GreytSilly

There seems to be lots of things that can cause death wobble. I had it in my TJ and when I put new tires on it went away and never came back. Drove that Jeep 40000 more miles and never had it again so I guess tires would be on the list of causes. Everyone is right, if you get it you will know. It sure is a surprise when it happens.

Smelt_1

You think death wobble is scary in a jeep? I had it happen on a bike (mc) at night during rain after going over railroad tracks (crossing). The bike ended up going down but I stayed on top of it for the slide. It happened so fast it wasn't actually scary....had no time to be scared.

RubiJK

Damn, I just got it too. Yesterday was the first time, and then 2 more times today. NO DOUBT you will know it when you get it!!! Hopping, shaking, skidding, bouncing sideways... pretty much little to no control. Mine happened each time at about 35. It was set off by hitting a bump or hole in the rode. Once the wheels started going side to side, there was no stopping it until the Jeep came to a stop itself. I just put in my lift last week (no control arms), so I was hoping I found something loose. Nope. Everything is tight in both the front and rear. All brackets look solid. Shocks appear to be ok. I rotated and balanced the tires this morning after it happened again... It happened the 3rd time on the way home from Discount. I know my tie rod is bent, but that isnt new. The only other thing I can think to do is have it re-alligned but I didnt think that could cause DW. After that I am just going to start replacing steering rods I guess. Sucks bad!

I Drill

Get under there and make sure there are no loose bolts, I found a couple and it seemed to firm up the ride. Since this happened I have gone to a long arm kit and had a teraflex trackbar installed. The jeep has a much better, firmer ride. I'm very happy with the trackbar and long arm kit, I highly recommend it.

jkshed

I had the death wobble took it in and they said it was the death wobble. They replaced the steering stabilizer bar (dampner) and problem solved. Came back 4 months later replaced again, problem solved. I just installed a skyjacker steering stabilizer and it is better than ever.

Ben Hedrick

My Trac Bar needed to be tightened and once I did this, my Death Wobble went away too... And yes, re-TIGHTEN everything!

Ben

Aussie JK

Its not only in the shorties, nor to do with the lift, I've had it in my stock (Australian) 07 4 door, 3 or 4 times.

De-lux

yeah dude... same as my stock 4 door JK. I reckon it's done it at least 20 times in the 9 months i've owned it.

crazyhorse02

i feel everyones pain...its like a crap shoot whenever i get on the highway..its only a matter of time before i have to slam on the brakes and merge into the emergency lane to stop getting wobbled to death..i actually could hear the tires chirping when it happened last time.. good times

RubiJK

This isnt for a JK specifically, but it gives good info about steering geometry...

http://ww w.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-68.htm
(notice the space between the w's)

Everything in mine is tight. I dont have an adj track bar, and I think I have it narrowed down to that. I am picking one up tomorrow and see if it helps. If the axle is pushed over 3/4' like mine, then there is binding on the control arms and sway bar links. Not to mention all of the steering geometry changes. The axle pushed toward driver, would require the lengths of the drag link and tie rods to be different in order to maintain proper alignment. Of course, pushing the axle over fixes this and more.

I think being toe-out a little doesnt help either. And not having adj control arms has rolled the axle a little too. All of this adds up to some pent up energy and binding that releases itself in the form of DW.

I'm sure that my tie rod being severely bent doesnt help either!

Oh yeah, those who BLAME the steering stabilizer are barking up the wrong tree. It might stop it, but it really just masks some other problem that really should be fixed. Theoretically, if all angles and lengths of all the components are correct and aligned to each other, then the SS does nothing more than reduce bump steer. It just DAMPENS. It isnt designed to correct your front end being jacked up. If a dealership is telling you this, they just want you out of their hair. It might hide the problem to the point that you wont have DW but your ride and performance are still being compromised because you never had the real prob fixed.

BUT, of course, this is all just my very humble opinion...