Death Wobble / Caster correlation?
08-26-2010, 06:16 AM
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Death Wobble / Caster correlation?
1st post – hello all! Was hoping my 1st wouldn’t be a mechanical issue but I guess you gotta start somewhere… Got a 08 4 door Sahara with almost 32k miles. Put a 2.5" Teraflex Coil lift and Spidertrax Spacers on back in February - about 8000 miles ago. Still running stock wheels/tires. Well about a month ago I noticed the outside edge of my tread on the front was wearing unevenly, looked it up and found the caster is off due to the lift – plan on getting some lower adjustable control arms to fix that once I get some $. Well about a week ago I got the Death Wobble at about 75 mph when I hit a small bump and it happened again on Tuesday. Last night I got under the front and could not find anything loose, cracked, or generally worn looking. I loosened the front lower control arms and the track bar – inspected the holes and they looked fine. Then shook the front end and then torqued them back to 125ft/lbs. Havent driven it yet to see if that fixed it but my question is would the Caster being out of line have anything to do with the DW? Also curious what the dealer will say if I have to take it in there and there is a lift on it – do they refuse warranty work b/c it’s lifted? Thanks for the help!
08-26-2010, 07:20 AM
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You're right, Death wobble is strictly related with caster angle.
Infact, Caster angle is one of the angles ( probably the most important ) that determines the stability or maneuverability of the steering.
putting a lift ( without control arms mods ) you obviously modify your caster angle ( becomes narrower ), infact you can easily feel your steering wheel lighter to steer.
on the other side, this modification decreases the stability... so death wobble becomes easier to happen.
so, caster angle modification HELPS a lot the death wobble phenomenon, but IT IS NOT the cause.
the root cause is usually trackbar bolts loosened ( or oval holes ), warn ball joints ..... or very often something easier, like tires not well balanced or some mud glued on the rim!
obviously, more your caster angle is narrow, more a little problem ( like some mud or a not well balanced tire ) is enought to cause DW.
Infact, Caster angle is one of the angles ( probably the most important ) that determines the stability or maneuverability of the steering.
putting a lift ( without control arms mods ) you obviously modify your caster angle ( becomes narrower ), infact you can easily feel your steering wheel lighter to steer.
on the other side, this modification decreases the stability... so death wobble becomes easier to happen.
so, caster angle modification HELPS a lot the death wobble phenomenon, but IT IS NOT the cause.
the root cause is usually trackbar bolts loosened ( or oval holes ), warn ball joints ..... or very often something easier, like tires not well balanced or some mud glued on the rim!
obviously, more your caster angle is narrow, more a little problem ( like some mud or a not well balanced tire ) is enought to cause DW.
08-26-2010, 08:06 AM
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08-26-2010, 09:45 AM
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You're right, Death wobble is strictly related with caster angle.
Infact, Caster angle is one of the angles ( probably the most important ) that determines the stability or maneuverability of the steering.
putting a lift ( without control arms mods ) you obviously modify your caster angle ( becomes narrower ), infact you can easily feel your steering wheel lighter to steer.
on the other side, this modification decreases the stability... so death wobble becomes easier to happen.
so, caster angle modification HELPS a lot the death wobble phenomenon, but IT IS NOT the cause.
the root cause is usually trackbar bolts loosened ( or oval holes ), warn ball joints ..... or very often something easier, like tires not well balanced or some mud glued on the rim!
obviously, more your caster angle is narrow, more a little problem ( like some mud or a not well balanced tire ) is enought to cause DW.
Infact, Caster angle is one of the angles ( probably the most important ) that determines the stability or maneuverability of the steering.
putting a lift ( without control arms mods ) you obviously modify your caster angle ( becomes narrower ), infact you can easily feel your steering wheel lighter to steer.
on the other side, this modification decreases the stability... so death wobble becomes easier to happen.
so, caster angle modification HELPS a lot the death wobble phenomenon, but IT IS NOT the cause.
the root cause is usually trackbar bolts loosened ( or oval holes ), warn ball joints ..... or very often something easier, like tires not well balanced or some mud glued on the rim!
obviously, more your caster angle is narrow, more a little problem ( like some mud or a not well balanced tire ) is enought to cause DW.
08-26-2010, 09:46 AM
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08-26-2010, 01:51 PM
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Are you sure that you have death wobble? If it is true death wobble you will not be able to drive through wobble, it will feel like an earthquake is happening in your Jeep. You will have to stop for the shaking to stop. It literally feels like all four wheels are fixing to fly off and that is no overstatement.
Caster will cause more of a flighty and bumpsteer issues rather than death wobble, with that being said, if you have something else wrong it could add to it, but it will not be the root cause. From all my experience true death wobble comes from the track bar and the side to side movement when something is worn or ovaled out.
Caster will cause more of a flighty and bumpsteer issues rather than death wobble, with that being said, if you have something else wrong it could add to it, but it will not be the root cause. From all my experience true death wobble comes from the track bar and the side to side movement when something is worn or ovaled out.
When I put the lift on I loosened the bolt on the track bar on the passenger side but not the driver side, plus I didnt have a torque wrench to accurately torque it. Got the correct torque on them now though. Will drive it tonight and hopefully its gone.
Have any of you taken your jeeps to the dealer with your lifts on? Do they refuse warranty work b/c of the lift?
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08-26-2010, 02:11 PM
#9
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FYI, I lift my Jeep around 4", new trackbars, swaylinks, shocks, springs, 33" tires bla bla bla. When they aligned the front end, the caster on both sides were between +1.5 and +1.8 which is low. They said if I want it around 4 to 6 i need lower control arms, however will not hurt anything if you dont do a thing, so I didnt. I guess what I am saying is my jeep drives straight as hell, no DW, no wondering, no vibration, no nothing!!
08-26-2010, 02:55 PM
#10
Re: Death Wobble / Caster correlation?
U should also loosen both ends of every control arm bolt,and both track bars, rock the Jeep by hand back and forth, and then re torque everything.
I did this on mine awhile ago when it drove weird, and it helped a lot.
Sent from my Droid
I did this on mine awhile ago when it drove weird, and it helped a lot.
Sent from my Droid