I just experienced my first death wobble..i only have the 2.5 teraflex BB..and trust me for all of those who "think" they have experienced it..believe me you WILL know when it happens..but how can i prevent this from happening again?? adj. track bar.? what? its only a 2wd though(dont hate)(idk if it matters)

 

Is this what you have?

 

that would be it!

 

Look up death wobble, I had it too and I spent about a week troubleshooting so I'm pretty familiar. For starters validate that all bolts are at the correct torque. Where the front and rear track bar is located check the bolt brackets for any cracking. (if in doubt take a picture and post it here and we can see)
Did you tighten the Track bar on the Ground when torquing it?

1) Tires need to be prefectly balanced, just get them roadforce balanced.

2) There is a possiblity there will be a need for a rear adj track bar. Check your centering on the rear axle. In the writeups section go to "how to adjust your alignment link under suspension' WOL is awesome for posting this.

3) If you did these first 2 things and you are still getting it then there is a likelyhood of a few things. Track bar could be defective (bushings). Call the Dealership to explain what happened. If this is the case though explain you rather use the warrentee funds to just get an adjustable one.


Is this a 2 door?

 

Is this just a BB thing? or, does it happen with other lifts?

It seems that the only people complaining about this are those with the teraflex BB. Can anyone confirm this?

 

its not just the BB, I had this happen on my unlimited when it was stock, i replaced the steering stabalizer and put a lift in, it was good for a while, its at the dealership right now and they dont have any answers for me. im gonna start buy checking all the bolts, track bar, getting a good wheel balance and alignment, if that doesnt work im gonna purchse adj, track bars and front upper control arms, I hope that will fix it, its hard to swallow that a new vehicle cant be driven over 70 kms.

if anyone has any info or suggestions that would be great. thanks

 

Experienced it myself. On a VERY windy day, a gust hit me crosss-wise on the freeway. I believe I was going about 60 MPH. The wobble was nearly uncontrollable. With the foot off the gas, it stopped when I hit about 45 MPH.

Checked the track bar torque again, and sure enough one had worked itself loose - just barely. Had torqued properly after install but had about 1000 miles since install. Re-torqed to specs and so far OK.

Moral of story: Check and re-torque your Jeep after a few miles on any mod!!

 

so, can we assume that jeeps with lifts are more susceptible to the wobble because of bad installs?

 

It seems to be the case that bad installs and misallignments cause the wobble. Not sure if a true Death Wobble is also caused this way but it seems to vary by looking at all the posts on the site. Some cases have been bushings on track bar, breaking mounts, etc...

Other shimmy and wobbles have been misalignments and tire balancing.

 

Death Wobble? Are you guy's kidding me? Shimmy, shake, OK, but a death wobble? Pullease!

Death wobbles happen on some motorcycles at high speed, few escape without injury. It is caused sometimes by tire wheel combinations or poor maufacturer design on the front forks.

I realize that a bunch of babies like to make mountains out of molehills or appear as if they are special, but give me a break, please. Call it what it is a freaking loose front end, ignore the preliminary signs and it will only get worse. Short of a broken part these things get worse incrementaly so do your maintenance or be a proud partner of the dummy crowd.

Edit: Oh yeah, one more thing, bad shocks or shock.broken shock can allow a shimmy.