aermotor

Quick Summary:
1) Had slight flutter in front end
2) Dealer replaced worn tie rod and drag link and aligned
3) Dealer also told me I needed to check the balance on my tires (have not done)
4) I now have brutal death wobble around 30-40mph after dealer replace
5) My caster isn't perfect but not terrible, removed Tom Woods front shaft and DW persists, no issue last 5k miles
6) What can I tell the dealer to look for to fix this as they will try and sell me a band aid... Toe In? Track Bar?
7) It's nerve racking and scary to drive with this problem...


Detailed Problem:
So recently I'm going trough some serious woes with my JK... I was getting some slight weird wobbling around 30mph; my tie rod and drag link ends were an absolute mess so I took it to the dealer, they agreed and replaced them both under my warranty. All seemed well for a few hours...

NOW I'm having massive death wobble issues that I never had before. When slowing down from 40 to around 35-30, or when hitting pot holes while driving 30-40mph — I get violent shaking that usually can only be remedied by going to 5-10mph. Could my brake pads be setting it off?

My caster is not perfect but not terrible, so I removed my front Tom Woods shaft to see if that was having any effect on it but it's still the same. Can caster be a factor in death wobble without a front shaft? I've driven over 5k miles with NO issues and this just came up after the dealer replaced said items.

I plan to take it back to them, but what should I tell them to look for and fix? They said I needed to check that my tires were balanced which I can do, but other than that said it was good to go. Any help with getting them on the RIGHT path to fixing this would be great. I don't want to hear them tell me I need to replace the stabilizer or any other BS, I need to find the real fix.

Rhino64

Does your JK have a lift? if so what type and what else ?

aermotor

Rough Country 4-6" Lift on 35" Tires — Has run flawless for over 5k miles with not a single issue until recently when I noticed my drag link and tie rod end bushing were just toast so I decided to replace them after getting slight flutter. And now I have full-on nearly unstoppable DW around 30mph when slowing down after dealer visit and replacement of tie rod and drag link.

Like I said, I never had any death wobble until the dealer replaced these parts and did an alignment. Perhaps they didn't set the toe right or did/didn't do something?

I just read 20+ pages here about DW and through Planman's steps etc. and still can't tell what it might be. I don't think there's anyway it's caster as that wasn't adjusted and I never had problems before this for 5k miles.

Track Bar bolts seems very tight and not moving, I will check by turning the wheel in the morning.

I have no front shaft on right now and am still getting the exact same DW.

wazooz2424

Front Track bar

h1ker

Ya defiantly take it back and have them check that track bar if its loose make sure if it was loose it didnt damge the bracket on the side that was loose

mkjeep

Since they replaced your tierod and draglink, they may have set you at too much toe-in. Now, since it has DW'd on you a few times, it may have caused damage to and or loosening of other parts. Check also the frame drop bracket for the tracbar and make sure the mount hasn't started cracking. I'd bring to back to them and tell them it didn't do this before, fix it.

Full-Traction Suspension

Start with a Torque wrench. Check every bolt on the front end. Even if its tight, it might not be tight enough

aermotor

Sorry, I don't have the means to do everything on the list but was able to rule out the following #s

1) Done
2) Drivers side bracket bolts were both noticeably lose and the entire track bar bracket moved 1/8-1/4, torqued to spec. Passengers side had no movement but I torqued to spec and it was definitely not in spec before.
3) No movement
4) Did not do
5) Brand new drag link and ends
6) Brand new tie rod and ends
7-15) Could not do

After torquing the track bar back to spec I drove it again and it seemed better but after reaching 40mph I just let it coast and right around 30 DW went ape shit. It's not something I can recreate with the same exact thing every time, but the DW is still not gone.

I'm going to get the tires balanced and see what it does from there, but am calling the dealer to let them know of the dangerous situation they have put me in.

When I go back to them should I tell them to do this checklist or what? It's just very odd I never had DW before the replaced the tie rod and drag link. They did do an alignment so maybe they screwed my toe?

Full-Traction Suspension

Chances are the holes are wallowed out. Remove the tb bolts and see if you can tell.

cyberbrain

make sure your trackbar and drag link are in alignment. I found my track bar was shorter then the drag link which resulted in the same scenario as you. I replaced the front track bar with a adjustable and properly set it up, now I have 0 bumpt steer or DW.