Looking for guidance, input, critiques, whatever you can think of that might be helpful!

After lifting my 2011 2D JK Rubicon over the summer (3.25"), I have been chasing a seemingly never ending wobble. In the beginning I admittedly missed things, that were subsequently found and "mitigated," or so I thought. At this point I feel like I have gone through the front end of this jeep with a fine tooth comb using the plethora of resources available here, and the diagnostic review of a trusted 4x4 shop in my area. I'm at a loss, and just chasing my tail at this point. So here goes...

At the time of the initial suspension install, I did the following:
- 3.25" rough country lift
- rough country x-flex adjustable lower control arms (set caster to 5 degrees)
- re-used the factory track bar, but pressed in new bushings (Moog) as the old ones were shot
- torqued everything to spec.
- alignment to set toe 1/16th in
- tires are 265/70 r17 in size on AEV Pintler 17x8.5 (was going to upgrade later) and were balanced well no loose belts or cupping/feathering and were rechecked by tire shop.

Ran this for about two weeks and then, BAM, first case of DW on the highway going 80 mph. I immediately got on the forums, found Planman's write up, and watched/read a ton on diagnosing the root cause of the issue. At this point I fixed the following:

- New HD Ball joints
- New upper control arms (non-adjustable OEM), and new axle side bushings (Moog)
- New OEM replacement drag link, end, and adjustment sleeve.
- New OEM replacement tie rod, end, and adjustment sleeve
- Pulled the axles to inspect (No issues, and even replaced axle seals while I was there).
- Caster rechecked, kept at 5 degrees.
- Replaced the old track bar with a Rubicon Express HD forged adjustable track bar. axle centered.
- Alignment done again. 1/16th toe in. Tires still in balance.
- Everything torqued to spec

At this point everything was tight and running stable without the steering stabilizer, so I decided to replace it with a new one thinking it would just ensure some longevity to all the new parts. This all worked great for about 6 months no issues, until one day i felt a random shimmy at around 55mph. I went to inspect using Planmans' write-up, didn't see anything, re-torqued it all while I was there only to have another full on DW event two days later. Took it to 4x4 shop, they were convinced it was an alignment issue and steering gear box (some slop was noticed coming from the sector shaft through the pitman arm). The shop did notice in the dry steer test that the trac bar had some upward deflection (I witnessed), but not enough that they'd be concerned, and the bushings were still solid with no play. Not fully convinced I brought it back home and decided to rip out everything from the front end minus the ball joints and upper control arm bushings to inspect with a fine tooth comb. What I found/did:

- Installed a synergy track bar brace to correct frame side bracket ovaling, upgraded to grade #8 9/16 sized hardware. inspected factory welds (all good)
- Had teraflex track bar gussets welded onto both the front and back of the track bar axle bracket to correct ovaling, upgraded to grade #8 9/16 hardware. inspected factory welds (all good)
- confirmed clunk in steering gear box, replaced pitman arm, nut and lock washer, and put in RedHead steering gear
- old steering components were under warranty still so I ripped them out and put in new ones.
- pulled control arms and inspected all bushings for excess play (none)
- tested HD ball joints (no play)
- torqued it all to spec
- set toe back to 1/16th in.

The last bit was a month ago. The steering feels amazing, better than new even, but I have had yet again another case of DW in the last few days... The only thing I can conceive with all that I've done to this point, is that the track bar deflection could potentially be enough movement to cause DW... but before i chase this beast any further, what, if anything, am I missing folks?

 

I had a death wobble issue and it turned out the be a bad tire or wheel. The tire could not be balanced properly. The tire shop did the best they could. I had it swapped out the the spare and death wobble no more. Not sure if it was a tire issue or a wheel issue. That issue is for a latter date to check out.

 

Out of balance tire can certainly trigger DW, but that is never going to be the root cause of what is allowing the energy in the steering components to start fighting each other which is what gets things all wonky. Getting a different tire there or getting the one balanced would give the illusion that all is fine, but I'd be inspecting the TB and ball joints via simple test.


OP - Can you snap a picture of your front end? I suspect you are using a drop pitman arm with that RC lift. Are you using a raised TB bracket on the axle or a lowered TB bracket on the frame side?

 

I was in the same boat as you chasing down fricken DW for like 2 years, about 6 months ago I got a Redhead steering box and added a psc hydro assist ram, no cooler or extra crap, and my problems are a thing of the past. You might not need the hydro assist, but Im on 37s and it made a significant difference and I HIGHLY recommend. If you're interested I can post pics of my set up.

 

I think we have to remove hydro assist from the equation here, and take away that you are implying your steering box was the main issue for you. That is my take away at least and not that you have just covered up the root cause with the power of hydro which would be masking the issue that would still remain.

 

Yes hydro assist aside, getting a HD steering box after replacing every other thing did the trick

 

Thanks all for the replies, I ended up throwing in the towel this past weekend with it all, hate to walk away defeated but the wife gave the ultimatum! @resharp001 to answer your question though, no drop pitman arm, and I hadn't done a steering flip kit so no relocation brackets on the axle or frame side.