As you have already found out,
Death Wobble, the horrible front end vibration that starts
when one wheel (usually the right) hits a bump around
40~50mph, is the worst possible downside to having a coil-sprung vehicle with a track bar setup such as the
WJ, XJ, ZJ, and
TJ use. Death Wobble is also extremely difficult to try
to diagnose, because it is actually caused by slop in the
entire steering system as a whole, not by one component.
To diagnose correctly, one needs to look for "play" everywhere
there is something that could have "play" in it. It's
time consuming, and downright dangerous while you are in "test
phase", trying to exorcise this demon from your Jeep.
The thing I
tell people to start with is a visual inspection. Spend
10 minutes under the front end and visually inspect each one
of the steering components for shiny steel, which would be
indicative of metal that's moving around when it's not
supposed to be. Pay careful attention to the track bar,
as it's usually the culprit in most cases. If any of
your bolts are even the least bit loose, Death Wobble can
manifest itself and make your life a living hell.
If everything
looks to be "normal" and you've checked bolt tightness on the
track bar, the next thing to do is to start with an alignment,
making sure that caster is set correctly as well as toe-in.
If you have been offroading and have bent your tie rod even
slightly, it'll throw off the alignment. Plus, it's only
$40 or so.
If you are
certain that it's set correctly and you've not replaced any
other front end components recently that may have caused the
oscillation to begin, I tell people the next most suspect
thing is the factory
front track bar. Over
time, the tie rod end on the upper portion of the bar develops
"play" in it, and the lower end has a rubber isolator bushing in
it that allows the oscillation to occur. Aftermarket
bars generally come with urethane bushings that allow much
less "play" in the way of movement than the factory
rubber bushings do. The problem with most
aftermarket track bars for the Jeep is that they also come
with either a heim joint, Johnny joint, or tie rod end on the
upper end of the bar, which works fine for a while, but wears
out over time, leaving you right back where you started, with
a mess in your shorts, a temporarily deaf right ear from the
wife screaming, and the frustration with your entire Jeep in
general...NOT good. The reason why I created my
Track
Bar Conversion for XJs and ZJs is to eliminate
that problematic (and expensive to have to replace when it
wears out) joint as well as for the additional flex benefits.
If you are running an XJ or ZJ with more than 3" of lift, I
highly recommend you check it out. Another product we
have found to work VERY well in getting rid of Death Wobble is
our exclusive
SuperDurometer Track Bar Bushings, which
are also available for the
Track
Bar Conversion. They are about twice as
hard as the typical polyurethane bushings that come in most
aftermarket track bars, which are typically made by Daystar or
Energy Suspension. They are also one of the least
expensive replacement parts in the steering components, so
they make sense to try first. Many aftermarket
track bars as well as the stock track bar are completely
ineffective in managing Death Wobble due to their "effective
angle of operation" if you are above 3" of lift. Bear in
mind that another alignment is necessary after replacing any front end
components if Death Wobble still remains. Sometimes you
get lucky and don't need one...but be wary.
The next thing
to check is your steering stabilizer. I recommend
replacing the stabilizer along with whatever worn components
that you find under the front end, as the combination-punch is
typically more effective than the parts alone, since DW shakes
EVERYTHING, and loosens up other components at the same time.
I've found that replacing the stabilizer alone often times doesn't eliminate death wobble
directly, but that it usually helps with some additional poor handling
characteristics that cause the onset of Death Wobble, such as
wandering, and a new one seems to tighten up the entire
steering system. I ONLY recommend the
OME SD40 stabilizer
because it seems to be tighter than the other models on the
market. It's also the most heavy duty. This
stabilizer is something that I recommend to everyone who is
having trouble with DW because it's one of the least expensive
parts to replace.
Here are some
other components to check over for looseness or improper
movement:
Tie Rod Ends, ball joints, Track
bar mounting bracket bolts, steering box bolts, and track bar
ends. Another product that we've made due to a need, is
our
ZJ Steering Box Brace,
which holds the steering gear box tightly, allowing the
additional stresses of running larger-than-stock tires be
directed to the frame rails, rather than to the three little
bolts that hold the gear to the frame, which get loose and if
they do, will snap and leave you stranded. I don't
currently make one for the 6cyl ZJ, but if you have an XJ, you
can find one at
www.barnettperformance.com.
Another source
of Death Wobble is over-inflated tires (you should have around
30psi in stock tires and far less the larger your tires are.
See
Boyle's Law and
consider how much more volume of air you have in your 33"
tires compared to stock. I run around 18psi in my 37"
tires).
The last thing
that I can mention that has caused Death Wobble in the past is
hub bearings. If there is a little slop in them over the
years and miles, they MAY indeed help to cause the oscillation
as well. I mentioned them last because they are the most
expensive to replace and least likely to be the root of the
problem. While you have the front end apart, you should
consider adding some offset upper ball joints to your Jeep to
return the caster back to what a stock Jeep would be if you
are running say 4" of lift or more. I don't necessarily
recommend this for the '93~'95 full-time 4x4 (NP249 transfer
case) ZJ models, though, because it tends to add more
vibration to the front drive shaft since you are also turning
your pinion angle downward in conjunction with the caster
angle improvement...you can't have one without the other.
Hopefully this
short checklist gets you started on the right foot and helps
to cure your Death Wobble.
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