Sorry to hi-jack the thread with a question, but since resharp mentioned it I’ll ask here. I am getting some intermittent wobble like OP mentioned and sometimes a legit wobble till I slow down to about 35 mph. I’ve replaced my track bar (metalcloak), axle side track bar bracket (artec) and am still having this issue. I’ll replace my hardware for the track bar next. But I want to also replace or reinforce the frame side track bar bracket. Is a complete replacement superior to a reinforcement? I’ve never been a fan of bolt on brackets so I’d rather cut the old bracket off and weld a new one on.

And yes, I did torque everything properly. I broke torque on all front end link and track bar hardware, rocked the Jeep and torqued everything with a calibrated torque wrench.

 

Sv-dude - the main problem with the braket is it's not very thick and the holes start to wallow out. The reinforcement brackets are great for most people specifically cuz they bolt on. It's not so much about making sure that bracket doesn't break off, which is not an issue, as much as it is making that hole much thicker and stronger. The real cheap and dirty solution is to just weld some thick washers to either side of the bracket. Since you can weld, that is probably what I would do. Sure is easier than cutting it off and welding a new bracket on. I have buddies with D60s up front that run 40s with hydro and have superchargers that really push those rigs. I've not seen that factory bracket become an issue from a strength perspective. I mention that as I know you have larger build plans for the future. That said, if you're just in it for the project, completely replacing the bracket can't hurt....just a good bit more work.

 

Sounds like welding some washers is my next step. Thanks!

 

I'd add also, the bolt on brackets are using the 4 bolts for the steering box, so that sucker ain't going anywhere. I do understand your preference for weld-on vs. bolt-on in general though.

 

Bolt on brackets always seemed like a cheesy cheap workaround to a real solution. Even if they work, it’s not as clean as taking off the junk and welding something better to the frame.

 

I believe you just replaced the BJs when you did your truss, and that TB is not the issue. My experience with wobbles has be always leaning towards BJs and TB related things. I've had bad DL ends and bad TREs, and they just don't create wobbles like that by themselves from what I've seen....although with a 2nd bad component they can wreak havoc. I've never had or seen a bad unit bearing myself. I'd be really curious to hear a followup if the holes in that bracket turned out to be the issue. It is a common thing. As you see....that bracket just ain't that thick and any wobble can start getting that wallowed out just a little. The washers should be a quick and cheap fix to tell if it's the hole or not, even if you decide to replace the whole bracket in the future.

 

I think I had death wobble due to a couple compounding reasons. It all started a few wheeling trips ago when I was headed home. I had the bajeesus scared outta me when I was going around a turn at about 70 mph on the freeway and I thought the Jeep was gonna tear itself apart. I read a lot about death wobble and ordered a new track bar since my other one was stock. It was a good time to get rid of the stock steering, truss the axle, gusset the c’s, and an axle track bar bracket. I thought everything was good after that. Two wheeling trips ago with my wife it happened again but very mild compared to the first, 50mph while driving straight and it died down at about 35 mph. I contributed it to not torquing everything down properly. So I broke torque on everything while the Jeep was on its own weight and inspected brackets, hardware, etc. everything looked good except the frame side track bar bracket. The nut side hole was ever so slightly elongated but I thought it was so slight that it couldn’t cause any issues. Yesterday on my way to another wheeling trip it happened again... it also wanted to try and wobble at times, I could feel a slight shimmy in the steering wheel then it would stop. So now I’m guessing that the frame side bracket needs attention. I’m also going to measure the exact diameter of the track bar bracket bushings and get bolts that are as exact of a fit as possible.

Any other ideas are appreciated.

And yes, I did replace the ball joints when I trusses the axle a couple weeks ago.

 

Just to add: I’m not using a front sway bar or a steering stabilizer.

 

I've got compounding issues as well. My death wobble is all gone, but hard braking still starts a death wobble that doesn't resolve when i come off the brakes. Next step is to retorque, and im going to replace the tie rod and probably drag link. If that doesn't work, ball joints. Man this thing is a headache.

 

Takes 5-10 minutes to check those ball joints and they are the other usual suspect. DL and TREs come in to play, but just not nearly as much, and I'd think they'd be even less sensitive in situation you just described whereas BJs would be very sensitive. I'm sure I've explained it previously but can't look back right now. My method of testing BJs is to jack up the axle so tires off the ground and support it on jack stands so it's stable. Then stick a shovel under the tire and step on the handle using that as leverage to force upward force. Look for movement where the C meets the knuckle by the upper BJ. Even though it's the lowers that crap out this is the easiest place to see movement IMO. You shouldn't see the knuckle moving. It will "flex" a little with enough pressure, but you shouldn't see it moving up/down.

Also, even knowing the TB bolt should now fit the hole perfectly and is torqued to spec, always make visual inspection of that frame side joint. simply have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth without the jeep turned on. It will be enough pressure on that joint to see movement. If you see that joint moving back and forth much at all, no bueno.