devildogchoppers

Before I even start I am sure that there will be a few comments added arguing what I am about to say about death wobble and steering stabilizers. I will say this up front... I am have been attacking my death wobble issue from literally day one!

I had purchased by beloved new 13 JK 2dr this past March and from the moment I drove it home there was some strange stuff in the steering that eventually led to the dreaded death wobble. I installed a 3.5" lift, AEV dropped control arm brackets, and added a front trackbar relocation bracket using the stock track bar. I have always subsribed to the factory bushings on everything that I can, hence the use of the bracket and dropped brackets in the front. Understanding geometry and the science of suspension has been a unique niche for me.

Keeping a long story short I will tell you that technically everything in the front and rear should have been as perfect as you can get given the setup I chose this time around. I took the Jeep to the dealer for a waterpump making noise and asked them to performed an alignment to check the specs. They decided that toe was off so I agreed to have them adjust it. I had also asked them to check the entire front end for bushing damage and to check it all out very well given that I have had death wobble happen on many occasions. They stated the front end looks great and they adjusted the toe. Right after that I got death wobble so bad that I almost drove to another dealer and traded in my Jeep! I was fed up.

I decided to take it Desert Rat off road and have them check the front out as well and check the alignment. The front end was tight and looked great, but the upper track bar bushing was separating. It caused a slight shift in the front. Nothing too bad and really should not have caused the death wobble like it did. I had the track bar warrantied out with a new one. Went back to Desert Rat and had them align it and drive the Jeep. Toe was off in the wrong direction for one. The front was perfect after that. Caster was perfect at 5.6 deg.

Desert Rat, while test driving, got my death wobble so bad that the guy called me saying he may have left a wet spot on my seat! I was happy that they experienced it too given that everything on the Jeep seemed to be as perfect as it can get. Tires are balanced perfect, caster is good, toe is right now, and everything it tight! Heck it only has 1900 miles on the Jeep right now!

After they got the Jeep back to the shop some calls were made to a lot of people like AEV, Jeep, and a few other known experts. The call that yielded the most help actually came from Rancho. I have a Rancho steering stabilizer on my Jeeps. They have never failed me. Now before I tell you what they said, I will say this... I changed to many stabilizers trying to figure out what could be wrong. Rancho stated that they have had issues with stabilizers freezing up inside and binding operation. The combination of the track bar bushing causing slight play and the stabilizer binding was the ultimate culprit.

I will tell you from this experience that the steering stabilizer can and will cause death wobble if it is binding up inside. The reason my DW was so bad was that when I hit a bump the stabilizer would slightly compress and get bound up, then the track bar would cause a slight push, and when the suspension tried to cycle it would push the stabilizer back out causing a massive backwards reaction to the steering forcing the front end into full on death wobble.

Yes, other factors like the track bar were another part and cause of the DW, but the steering stabilizer was the final straw in whether or not the DW would take place. DO NOT be fooled by anyone automatically saying the steering stabilizer is not a major factor in the cause of DW. The reason I say this is because after all was said and done it has been concluded that the track bar bushing suffered because of the numerous times the DW occured. It is NOT the reason for the DW! The steering stabilizer was bad from day one and until Rancho came forth with their own information we all were under the assumption the stabilizer was fine.

Everything you read from the guys who put together great information on DW are all correct in each piece being a potential cause of DW. Best thing I can suggest is to check it all! Everything in the front. Caster, toe, tires, wheels, bearings, bushings, play, stabilizer, alignment as a whole, everything! And if you have a 2dr... it better be perfect or you will eventually get DW.

In defense to Jeep and DW I will say that while they need a better design to help with this problem, DW is a natural enemy to the design to begin with. DW can happen stock or lifted. Lifted Jeeps change things so much that you have to pay close attention to things like alignment, tire balancing, etc. I am upset with Jeep with how quickly things come loose and bushings begin to suffer early. DW can destroy parts from just one occurance. If you lift your Jeep, do it right!!!! Take it to a known and experienced Jeep shop. Don't assume anything... get the facts and numbers from an alignment. And for God sake... DO NOT let the dealer touch your baby's suspension or steering! The dealer aligns for tire wear and most of them do not understand the science behind a lifted Jeep. Death Wobble can be extremely dangerous and stressfull to say the least.

In the end don't give up if you have DW. There are plenty of knowledable Jeepers out there that can help. Reputible shops make a massive difference. Jeeps are awesome and definately a lifestyle but they are like dogs. If you don't treat them right they will come back to bite you later!

After 500 miles I have been DW free and the Jeep drives like a dream! It is still strange to drive a 2dr after owning several 4 dr JKUs. But it still is the ultimate Jeep Wrangler and the 2dr is a real Jeep! .... sorry JKU peeps, but it is the honest truth! Try driving a lifted 2dr cross country with its wandering and flighty feel compared to the 4dr and you will see what I mean! It is like when I used to build custom choppers... nothing says a chopper like a rigid frame! But to each their own and God Bless the USA!!!

If you want to make some nasty comments to please forward them to the Chineses because I don't care for opinions only facts!

BlueBeast

I had the exact same experience when I "Upgraded" my stock steering stabilizer with a Pro Comp unit. About a week later I had it hapoen the first time. Then about 3 more times over the next week. Each more violent than before.

Well after having the dealer look at it and saying it checked out they "Recommended" I remove the lift and replace the factory steering box, sector shaft, tie rod, drag link and track bar. With factory units to the tune of $1800. "Uh No"! Was my reply.

I took it to 4wheel parts and it too checked out. So i was at a loss.

After a couple weeks of research I did the following and believed it fixed. Upgraded RE Drag Link, RC Track Bar, 1.5" Ruff Stuff Tie Rod w/ GM offset 1 ton TRE's and finally 9/16 Grade 8 shouldered hardware. Problem still exists.

Then I noticed a little drip coming from my Steering Stabilizer so I took it off and noticed it had resistence pulling on it and almost no resistance at all compressing it. I had an epiphany. I drive it and the problem is gone. It's never been so smooth. So I return it to 4wheel parts and they admit it was shot and said they have had a run of those lately. They exchanged it for a Bilstein 5100 SS and my DW issue is gone.

What a nightmare!

Sent from my NOTE II on Sprint using JK-Forum

JK Inspired

Unsure what to say other than glad the DW is gone, for both of you.

JKingAround

I've been running with a broken steering stabilizer for a year with no problems they are not needed if your suspension is right. Now I'm going to try to not come off like a dick but stock bushings suck and AEV drop brackets are over priced junk. Hymn and Johnny joints are the way to go. I'm not sure if the 13's still need a bolt replacement or not. You might have something loose or it was tightened jacked in the air not on the ground. Also your tie rod can be bent easily witch will cause DW your toe should be 1/8" in and is easily checked and fixed with a tape measure and a few tools.

JKingAround

Good luck with your problem I hope you figure it out.

JK Inspired

The dreaded but anticipated,.....,"but", phrase.

Jonathan_JK

A lot of members are running without a steering stab. Like posted above they can cause problems. I had steering stabs on my GSXR 750 and they work great. I wont own a Bike without one. Jeeps on the other hand the stab is in a bad place and subject to a lot of elements. There are relocation kits which I highly recommend just to get it out of the way of rocks and other bad things.

goldtr8

Death wobble is the front end going into resonance this is an engineering fact. Changes to suspension geometry and heaver tires tend to lower the resonance frequency. Not resonance is defined as the square root of K/M, where K is the stiffness and M is the mass.

Thus from the equation M more mass from tires and K stiffness does not change the resonant frequency is lower.

Now a Jeep front end is a naturally undamped system (if you assume no damping from bushings and tire scrub) so once the resonant frequency is energized it takes off and you get death wobble. Or in other words the energy is above the damping properties and you get resonance.

Thus a properly functioning steering stabilizer is nothing more than a damping element to prevent the suspension from going into resonance.

Now when you have problems in the system such as cracked stuff or worn stuff or unbalance in the tires you get either a change in stiffness which is lower or a higher input energy to the system which can overcome the damping elements which leads to the wives tale that you do not need a steering stabilizer.

Engineering and Physics do matter in the real world.

Glad you found the bind which was the root cause of changing your system which precipitated in death wobble.

Since you had it many times I would also do very careful inspections of all welded joints on your front end as crack could be starting at the ends of welds which will be a bad thing.

Cheers

Runewolf1973

It's actually kind of refreshing to hear a different take on the Death Wobble issue. I can see how a faulty steering stabilizer could potentially cause the suspension to not cycle properly. Thanks for the post!

GJeep

Yes, a faulty steering stabilizer (or the lack of it) is often neglected as a potential cause of DW.

Differently from the usual repeating DWs, I had one single case of a pretty violent DW on a quite new JKU Sport.
It happened on a smooth wide turn (highway junction) at about 55~60 mph (which was a bit fast for that road).
The wild shaking stopped when the speed dropped to 40~45 mph.

The whole front was checked and rechecked, everything was OK.
The 4x4 shop owner and I had test driven, on & off road, at different speeds, trying to make it happen again. It never did.
The only possible reason left, for the single occurrence of the violent DW was the steering stabilizer -- a bit of dirt which plugged an orifice in the steering stabilizer and then moved out of there by the pressure or vibration.

So yes, like goldtr8 said -- "a properly functioning steering stabilizer is nothing more than a damping element to prevent the suspension from going into resonance" -- and when it does not function properly, a DW can occur.
You may want to check this:

A 4-dr Jeep doesn't have exemplary directional stability, and the shorter wheelbase of a 2-dr makes it wander even more.
The main reasons for this is the rear live axle which, because of the radius/track bar, moves sideways with each up or down movement, and throws the Jeep a bit off the driving line.
I got fed up with this, and installed the Full Traction CRC Link which replaces the Rear Track Bar, and keeps the rear axle constantly centered. "On the way", it is also a tough differential cover.

The steering improvement was immediately felt even at city speed.
On highways, and when offroading even at relatively slow speeds, the constant small steering corrections are gone. The Jeep goes to where the front wheels point.
It doesn't have the directional stability of a car and wind gusts hitting the aerodynamics of a cube are still there, but it handles much, much better.
That's on a 4-dr.

On a 2-dr, the sideways movement of the rear axle is the same, but due to the shorter wheelbase it is thrown more off line. Therefore, the benefit of the CRC Link is greater on a 2-dr than on a 4-dr.
Link --