I just installed a Skyjacker Hydro steering stabilizer and a few days later I'm getting an awful shake in the steering at around 55 mph. It was fine for several days and I threw away the stock stabilizer (of course).

I have an 08 JKU with a 2.5" BB and 32" Nitto tires. I added the stabilizer b/c I'm about to upgrade tires to 33" (and 'cause I wanted one - let's be honest). I've had the BB for several months without any issues.

But now I have this shake that I don't understand. I've checked all the bolts and everything is nice and snug. Has anyone had this problem before?

 

Search DW or Death Wobble...you will find all kinds of info

 

Is it a shake that goes away when you slow down or speed up?

When I experienced DW it did not go away until I stopped. Everything seemed tight but I loosened and retorqued everything and it has been fine ever since.

JKBobAZ is right though, there are tons of Death Wobble threads.

 

what did you loosen up when you installed the stabilizer? The stabilizer would not cause a shake. Bad wheel balance or loose bolts (trackbar bolts) will cause a shake

 

I'm a newb, so I'm still learning. I did do a search on the "death wobble" but everyone described that as something violent and scary that wouldn't stop until you pulled over on the side of the road. This is just a shake in the steering that goes away when I change speed. Not something I'd classify as a death wobble. More like a "sick shimmy". (sorry, I'm good at bad jokes).

I didn't loosen anything except for the stabilizer bolts. I didn't even have to adjust the bracket. I need to rotate my tires so I'll see if that changes anything this afternoon. I'll also check all the bolts on the track bar and such.


When I did a search on the "Death Wobble" this link was the most helpful, so I'm re-posting for anyone reading this with that problem. DEATH WOBBLE : What it is, What it isn't and What You Can Do to Fix it

 

NR4X4 Jeep JK Grade 8 Hardware kit

Is this worth it? Think it will help?

 

Is it worth it, yes definitely. Will it help, maybe.

Have you wheeled it since you installed the stabilizer? Lots of things can cause wobble. Bent axles, mud in your wheels/brakes, lost wheel weights, the tire spinning on the wheel, loose front end parts etc.

Good Luck
Rob

 

Just went through a similar problem. Check ball joints, make sure you did not hit anything with the wheel (rim) as this will sometimes cause a shake at only certain speeds. Loosen all you control arms and trac bar, shake the jk and then torque eveything back. Also check your tire pressures.

 

I took this advice when I removed the bumper to measure for my winch installation, I loosened the stabilizer and track bar only. I wanted to do this systematically in order to try to find the problem, so that's all I loosened. I shook the front of the jeep and tightened everything back. After I did this the problem seemed to go away. I drove up and down a highway all over 55 mph trying to get it to wobble, but it was fine. I could feel a little something at around 59 mph, but nothing that would have caused me any concern if I hadn't had the previous problem.

Thought everything was fine but I experienced a definite DEATH WOBBLE when I hit a bump at around 70 mph. after that I've felt the smaller shimmy at around 55 mph. Not as bad as before, but still there. And that DW surely made me want to look further.

I rotated the tires today and rechecked the torque on the track bar and other suspension components. Will take another trip up and down the highway and see what happens.

thanks for all of the advice here.

 

I am having the exact same issue with my 08 jku I also have the skyjacker hydro stabilizer. My tires are recently balanced and I just did an alignment. Can't find the issue