced caster is a good diagnosis and customer should be happy for a while. Great video!
That's pretty amazing... I've got a 2014 JKU with a 4.5 inch lift on 37s. If my steering wheel is off even the slightest, it goes into limp mode almost immediately. Amazing watching you drive down the road that fast with no issues. I agree with you, it was most likely the control arm and track bar bushings. I believe track bar is the culprit most of the time, but you do need to check everything. One thing I operate off is, like you said, the steering stabilizer does not fix death wobble. It's might stop it, but it's only masking the problem, until that stabilizer can't handle it anymore. I like to test drive any jeep without a steering stabilizer on. That's the only way you truly know if you found the problem, or just masked it. When it drives good without a steering stabilizer, then go ahead and add one.
I’ve always heard and knew it mostly being an issue with cheap bushings installed by the manufacturer (depending on the year and mileage). It was a great detail on issues with caster angle, which I would have never thought of. That will definitely prepare me for if I choose to purchase a lifted Wrangler.
I have the dreaded death wobble right now in my 09 JK. Like many others I have ordered a dual stabilizer kit. But before I install it I am going to take a couple turns out of my upper control arms. To see if that makes it any better. Thanks for the great tips and the great explanation!
7:44 You nailed the root of the issue. Perfect statement to summarize the issue and how to correct. Best part, driver will save $$$ with that wisdom. So many issues caused by tacticool 3rd party parts when owners fail to purchase all the needed parts to correctly install. Pay now or pay later. Only comment to your statement is even not a daily driver should get the arms to correct angles and take to driveshaft shop to get it sized for height. If that sounds expensive, see how you feel after exiting a technical angle on trail and you lose u joint, snap front shaft or snap a CV. All preventable. Buy right, built right. Awesome video.
You want to talk expensive? I bought my 2014 for 32K in 2016. Three days later I started my journey and put almost twice that into suspension and other upgrades. But I already knew what I was getting into when I bought it. It was the end plan all along. I love my JK and even though it'll easily do 75mph down the road no problem, I prefer to tow it to my jeep runs. Even though she looks nice, she gets used hard and it's obvious she's not a Mall Crawler.
Thanks for the advice, my ram bounces left and right which I will check all rubber bushings including the arms connected to the under cab to the axel which may explain the problem.
Excellent video! Thank you for taking the time for such a great explanation. In my case I've experienced it on 4 different Jeeps (XJ, ZJ, WJ and JKU) and like you said, it is a case-by-case fix depending what is worn out and geometry. The WJ was the worse. It was lifted 4" and had adjustable-everything (control arms, track bar, etc.) so caster was within specs. I added a bunch of parts like track back reinforcement, a front axle "equilizer", replaced everything except the ball-joints and the DW always come back after 500 to 1000 miles. I finally gave up and traded it for a JKU.
Alignment can cause death wobble too. I got a death wobble going down the freeway at 75 mph. I changed every front end component and had it aliened. Still had the death wobble. Turns out the culprit was a broken ply in the stock Wrangler tire. I put 35's on it and problem solved.
If the lift is done right there is no problem lifting your dally driver. Also badly worn tires or uneven worn tires can cause death wobble with no other problems present.
poly bushing on the track bar make a great upgrade for that issue fixed my issue on 37" tires the rubber ones were fine but the tires i guess caused them to give more then they should have
I have a 1998 TJ and today I experienced my first death wobble. 8 years ago (though less than 60,000 km on the following upgrades) I had the Jeep lifted 2", new adjustable track bar, new 31" tires, 8 new beefy control arms, 4 new coil springs, 4 new Bilstein 5100 shocks, new steering stabilizer. This Jeep is NOT abused. Speed was about 60km when I hit a VERY small bump in the road. All hell broke loose! Not an experience I want to repeat. Tomorrow, I'll be visiting the dealer.
I got a 2000 jk and I had death wobble I replaced the tires track bar both knuckles, bearings, control arm bushings inner/outter tie rods n ball joints. It took me a little bit of poking around with a pry bar. If anything moves w/ little force imagine the force w the jeep going 50-60 n hitting a bump Now I’m going to add a 3.5” lift Cause these Jeeps go anywhere that the frame don’t drag up. Very good 4x4 capabilities love jeeps great video. Keep up the good work!! The only thing I didn’t agree with in the video is you said double steering stabilizers aren’t good but Suge! is gonna put with the customer Wants on it knowing better should’ve told the customer that it’s on there. Don’t throw the Customer wants on it even if it’s not the right choice.
I'm at 5:00 yes caster will not help, we call it shimmy. I've been a mechanic for 16 years and I spent my first 7 years at one of the top ten suspension shops in Australia. Yes caster shimmy can cause a wobble but it's generally a amalgamation of worn components in the front end. We used to fix the steering arms but on the big heavy grand Cherokees we had to add urethane bushes to stiffen the front. New shocks bushes and any ball joint that is stuffed. And they still felt like a boat.
I just had my bent drag link replaced with a CavFab steering kit. Had to remove the sway bar and steering stabilizer. Before, I could drive it 80+ with one finger. Now, it has a violent death wobble. I have to trailer it this weekend to Uhwarrie for an off road trip now. When I get back, this will come in handy. I’ll likely replace the CavFab with a Currie/RockJock system and start from scratch 😮😢
ive had two and its usually the control arm bushings for stock ride hight. if lifted most likely another issue as well because a lot are done inproperly
Where are you located? I’ve literally just lived with the death wobble for 12 years. No one I’ve taken it to knew how to resolve the issue so I just lived with it.
I used offset balljoints to increase caster and maintain pinion angle. I saw death wobble on lifted jeeps with as little as 500 miles on the clock, "Don't lift your daily driver" is right.
good stuff RG. I've got a '13 GM Dually diesel that has started exhibiting this, albeit not nearly as bad. and it comes & goes depending on (I can't tell lol). I'll get underneath it and start poking around in another month or two, when it warms up. it has torsion bar springs on the front, and I've never done anything like this to such a heavy vehicle. gonna be interesting.
Watched a friend of mine drive his car in the mudhole we noticed it was wobbling but didn't know how bad and on the way home he was in front of us the car jerked left then right over corrected ND flipped three times right in front of us had to swerve to miss him thankfully no injuries
Even if every ball joint and bushing on the front end is completely shot it should not do that. If it's doing that it's because you don't have enough positive caster. Every single time no matter the make or model whether it's a Ford pickup, Dodge ram, Jeep, etc. Positive caster angle cures this. Even if the alignment book shows you to be out of spec keep adding positive caster until it quits. Like I said even if every single bushing is completely fried it will not death wobble if the caster is correct. Steering stabilizers and all that other junk are just Band-Aids to hide the actual problem. This is why people experience it usually after a lift. Also why most lift kits come with longer lower control arms as you increase the lift you need to increase the positive caster usually be on the factory adjustability.
Great video! What should I check if I am experiencing loose suspension feeling from both front and rear. Example the 1 1/2” drop from my garage to the driveway the front rocks back/ forth and same when rear end transitions. In the last week I have replaced (4) shocks, str stabilizer, all tie rod ends, drag link, f/r track bars, f/r end links, f/ r sway bar bushings, and alignment. Lose feeling has become worse in a two week time frame with less than 24 miles. Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I am trying to make the repairs myself in the most logical order.
Track rod both ends make sure it's right. Next up your tie rod. Next up, be sure your steering box is not flexing in it's mount. Make sure your toe is set. Most of the time it's the track bar and the tie rod. I fixed death wobble on a Jeep with worn used mud tires from another vehicle and junkyard parts and a Chinese stock track bar. It can also be induced by having a lot of worn components. A previous comment said to set it without steering stabilizer he's right once you can do it without a steering stabilizer . It will only stop that initial wabble it doesn't cure the problem. Did you guys notice his steering column the steering wheel is not level they made the lift but they didn't reset the steering to correct the steering wheel alignment you need to adjust the track bar length to center the exle housing under the Jeep. You will probably also need to adjust the link that goes from the steering box Pittman arm to the knuckle which steers from side to side. An alignment shop should be able to do all of these for you but you can also do it by eye and tape measure.
You nailed it. Don't lift your mall crawler or Bro-Dozer out your truck. #1 cause of death wobble. With a solid front axle you not only have to worry about changing angle of radius arms, track bar, and caster. Simply just rebuilding entire factory components will put you in same situation.
Hey my dad 1972 350 stake body Ford duelie did tht before he put gud tires Alignment done it jst hit a pot hole it's wobble but ever once a while it goes 3 to ,4 yrs it may act up
Excellent diag! Very similar to the Ford SD issues. Like you said. Each case is different but a thorough inspection of front end components is in order. And with any lifted vehicle. Castor orientation is a must variable. Even to the point of upgrading to better parts than what was installed to the factory. I'm also in agreement on the dual stabilizer. Basically, it's trying, or is pushing against each wheel in a outwardly manner, continuously. Sure, it looks great. But, what is it correcting? Not completely sold on it?? Anyway, great video & R/R on the Jeep!!👍
I personally believe the issues Ford is having with the SD trucks is related to the aluminum bodies to some degree. Take a truck and load 1000 lbs of gear in the back then take weight off the front of the truck with the aluminum body. This is going to cause the front suspension to ride higher than normal because the body is lighter. With the front end higher, the caster goes away and you have issues like they are having. It may or not be true. That is just speculation on my part but their death wobble issues definitely got more prevalent with the switch to aluminum Super Duties.
@@RepairGeek its more than likely the same problem. Most that have complained about said issue have bro dozered out there truck. Bill Hewitt has explained this in many videos, and shown how adding caster to them alone has pretty much solved the issue. I have not experienced any deathwobble on my 19 alumiduty only minor bumpsteer, but mine is unmolested. The average overall weight of the truck only reduced by 350lbs.
@@cooverbennett4383 I love watching Bill. Comes across as genuinely a good dude. I know Ford was tossing around up to 700 lbs lighter in marketing materials when the aluminum f150 came out. Being that the SD is a bigger truck the weight savings should be greater than the 1/2 tons.
@@RepairGeek correct, in the Superduty more was reinvested into frame and bed thickness. Ford "Factory specs" in 18 was 1.5-2deg caster. in late 19 they issued a tsb & upped it to roughly 4deg.
I had 38” tires and a 3.5” Clayton Overland lift kit installed on my 2020 Gladiator Rubicon and I get tire wobble between 46-52 mph like clock work. Trying to find a fix. The New steering stabilizer shocks didn’t fix it. Trying ball joint deletes when I can get the money. Only 25k miles on my Jeep as I commute using bus, so parts don’t seem worn. Not as bad as this Jeep though.
Awesome video and excellent job explaining. Something is bothering the heck out of me though. At the very end of the video, it looks like you are clearly driving straight, but the steering wheel is turned about 100 degrees. What gives?
I've owned 4 jeeps of various models and ages and never had death wobble. It almost always comes down to a cheap or improperly installed lift kit. My cousin also had death wobble on a 20+ year old cherokee (it was 20 years old 10 years ago) and we finally figured out that it was from a cracked frame, not a suspension component. (he drove the jeep into a tree and rolled it in separate incidents.)
Caster(?) is called ‘Rake’ on a bicycle. Faster bikes need more, but twitchier scenarios like track racing needs less rake for quicker response. GIAnt bikes were notorious when going downhill for getting the shudders due to low rake angle
Sad thing is I have a 2022 Gladiator with only 11k miles on it. No off roading as of yet. I went have air put in the tires during the winter. when the summer cam around I noticed the front end right side felt bouncy. Then on the highway doing 67 mph i hit a bump and had the death wobble. This was around 8k miles or so on the jeep. I brought it up to the Jeep dealer and he blew it off and said he had never heard of it. He told me the tire inflation was high so they lowered it. I have not had the wobble since but can still tell the right front is bouncy. They rotated the tires so it's not them that is the issue. This is concerning considering how few miles are on the Jeep. I am not a mechanic or ever really worked on my own cars. My dad was an ass when I grew up so I steered clear of that.l I am a computer nerd who loves his first Jeep. I don't have a clue how to approach this with the dealer.
I'm 50, and owned Jeeps since I was 16. I've seen death wobbles in each of them, even the old leaf spring CJs/ YJs, although VERY rarely, and always ones that were lifted. ALL the ones with coil springs, whether they be Wranglers, Cherokee/ Grand Cherokee are suseptible to "death wobble," "oscillation," or whatever other names someone has for what this video showed this Jeep having at the beginning. Lifted, or stock suspension under them. It's not something to "live with," "get used to," or "not worry about." Find another dealer to take it to, or another shop for diagnosis, and then back to the dealer for warranty work. Your dealer isn't being truthful with you. It's a k own issue with them. Can be difficult/ time-consuming to get properly diagnosed, and under warranty, the dealer just doesn't want to do it. Stand your ground with them. This can be a dangerous matter. Good luck
I've replaced upper, lower ball joints inner outer tie rods, track bar, steering stabilizer, upper and lower front control arms with new axle and diff bushings, coils and spring perch that was rotted out. Checked tire balance and 4 wheel alignment and still have the damn death wobble! 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.. This vehicle has almost beat me but I won't give up yet.
Please, people, it's a simple toe adjustment. Straight axles don't like any toe in. If it's death wobbling, adjust your toe towards out, a half turn at a time, and try it. You will find where your tires will track together at some point. Tires with large footprints want to go where they are tracking. If the two aren't tracking together they'll load up and start hopping. Crowned roads make the front tires contact patch not parallel with the axle, kinda making it off camber. When a tire is off camber it doesn't track straight. Making matters worse, most vehicles are set up with slight toe in because most small skinny tires don't care about tracking. Even if the toe was perfectly straight the off camber from the crowned road itself makes the tires want to track towards each other. The biggest reason for death wobble is toe. The trucks I've adjusted death wobble out of usually end up slightly toed out.
Ya gotta feel my 76 FJ40 wobble if ya think thats bad. Its all I can do to stay in the drivers seat when it happens. I lose all control of steering. All my front end parts are new, so I have to go with front tire balance....perhaps
Mine is a stock 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and I get the death wobble whenever i drive across a bump on a highway. I only have 16K miles on it! What do I do then?
I have the death wobble again! The fourth time dive I purchased mine 10 months ago. I swear the suspension and steering components are almost all brand new at this point
I had a 2007 Wrangler X that had that wobble. I was told that it can't be fixed. It is a factory thing that all dealers will make you try everything so i got rid of it. JUst because you drove down the road once and it didn't act up doesn't mean that it is fixed. It will be back sooner than you think. Great job on replacing every part on the front end though. Sorry my jeep only had 23,00 Kms on it and wasn't lifted.
Mine gets that shake at 44 to 52 mph... BUT it's not a side to side shake so much as like something it catching the wheel as it turns over so you jerk back and forth.. on a 2003 chevy malibu. I just did new bushing, bearings, brakes all the way around- and they have about 100 miles on them.. so I don't see how they went bad that quickly!!! IDEAS???
I had a Cherokee before the lift had 2 degrees of caster. After lift it had like 6 or so. It wobbled like crazy. Dropped it back to 2 degree after the 4 in lift no more death wobble. I just figured the old Cherokee XJ didn't like caster
@@RepairGeek my jku will freak out if the wheel is misaligned and put it into limp mode if it's more than 30 degrees or something. Cool that you could still at least test drive it.
@@zacharya6833 it didn't go into limp mode but one of the lights popped up on the dash and made a chime. Pulled the code and it had a steering angle sensor erratic performance code in it.
yes sir, I had to find out the hard way, people that sell lift kits won't tell you that you have to do a lot of modification after you install a lift kit
I have death wobble at 40 mph.... sometimes it happens bad, or sometimes very small vibration, sometimes nothing.... lift is less than a year old.. no idea what is it and would like a diagnosis beyond just replacing everything and throwing money at it...
It is Resonance, a physical property of the system; you have a degree of freedom and when natural vibration of system matches that natural property you have maximum amplitude! You need resistance like positive caster and steering dampeners! I say rotate tires about their centroid like a car; then you could use manual steering, save 3 mpg more just like std trans! ;)
That ain't death wobble. I've had death wobble so bad it left parts on the road. Nice that it gave you a warning it was coming on, too. Mine went from driving straight down the road, to shaking so bad it literally felt like the whole vehicle was oscillating 8" left to right about a dozen times a second in a fraction of a second. Local alignment shop tried to tell me "just install a steering stabilizer. That'll fix it." Yeah, I knew that some little shock absorber wasn't going to fix my problem. It ended up being all sorts of issues working together.
My GF bought a Jeep just like this from another girl; almost immediately had death wobble. Same goofy 2.5" lift installed in a half-assed manner. I tossed those shocks and extensions in the trash and put the right shocks on it for the lift along with HD Tie Rods/Drag link and beefier adjustable trac bar, new stabilizer AND new tires. Seriously transformed the Jeep from sketchy to drive to almost pleasant. The tires on that jeep looked cupped and unevenly worn, definitely a sign of poor alignment. Unreal that thing had only 60K on it; just shows the toll Rust Belt takes on a vehicle.
greetings from Italy Florence happy new year 2024 let's hope that 2024 will be better than 2023 as soon as possible! (going back to the steering vibration, I solved the vibration problem on my Suzuki Jimny by overhauling the front axle, replacing the bearings and shimming the pins on the front spindles of the hub holder of the front tires and then I do a good balancing of the front tires and tighten the tire bolts with the cross wrench instead of using the compressed air gun at the tire dealer and then when I go off-road on a rural track with mud I go once I've finished the trip to the car wash and I wash the tires because the weight of the mud throws the tire balancer out of balance and then if you have to fit the steering damper I advise you not to fit it because it's a stopgap and it won't solve the problem of vibrations on the steering!)
you are absolutely correct a stabilizer will never solve death wobble it is only a band aid i am running 38 inch toyo open country's currently and no death wobble one thing i will highly recomend to anyone with a jk jhku jl jlu jt to run american iron offroad ball joint deletes they are awesome and you can change them anywhere no pressing once they are in i will say they take a few hundred miles to break in they are tight i would recomend going wheeling as soon as you install them i have them on my 08 jku rubicon with barnes 4wd aluminum 1 ton steering with drag link flip and track bar relocation no drop pitman arm they are bad for jk's and jl's
Here are the parts tools and parts that I installed on this Jeep JK to fix the death wobble:
Steering Linkage Assembly (tie rods, drag link, & hardware): amzn.to/3onMRS6
Front Upper Control Arm Bushings: amzn.to/3byOhEf
Track Bar: amzn.to/33OeR8d
Steering Stabilizer: amzn.to/3hyB5D9
Balljoint Press (Used to press in the control arm bushings): amzn.to/3yl33Io
"Big Nasty" Air Hammer: amzn.to/3ywx9sI
My Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/repairgeek
Help support the channel, buy using my Amazon links
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and your cost is exactly the same.
Yeah the noise goes away the car goes away to the impound and you go away to The Slammer LOL
Great explanation on the effects of caster. Many people notice the worn suspension components and believe these are what's causing the "death wobble", or add additional steering stabilizers. These worn components are the resulting damage, or symptom, caused by the death wobble. After replacing these worn components, the death wobble will return with time if the caster isn't properly adjusted.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Finally somebody makes an indepth, logical explanation of, how and why this occurs, instead of the hunt and search method of trying to fix this issue. Can't fix myself, but now know the questions to ask. Much appreciated.
Got to be one of the best explanations of something with multiple causes. I don’t own a Jeep but the logic behind “don’t lift your daily driver” still applies. Thank you for making this.
This also happens on vehicles without a lift.
@@thewhiteelephantit happens due to wear on parts on the front end.
Just happens to be that lifts cause premature wear on these parts.
@@pierredelecto7069if not done properly and the proper alignment specs not followed. I have been daily driving a 98 Xj with a rough country 3 inch lift for 9 years with zero issues. I have done the proper suspension maintenance as needed but I also have a fully adjustable setup so I can keep all my angles within spec. It's all in how you drive and doing your due diligence on maintaining the vehicle.
@@pierredelecto7069 yes
We daily drive lifted vehicles all the time here in Texas. If done right, there is no problem.
2.5 inch lift will not decrease caster enough to cause death wobble by itself. That being said, you did an amazing job articulating multiple causes of DW which most Jeepers misunderstand. Bad bushings and reduced caster is a good diagnosis and customer should be happy for a while. Great video!
At last! A thorough explanation and demonstration of what causes death wobble. Well done, keep up the fine work!
Aide moi une splication. Sur la vidéo francais
This video should be the top result when looking up death wobble -great detail and top notch explanations.
Thanks...clears alot. Death wobble is the worst thing I've experienced in any car I've driven or fixed.
I know this video is a couple of years old, but that is the best way I have seen to explain caster.
That's pretty amazing... I've got a 2014 JKU with a 4.5 inch lift on 37s. If my steering wheel is off even the slightest, it goes into limp mode almost immediately. Amazing watching you drive down the road that fast with no issues.
I agree with you, it was most likely the control arm and track bar bushings. I believe track bar is the culprit most of the time, but you do need to check everything.
One thing I operate off is, like you said, the steering stabilizer does not fix death wobble. It's might stop it, but it's only masking the problem, until that stabilizer can't handle it anymore. I like to test drive any jeep without a steering stabilizer on. That's the only way you truly know if you found the problem, or just masked it. When it drives good without a steering stabilizer, then go ahead and add one.
Ford offered a free fix . You just had to claim you experienced a vibration.
I took it - thank you very much.
I’ve always heard and knew it mostly being an issue with cheap bushings installed by the manufacturer (depending on the year and mileage). It was a great detail on issues with caster angle, which I would have never thought of. That will definitely prepare me for if I choose to purchase a lifted Wrangler.
I have the dreaded death wobble right now in my 09 JK. Like many others I have ordered a dual stabilizer kit. But before I install it I am going to take a couple turns out of my upper control arms. To see if that makes it any better. Thanks for the great tips and the great explanation!
7:44 You nailed the root of the issue. Perfect statement to summarize the issue and how to correct. Best part, driver will save $$$ with that wisdom. So many issues caused by tacticool 3rd party parts when owners fail to purchase all the needed parts to correctly install. Pay now or pay later. Only comment to your statement is even not a daily driver should get the arms to correct angles and take to driveshaft shop to get it sized for height. If that sounds expensive, see how you feel after exiting a technical angle on trail and you lose u joint, snap front shaft or snap a CV. All preventable. Buy right, built right. Awesome video.
You want to talk expensive? I bought my 2014 for 32K in 2016. Three days later I started my journey and put almost twice that into suspension and other upgrades. But I already knew what I was getting into when I bought it. It was the end plan all along. I love my JK and even though it'll easily do 75mph down the road no problem, I prefer to tow it to my jeep runs. Even though she looks nice, she gets used hard and it's obvious she's not a Mall Crawler.
Thanks for the advice, my ram bounces left and right which I will check all rubber bushings including the arms connected to the under cab to the axel which may explain the problem.
Great advice! It's definitely a case by case issue when diagnosing what's causing death wobble. Thanks for a great video!
Excellent video! Thank you for taking the time for such a great explanation. In my case I've experienced it on 4 different Jeeps (XJ, ZJ, WJ and JKU) and like you said, it is a case-by-case fix depending what is worn out and geometry. The WJ was the worse. It was lifted 4" and had adjustable-everything (control arms, track bar, etc.) so caster was within specs. I added a bunch of parts like track back reinforcement, a front axle "equilizer", replaced everything except the ball-joints and the DW always come back after 500 to 1000 miles. I finally gave up and traded it for a JKU.
Alignment can cause death wobble too. I got a death wobble going down the freeway at 75 mph. I changed every front end component and had it aliened. Still had the death wobble. Turns out the culprit was a broken ply in the stock Wrangler tire. I put 35's on it and problem solved.
If the lift is done right there is no problem lifting your dally driver. Also badly worn tires or uneven worn tires can cause death wobble with no other problems present.
poly bushing on the track bar make a great upgrade for that issue fixed my issue on 37" tires the rubber ones were fine but the tires i guess caused them to give more then they should have
I have a 1998 TJ and today I experienced my first death wobble. 8 years ago (though less than 60,000 km on the following upgrades) I had the Jeep lifted 2", new adjustable track bar, new 31" tires, 8 new beefy control arms, 4 new coil springs, 4 new Bilstein 5100 shocks, new steering stabilizer. This Jeep is NOT abused.
Speed was about 60km when I hit a VERY small bump in the road. All hell broke loose! Not an experience I want to repeat. Tomorrow, I'll be visiting the dealer.
I got a 2000 jk and I had death wobble I replaced the tires track bar both knuckles, bearings, control arm bushings inner/outter tie rods n ball joints. It took me a little bit of poking around with a pry bar. If anything moves w/ little force imagine the force w the jeep going 50-60 n hitting a bump
Now I’m going to add a 3.5” lift
Cause these Jeeps go anywhere that the frame don’t drag up. Very good 4x4 capabilities love jeeps great video. Keep up the good work!! The only thing I didn’t agree with in the video is you said double steering stabilizers aren’t good but Suge! is gonna put with the customer Wants on it knowing better should’ve told the customer that it’s on there. Don’t throw the Customer wants on it even if it’s not the right choice.
If I ever get Death Wobble it's around 35-40 mph. But honestly you've helped me plenty by " rebuild front suspension".
I'm at 5:00 yes caster will not help, we call it shimmy.
I've been a mechanic for 16 years and I spent my first 7 years at one of the top ten suspension shops in Australia.
Yes caster shimmy can cause a wobble but it's generally a amalgamation of worn components in the front end.
We used to fix the steering arms but on the big heavy grand Cherokees we had to add urethane bushes to stiffen the front.
New shocks bushes and any ball joint that is stuffed. And they still felt like a boat.
Great video - Horrific.
What is also scary is the amount of rust on such a low mileage vehicle....
Welcome to Ohio.
Great explanation and diagnosis. What did this entire repair approximately cost with parts and labor as I will be heading down this path? Thanks!
I just had my bent drag link replaced with a CavFab steering kit. Had to remove the sway bar and steering stabilizer. Before, I could drive it 80+ with one finger. Now, it has a violent death wobble. I have to trailer it this weekend to Uhwarrie for an off road trip now. When I get back, this will come in handy. I’ll likely replace the CavFab with a Currie/RockJock system and start from scratch 😮😢
ive had two and its usually the control arm bushings for stock ride hight. if lifted most likely another issue as well because a lot are done inproperly
Where are you located? I’ve literally just lived with the death wobble for 12 years. No one I’ve taken it to knew how to resolve the issue so I just lived with it.
I used offset balljoints to increase caster and maintain pinion angle. I saw death wobble on lifted jeeps with as little as 500 miles on the clock, "Don't lift your daily driver" is right.
That crossed my mind to add the offset joints. I was worried about getting the orientation slightly off and messing up the camber.
Learned so much from this video, thank you for making it!
I usually just floor it and take it up to about 100 MPH. Most of the times it goes away around 90-95.
Absolute mad mad
My Rubicon couldn't dream of doing 90mph, you sure it's not kph haha
Word lol
Now this is useful
😂 too much..!!😂
good stuff RG. I've got a '13 GM Dually diesel that has started exhibiting this, albeit not nearly as bad. and it comes & goes depending on (I can't tell lol). I'll get underneath it and start poking around in another month or two, when it warms up. it has torsion bar springs on the front, and I've never done anything like this to such a heavy vehicle. gonna be interesting.
Watched a friend of mine drive his car in the mudhole we noticed it was wobbling but didn't know how bad and on the way home he was in front of us the car jerked left then right over corrected ND flipped three times right in front of us had to swerve to miss him thankfully no injuries
Metal cloak with their lifts does pretty well to maintain some stock geometry of the axle
Even if every ball joint and bushing on the front end is completely shot it should not do that. If it's doing that it's because you don't have enough positive caster. Every single time no matter the make or model whether it's a Ford pickup, Dodge ram, Jeep, etc. Positive caster angle cures this. Even if the alignment book shows you to be out of spec keep adding positive caster until it quits. Like I said even if every single bushing is completely fried it will not death wobble if the caster is correct. Steering stabilizers and all that other junk are just Band-Aids to hide the actual problem. This is why people experience it usually after a lift. Also why most lift kits come with longer lower control arms as you increase the lift you need to increase the positive caster usually be on the factory adjustability.
That is completely insane! Scary!!!
Great video! What should I check if I am experiencing loose suspension feeling from both front and rear. Example the 1 1/2” drop from my garage to the driveway the front rocks back/ forth and same when rear end transitions. In the last week I have replaced (4) shocks, str stabilizer, all tie rod ends, drag link, f/r track bars, f/r end links, f/ r sway bar bushings, and alignment. Lose feeling has become worse in a two week time frame with less than 24 miles. Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I am trying to make the repairs myself in the most logical order.
It’s hard to tell but if you’re driving straight why is your wheel turned so much - doesn’t look right.
Track rod both ends make sure it's right. Next up your tie rod. Next up, be sure your steering box is not flexing in it's mount. Make sure your toe is set. Most of the time it's the track bar and the tie rod. I fixed death wobble on a Jeep with worn used mud tires from another vehicle and junkyard parts and a Chinese stock track bar. It can also be induced by having a lot of worn components. A previous comment said to set it without steering stabilizer he's right once you can do it without a steering stabilizer . It will only stop that initial wabble it doesn't cure the problem. Did you guys notice his steering column the steering wheel is not level they made the lift but they didn't reset the steering to correct the steering wheel alignment you need to adjust the track bar length to center the exle housing under the Jeep. You will probably also need to adjust the link that goes from the steering box Pittman arm to the knuckle which steers from side to side. An alignment shop should be able to do all of these for you but you can also do it by eye and tape measure.
You nailed it. Don't lift your mall crawler or Bro-Dozer out your truck. #1 cause of death wobble. With a solid front axle you not only have to worry about changing angle of radius arms, track bar, and caster. Simply just rebuilding entire factory components will put you in same situation.
"HOLY HELL" - took the words right out my mouth. But dang back to square 1 with finding a decent offroad / daily driver car.
ZR2 Colorado
Good video! You did step by step for civic front wheel bearing replacement. I wonder if the same process can apply to 07 Honda Pilot?
Had a bad death wobble on my 13 jeep. Replaced ball joints and fixed it.
Not to nitpick, but did you re-center the steering wheel?
Hey my dad 1972 350 stake body Ford duelie did tht before he put gud tires Alignment done it jst hit a pot hole it's wobble but ever once a while it goes 3 to ,4 yrs it may act up
so he slow down thn it's gone
Excellent diag! Very similar to the Ford SD issues. Like you said. Each case is different but a thorough inspection of front end components is in order. And with any lifted vehicle. Castor orientation is a must variable. Even to the point of upgrading to better parts than what was installed to the factory.
I'm also in agreement on the dual stabilizer. Basically, it's trying, or is pushing against each wheel in a outwardly manner, continuously. Sure, it looks great. But, what is it correcting? Not completely sold on it??
Anyway, great video & R/R on the Jeep!!👍
I personally believe the issues Ford is having with the SD trucks is related to the aluminum bodies to some degree. Take a truck and load 1000 lbs of gear in the back then take weight off the front of the truck with the aluminum body. This is going to cause the front suspension to ride higher than normal because the body is lighter.
With the front end higher, the caster goes away and you have issues like they are having. It may or not be true. That is just speculation on my part but their death wobble issues definitely got more prevalent with the switch to aluminum Super Duties.
@@RepairGeek its more than likely the same problem. Most that have complained about said issue have bro dozered out there truck. Bill Hewitt has explained this in many videos, and shown how adding caster to them alone has pretty much solved the issue.
I have not experienced any deathwobble on my 19 alumiduty only minor bumpsteer, but mine is unmolested. The average overall weight of the truck only reduced by 350lbs.
@@cooverbennett4383 I love watching Bill. Comes across as genuinely a good dude. I know Ford was tossing around up to 700 lbs lighter in marketing materials when the aluminum f150 came out. Being that the SD is a bigger truck the weight savings should be greater than the 1/2 tons.
@@RepairGeek correct, in the Superduty more was reinvested into frame and bed thickness. Ford "Factory specs" in 18 was 1.5-2deg caster. in late 19 they issued a tsb & upped it to roughly 4deg.
I had 38” tires and a 3.5” Clayton Overland lift kit installed on my 2020 Gladiator Rubicon and I get tire wobble between 46-52 mph like clock work. Trying to find a fix. The New steering stabilizer shocks didn’t fix it. Trying ball joint deletes when I can get the money. Only 25k miles on my Jeep as I commute using bus, so parts don’t seem worn. Not as bad as this Jeep though.
Awesome video and excellent job explaining. Something is bothering the heck out of me though. At the very end of the video, it looks like you are clearly driving straight, but the steering wheel is turned about 100 degrees. What gives?
Does a death wobble happen on any Jeep or just one ones with extensions or lifts?
I've owned 4 jeeps of various models and ages and never had death wobble. It almost always comes down to a cheap or improperly installed lift kit. My cousin also had death wobble on a 20+ year old cherokee (it was 20 years old 10 years ago) and we finally figured out that it was from a cracked frame, not a suspension component. (he drove the jeep into a tree and rolled it in separate incidents.)
Excellent video.... Thank you brother for the information!
Caster(?) is called ‘Rake’ on a bicycle. Faster bikes need more, but twitchier scenarios like track racing needs less rake for quicker response. GIAnt bikes were notorious when going downhill for getting the shudders due to low rake angle
Sad thing is I have a 2022 Gladiator with only 11k miles on it. No off roading as of yet. I went have air put in the tires during the winter. when the summer cam around I noticed the front end right side felt bouncy. Then on the highway doing 67 mph i hit a bump and had the death wobble. This was around 8k miles or so on the jeep. I brought it up to the Jeep dealer and he blew it off and said he had never heard of it. He told me the tire inflation was high so they lowered it. I have not had the wobble since but can still tell the right front is bouncy. They rotated the tires so it's not them that is the issue. This is concerning considering how few miles are on the Jeep. I am not a mechanic or ever really worked on my own cars. My dad was an ass when I grew up so I steered clear of that.l I am a computer nerd who loves his first Jeep. I don't have a clue how to approach this with the dealer.
I'm 50, and owned Jeeps since I was 16. I've seen death wobbles in each of them, even the old leaf spring CJs/ YJs, although VERY rarely, and always ones that were lifted.
ALL the ones with coil springs, whether they be Wranglers, Cherokee/ Grand Cherokee are suseptible to "death wobble," "oscillation," or whatever other names someone has for what this video showed this Jeep having at the beginning. Lifted, or stock suspension under them. It's not something to "live with," "get used to," or "not worry about."
Find another dealer to take it to, or another shop for diagnosis, and then back to the dealer for warranty work. Your dealer isn't being truthful with you. It's a k own issue with them. Can be difficult/ time-consuming to get properly diagnosed, and under warranty, the dealer just doesn't want to do it.
Stand your ground with them. This can be a dangerous matter. Good luck
I've replaced upper, lower ball joints inner outer tie rods, track bar, steering stabilizer, upper and lower front control arms with new axle and diff bushings, coils and spring perch that was rotted out. Checked tire balance and 4 wheel alignment and still have the damn death wobble! 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.. This vehicle has almost beat me but I won't give up yet.
Did the same, ended up being my wheel bearings... maan what a PITA!
Hey Man how Much did this fix Cost?? I Need some Help Brother.,
Mine pulls a little bit to the left. I try your fix. THANKS
You can also get geometry correction brackets for the caster.
How much would this cost a mechanic to fix. Ball park it. My jeep is doing this now, so I need to get it fixed.
I had the same issue end up being my track bar and control arms bushing were shot. Upgraded to steinjager.
How about talking about a 2012 ram 3500 with a 2 inch lift
Please, people, it's a simple toe adjustment. Straight axles don't like any toe in.
If it's death wobbling, adjust your toe towards out, a half turn at a time, and try it.
You will find where your tires will track together at some point.
Tires with large footprints want to go where they are tracking.
If the two aren't tracking together they'll load up and start hopping.
Crowned roads make the front tires contact patch not parallel with the axle, kinda making it off camber.
When a tire is off camber it doesn't track straight.
Making matters worse, most vehicles are set up with slight toe in because most small skinny tires don't care about tracking. Even if the toe was perfectly straight
the off camber from the crowned road itself makes the tires want to track towards each other.
The biggest reason for death wobble is toe.
The trucks I've adjusted death wobble out of usually end up slightly toed out.
Ya gotta feel my 76 FJ40 wobble if ya think thats bad. Its all I can do to stay in the drivers seat when it happens. I lose all control of steering. All my front end parts are new, so I have to go with front tire balance....perhaps
Mine is a stock 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and I get the death wobble whenever i drive across a bump on a highway. I only have 16K miles on it!
What do I do then?
Best video so far
why did you install it bending forward instead of sitting straight up?
There's a piece that's a hardened rubber boot for the steering believe it goes on the drag link to tie rods and likely the steering damper
You need to shorten that drag link for your customer and get that steering wheel back straight. It was straight when you started.
I have the death wobble again! The fourth time dive I purchased mine 10 months ago. I swear the suspension and steering components are almost all brand new at this point
My jku had started showing death wobble. I replaced hubs, ball joints, tie rods, control arms, all bars attached to the axle and all came out good.
I had a 2007 Wrangler X that had that wobble. I was told that it can't be fixed. It is a factory thing that all dealers will make you try everything so i got rid of it. JUst because you drove down the road once and it didn't act up doesn't mean that it is fixed. It will be back sooner than you think. Great job on replacing every part on the front end though. Sorry my jeep only had 23,00 Kms on it and wasn't lifted.
Would moving to bigger tires only, and leaving everything else stock, potentially cause death wobble?
Bigger tires exaggerate any issues you have. Once they start wobbling they have more mass and momentum bouncing back and forth.
Can installing a fifty pound brush guard cause this?
I have a question
Crankshaft positioning sensor?
Mine gets that shake at 44 to 52 mph... BUT it's not a side to side shake so much as like something it catching the wheel as it turns over so you jerk back and forth.. on a 2003 chevy malibu. I just did new bushing, bearings, brakes all the way around- and they have about 100 miles on them.. so I don't see how they went bad that quickly!!! IDEAS???
The new 2022 wranglers have the same problem and there is no wear like your 2014.
I had a Cherokee before the lift had 2 degrees of caster. After lift it had like 6 or so. It wobbled like crazy. Dropped it back to 2 degree after the 4 in lift no more death wobble. I just figured the old Cherokee XJ didn't like caster
Did you recomend a front end alignment ? Sterring weel is way off.
10:31 absolutely I did. The jeep's stability control was not happy with the steering wheel not being straight.
@@RepairGeek my jku will freak out if the wheel is misaligned and put it into limp mode if it's more than 30 degrees or something. Cool that you could still at least test drive it.
@@zacharya6833 it didn't go into limp mode but one of the lights popped up on the dash and made a chime. Pulled the code and it had a steering angle sensor erratic performance code in it.
yes sir, I had to find out the hard way, people that sell lift kits won't tell you that you have to do a lot of modification after you install a lift kit
I have death wobble at 40 mph.... sometimes it happens bad, or sometimes very small vibration, sometimes nothing.... lift is less than a year old.. no idea what is it and would like a diagnosis beyond just replacing everything and throwing money at it...
If that's Scaring in a jeep what word would you use when it occurs on a Harley-Davidson.
This will not happen on a motorcycle
Really great video
They came this way from the factory. Nice!
I'd try to find most newer vehicles paint codes for that luxury brown scaly paint on all major parts underneath vehicle! Soooooo beaytiful!
I think you nailed it. Thanks Bro!
All tri axle dump trucks have a steering stabilizer and so do the VW beetle 70s...
*Such an easy to understand explanation.*
Alot of rust on the bottom of the jeep. You need to put a double stabilizer on the front. Also replace all the bushings.
i'm guessing you had to adjust the length of the track bar to center the steering wheel, after the video.
I'm sure the alignment shop did. I didn't.
On my 13 JKU the death wobble was simply too much toe-in. Check that first because it is just an adjustment, no new parts.
It is Resonance, a physical property of the system; you have a degree of freedom and when natural vibration of system matches that natural property you have maximum amplitude! You need resistance like positive caster and steering dampeners! I say rotate tires about their centroid like a car; then you could use manual steering, save 3 mpg more just like std trans! ;)
That ain't death wobble. I've had death wobble so bad it left parts on the road. Nice that it gave you a warning it was coming on, too. Mine went from driving straight down the road, to shaking so bad it literally felt like the whole vehicle was oscillating 8" left to right about a dozen times a second in a fraction of a second.
Local alignment shop tried to tell me "just install a steering stabilizer. That'll fix it." Yeah, I knew that some little shock absorber wasn't going to fix my problem. It ended up being all sorts of issues working together.
Can You fix my F250 2012 6.2 gasoline engine
My GF bought a Jeep just like this from another girl; almost immediately had death wobble. Same goofy 2.5" lift installed in a half-assed manner. I tossed those shocks and extensions in the trash and put the right shocks on it for the lift along with HD Tie Rods/Drag link and beefier adjustable trac bar, new stabilizer AND new tires. Seriously transformed the Jeep from sketchy to drive to almost pleasant. The tires on that jeep looked cupped and unevenly worn, definitely a sign of poor alignment. Unreal that thing had only 60K on it; just shows the toll Rust Belt takes on a vehicle.
Great video with explanations.
Having my front tires @ less than 50psi caused death wobble. Wierd harmonics and stiff tires cancel out I guess 🤷
greetings from Italy Florence happy new year 2024 let's hope that 2024 will be better than 2023 as soon as possible! (going back to the steering vibration, I solved the vibration problem on my Suzuki Jimny by overhauling the front axle, replacing the bearings and shimming the pins on the front spindles of the hub holder of the front tires and then I do a good balancing of the front tires and tighten the tire bolts with the cross wrench instead of using the compressed air gun at the tire dealer and then when I go off-road on a rural track with mud I go once I've finished the trip to the car wash and I wash the tires because the weight of the mud throws the tire balancer out of balance and then if you have to fit the steering damper I advise you not to fit it because it's a stopgap and it won't solve the problem of vibrations on the steering!)
Why is the steering wheel alignment out at the end of video?
Because the Heep wasn't aligned yet.
you are absolutely correct a stabilizer will never solve death wobble it is only a band aid i am running 38 inch toyo open country's currently and no death wobble one thing i will highly recomend to anyone with a jk jhku jl jlu jt to run american iron offroad ball joint deletes they are awesome and you can change them anywhere no pressing once they are in i will say they take a few hundred miles to break in they are tight i would recomend going wheeling as soon as you install them i have them on my 08 jku rubicon with barnes 4wd aluminum 1 ton steering with drag link flip and track bar relocation no drop pitman arm they are bad for jk's and jl's
This first 60 secs of this video is hilarious holy hell🤣🤣🤣🤣