Wbyman

My 2007 Wrangler has death wobble I've tried everything to cure this problem and nothing has seemed work. New bolts and bushings in trackbar, new stabilizer, had it to 3 mechanics. No one seems to know a lot about this Jeep death wobble that I deal with. Ball joints and everything else seem tight. Is there anyone in Central Illinois around Quincy Springfield or Peoria area that would be able to fix this problem ?I will pay going rate for the repair. Thanks, Joe

nthinuf

Go up to the JK Write-Ups area. Stuck right to the top is a good thread on Diagnosing Deathwobble and Shimmy.

Read. Watch the videos. Spend time getting more familiar with everything. The more you know about how the various components work and interact, the better. Going through 'everything' to narrow down the problem sure beats indiscriminately throwing money at component after component after component.


https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-w...obbles-260145/

resharp001

I know you say the track bar bolts are "tight". Have you removed that track bar and inspected the holes in the brackets to make sure they didn't wallow out some? I can tell you for dead certain it has ZERO to do with the steering stabilizer. How are you testing the ball joints to determine they're tight? Have you been through Planman's videos?

First thing I would do is take a deep breath. There are limited items that can contribute to real DW, and these are things that you can inspect yourself if you take the time. Loose bolts, often combined with a bad joint or two cause DW.

BTW, not surprised that that 3 mechanics haven't been much help. General mechanics and even dealers are worthless when it comes to DW. They generally just don't understand it like this community does.

I would:
1) watch Planman's videos (on youtube)
2) inspect the track bar bracket frame side
3) verify torque on all steering component bolts (not just tight...torqued to spec)
4) then inspect joints (ball joints, DL joint, and TREs...as well as TB)

Tilly

Be careful with ball joints. They can be deceiving. I checked mine when I had DW and they seemed fine so I replaced everything else on my front end and still had it. New ball joints solved the problem at the end of the day.

-Tilly

resharp001

Been a long time since I've watched the Planman vids and can't recall how he shows you. Quick way to check those ball joints is to jack up the front axle so tires are just couple inches off the ground. slide some stands under it and lower it so that it's supported on the stands. Take a shovel and place it under the tire, stepping on the handle (using it as leverage) to force some up/down movement in the wheel. Watch very closely at the ball joints where the knuckle meets the C......you should not see much up/down movement at all. These are an all too common culprit on our D30/44 axles. If you have any questions about how much movement you have, take a short close up vid and post to youtube so we can see it.

Wbyman

Thanks for all the great replies. I will give it a good going-over within the next few days and let you guys know what I find.

Mike Davis

I too have "been there done that" The dealer was no help and didn't believe me that they hadn't "fixed" the problem, until the service manager had the shop foreman take a drive with me. I got it to do it. He held on for dear life. The planman list and video identified the problem and the dealer replaced the parts. Off to my lifetime alignment and all was good again, except for the extra heartbeats that I wasted while wobbling. Good luck.

resharp001

Wbyman - did you have a chance to go through your components?

Wbyman

It looks like one and possibly two or three tie end rods are bad. I'm also putting the 9/16 bolts in the track bar and having my mechanic check the bar and the brackets for wear. Should know if it works and the next few days.