Help With Wrangler Deathwobble!!!

All I Gotta Do Is Worry About The Darn Death Wobble, But I Think If I Repack The Wheel Bearings It Should Be Ok. Noe Of The Ball Joints Are Bad, And There Is No Side To Side Play When The Car Is Jacked Up, So .... Any Ideas???

i have not heard of the death wobble in the wrangler. but i have an 95 and if yours is a tj then can be right. i dont believe that you can repack the wheel bearings in the wrangler. i think that they are a sealed type and the only way to fix it is to replace the whole wheel bearing and hub assembly. u said you had no movement when moving the tire back and forth. was that up and down or side to side? if you have a vibration or grrinding sound when driving, then i would suggest your wheel bearings. let us know some more information

i have not heard of the death wobble in the wrangler. but i have an 95 and if yours is a tj then can be right. i dont believe that you can repack the wheel bearings in the wrangler. i think that they are a sealed type and the only way to fix it is to replace the whole wheel bearing and hub assembly. u said you had no movement when moving the tire back and forth. was that up and down or side to side? if you have a vibration or grrinding sound when driving, then i would suggest your wheel bearings. let us know some more information


I HAVE A HAYNES MANUAL FO MY JEEP AND IT SAYS THAT THE BEARINGS CAN BE REPACKED, SO I WILL TRY IT. AND WHEN I SAY I HAVE NO MOVEMENT, I MEAN BOTH SIDE TO SIDE AND UP AND DOWN. I JACKED UP THE PASSENGER SIDE AND TRIED TO MOVE IT SIDE TO SIDE, THEN UP AND DOWN, THEN DID THE SAME THING WITH THE DRIVER SIDE NO MOVEMENT. THE REASON I BELIEVE IT IS DEATH WOBBLE IS THAT DRIVING NORMALLY ON THE ROAD, IT'S FINE, BUT IF I GET ON THE HIGHWAY, THE MOMENT IT GOES ABOVE 55 MPH, THE JEEP STARTS SHAKING, SO BAD THAT IT ONCE GOT TO THE POINT THAT THE GAS AND BRAKE PEDALS WERE WIGGLING OUT FROM UNDER MY FEET. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE TIRE INFLATION, BUT CHECKED THEM ALL AND THEY ARE ALL OK. THEN I CHECKED THE BALANCE OF ALL TIRES, AND THEY ARE BALANCED PROPERLY. I'M GOING FROM THE TIRES IN, SO NEXT THING TO CHECK WOULD BE THE BEARINGS.

ok, like i said i only know the jeeps from the yj and xj. i used to have the death wobble on my xj and it was my trackbar in the front. the xj has the same front end as the tj and that is why i assumed that it is a sealed hub bearing assembly. but i dont know i never worked on a tj. does it happen as soon as it goes above 55 MPH OR when you first hit a bump over 55 MPH. if its when you hit a bump over 55 then its death wobble. if it starts as soon as it hits 55 the i would look in to the driveline. my vibration that i had was my tires needed rebalanced and that fixed the problems. death wobble can be anything from the ball joints to the trackbar.

Is your TJ lifted? how much? drop pitmen? front track bar bracket/adjustibale track bar?

Was the balance static or dynamic? I bought a set of steelies and the dorks, at the tire shop swaping my tires to the new rims, put hammer on weight only on the inside lip lol. Big tires need weight on the inside and the outside (some rims *shudder* may require tape weights to get it on the "outside" (they will be just inside the spokes of the rim)

What tire size, milage of your jeep, first owner?
When did it start (if you've owned before the issue) ?

I ask all these questions because there are so many things that can contribute to death wobble. However you said it only starts at 55mph, that would point me to balance. A bump in the road is the "normal" trigger, some times it will take a certain speed plus the bump.

At any rate, there is something to chew on.

Hope your DW got better.

It sucks for everyone else that soo many threads end with out a conclusion.

I have a 2006 Wrangler and it had the death wobble. There is a TSB on it and the dealer can fix it. I cant remember what parts were replaced. Im thinking one part was the stablizer bar and there was something else.

I had this on my 99 cherokee. Replaced the steering stabilizer and it fixed the problem.Parts $24.00 at advanced auto

My buddie has a 06 TJ with a 4" lift, he has DW issues. Steering stabilizer was replaced with a skyjacker, that didn't help any since he only had 10k on the OE. He got an alignment, which helped, rotate and balance tires, also helped, but still has the DW at times. Have your tires balanced after every wheelin' is a big must IMO, If you scrub a rock you may move a weight, and tire wear is greater, and more uneven, while wheelin.

But when you get down to it big lifts and big tires will get DW, most hardcore wheelers will tell you, you got to just live with it.

However I Don't belive that any stock vehicle should have DW.

this is a cut and paste of my reply to a grand cherokee death-wobble question. hope this helps. keep in mind that yj wranglers ant tj wranglers are different as to the fact that yjs have leaf spring front ends and are less prone to side to side wobble. altho in fairness i must admit that they do have what i call "the neck lash jostle". do to the short wheel base,with front and rear leaf springs.


sounds like it could be anything. im not a true believer in the whole JEEP DEATH WABBLE because jeep uses the same basic front end setup that any other manufacturer uses. in-fact it is the more basic if anything.
you will need to figure out where the play is coming from you can start by having someone wiggle the steering wheel back and forth (in the free-play zone) open the hood and look for the shaft going to the steering gear put your hand on the little ujoints(do they feel loose) look at the steering gear for visual movement, does it pop or make any noise. next get under the vehicle and look for movement in the pitman arm,drag-links,tie rods. there should not be any give or free play in the joints if there are then that is your problem. the teeth on your steering gear could also be worn


if you have a lift kit then you will need to especially look at your trac bar. are the bushings worn, mounts loose. and most importantly, does the bar run parallel to your drag-link. i think that most death wobble cases are due to people putting on budget lift kits and not understanding what they are doing to their front ends. when your trac-bar and drag-link do not run parallel it causes your axle to shift left and right when ever the vehicles suspension is working up and down.
if you dont have a lift then just check the mounts and bushings on the trac bar.

All I Gotta Do Is Worry About The Darn Death Wobble, But I Think If I Repack The Wheel Bearings It Should Be Ok. Noe Of The Ball Joints Are Bad, And There Is No Side To Side Play When The Car Is Jacked Up, So .... Any Ideas???
The bearings are a sealed Hub assembaly so they can not be repacked
balanceing & rotating the tire/wheels & an alignment will most definetly help, well it helped in my case
:2cents:

First: Anyone who says Wranglers don't have DW is crazy; as long as you know it when you do have it.
Put it this way: If you suddenly hit a bump or pot hole and the next thing you know you are going to die, that's DW.
Objectively: If you hit said bump or pot hole and the left to right vibrations don't stop until the Jeep is completely stopped, that's DW.

Follow this link to the best article I ever saw on the subject:
http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=261532

Also, grab a torque wrench and work all the way around all of you suspension parts. If the Jeep is lifted, these get loose faster than on a stock Jeep.

Dan

When I got DW I got an alignment and it went away.