Problems with suspension and death wobble
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
From: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Here are the symptoms. Once I reach 40-45 mph it develops a shimmy. Sometimes I can push it past it but if I hit a bump or a defect on the road it goes into a death wobble. It stops as soon as I stop the vehicle. I resume again but it will happen shortly after that. I do believe the shimmy started after we did the budget lift, but at that time I had bad tie rods ends and ball joints so it was hard to tell who was the culprit.
Forum Tech Advisor
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,208
Likes: 11
From: Billings, MT
Are your tires feathered from running a bad alignment or resulting from the bad ball joints and rod ends? Have you rotated the tires?
Did you inspect everything in one sitting, to did you replace parts piecemeal?
What about the front upper axle side control arm bushings?
Are all rubber bushings in a neutral position (were bolts loosened for the installs and only retorqued after the full weight of the vehicle was back on the ground at the new ride height)?
I didn't catch it, but are you running stock control arms?
What about the unit bearings?
These wouldn't cause the shimmy, but:
Are you running shocks, swaybar links, and brakelines long enough for a 5.25" lift?
Do you have a raised rear trackbar bracket and rear adjustable trackbar appropriate for a 5.25" lift?
Have you cut and relocated the rear lower coil perches to prevent rear coil spring bowing?
Did you inspect everything in one sitting, to did you replace parts piecemeal?
What about the front upper axle side control arm bushings?
Are all rubber bushings in a neutral position (were bolts loosened for the installs and only retorqued after the full weight of the vehicle was back on the ground at the new ride height)?
I didn't catch it, but are you running stock control arms?
What about the unit bearings?
These wouldn't cause the shimmy, but:
Are you running shocks, swaybar links, and brakelines long enough for a 5.25" lift?
Do you have a raised rear trackbar bracket and rear adjustable trackbar appropriate for a 5.25" lift?
Have you cut and relocated the rear lower coil perches to prevent rear coil spring bowing?
JK Super Freak
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,444
Likes: 1
From: East Meadow, NY
Are your tires feathered from running a bad alignment or resulting from the bad ball joints and rod ends? Have you rotated the tires? Did you inspect everything in one sitting, to did you replace parts piecemeal? What about the front upper axle side control arm bushings? Are all rubber bushings in a neutral position (were bolts loosened for the installs and only retorqued after the full weight of the vehicle was back on the ground at the new ride height)? I didn't catch it, but are you running stock control arms? What about the unit bearings? These wouldn't cause the shimmy, but: Are you running shocks, swaybar links, and brakelines long enough for a 5.25" lift? Do you have a raised rear trackbar bracket and rear adjustable trackbar appropriate for a 5.25" lift? Have you cut and relocated the rear lower coil perches to prevent rear coil spring bowing?
Forum Tech Advisor
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,208
Likes: 11
From: Billings, MT
Hopefully not ;-)
Also, looked at the pics.
The bend in the tie rod is to be able to clear the differential cover on a full lock turn instead of for ground clearance. The tie rod needs to be indexed forward and then retightened after a quick alignment toe-in check.
Also, looked at the pics.
The bend in the tie rod is to be able to clear the differential cover on a full lock turn instead of for ground clearance. The tie rod needs to be indexed forward and then retightened after a quick alignment toe-in check.
