Is there anything else I need to check????
03-26-2019, 04:51 AM
#1
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
Is there anything else I need to check????
So if you read my "Death Wobble happened to me tonight" thread then you know I have been battling DW after a 2.5 inch lift install and have been trying to find the culprit. I have personally checked everything that I know to check. I checked for play in the TB, checked every joint possible for play, installed control arm drop brackets, tires are balanced, had it aligned and now I am thinking it might be the ball joints. The guy who did the alignment is a family friend who has been in business for years so I trust him. He checked everything that I had already checked and he couldn't find anything else either. He installed 9/16 bolts in the TB with lock nuts. He looked for play in the ball joints also and he didn't see any play what-so-ever either. He questioned the stabilizer shock but I don't want to throw a new one on there and it just mask the real problem. He also said that he had another guy come in the the same problem on a Ford truck and they couldn't find anything that would be causing DW. They guy ended up having him install new ball joints even though there was no obvious movement in his current ones and that ended up fixing the problem.
Have any of you seen a JK with this same issue? That's a pretty expensive fix and I just want to eliminate every other option before I throw that kind of money at it not knowing if that's really the problem or not. I'll try and make a video of the ball joints but like I said before there is no play in them that we can see.
Have any of you seen a JK with this same issue? That's a pretty expensive fix and I just want to eliminate every other option before I throw that kind of money at it not knowing if that's really the problem or not. I'll try and make a video of the ball joints but like I said before there is no play in them that we can see.
03-26-2019, 07:17 AM
#2
JK Jedi
I am not a proponent of randomly throwing parts at the issue, but I will say this.......if you still have the factory BJs in there, it wouldn't be wasted money to replace em if you plan on keeping this for several years. They are just a ticking time bomb on modified jeeps. IMO, they are the 2nd most common issue behind the TB bolts and joints. Were you ever able to take short video of you testing those?
This is unlikely an issue, but you might inspect the axle side TB bracket for cracks. Have seen a broken weld on an axle TB bracket be the cause before. Was trickier to pinpoint cuz the bolts were torqued and the joints didn't show movement when testing, but when driving there was enough play in the bracket due to the cracked weld that it was the same result....too much movement.
At this point, think it's just going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Can't recall the mileage on the jeep. Would find it really hard to believe it would be unit bearing play, TR and DL seems to check out ok. No accident history that you know of? Might just inspect all axle-side bracket welds including control arm brackets.
If you look at ball joints, you might focus on Teraflex. They have a lifetime warranty and seem to be the better mid-priced option lately. If you have jack, jack stands, and decent hand tools, this is a job you can do yourself....or I suspect your mechanic friend would either help or cut you a deal. Most BJs will be in that $225-$250 range, and labor at a normal shop can run $250-$400. It's not technically difficult, but working on a garage floor it can take 3-4hrs to do both sides. if it's something you want to explore, can walk through the process.
I commend you on your efforts this far. You are a determined lady. Most people give up and just take it somewhere and say "fix this". You are building an important understanding of your jeep that is going to serve you well in the future. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions. If you were within couple hours I'd come help....but Cali is a bit far away.
This is unlikely an issue, but you might inspect the axle side TB bracket for cracks. Have seen a broken weld on an axle TB bracket be the cause before. Was trickier to pinpoint cuz the bolts were torqued and the joints didn't show movement when testing, but when driving there was enough play in the bracket due to the cracked weld that it was the same result....too much movement.
At this point, think it's just going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Can't recall the mileage on the jeep. Would find it really hard to believe it would be unit bearing play, TR and DL seems to check out ok. No accident history that you know of? Might just inspect all axle-side bracket welds including control arm brackets.
If you look at ball joints, you might focus on Teraflex. They have a lifetime warranty and seem to be the better mid-priced option lately. If you have jack, jack stands, and decent hand tools, this is a job you can do yourself....or I suspect your mechanic friend would either help or cut you a deal. Most BJs will be in that $225-$250 range, and labor at a normal shop can run $250-$400. It's not technically difficult, but working on a garage floor it can take 3-4hrs to do both sides. if it's something you want to explore, can walk through the process.
I commend you on your efforts this far. You are a determined lady. Most people give up and just take it somewhere and say "fix this". You are building an important understanding of your jeep that is going to serve you well in the future. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions. If you were within couple hours I'd come help....but Cali is a bit far away.
03-26-2019, 08:49 AM
#3
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
I am not a proponent of randomly throwing parts at the issue, but I will say this.......if you still have the factory BJs in there, it wouldn't be wasted money to replace em if you plan on keeping this for several years. They are just a ticking time bomb on modified jeeps. IMO, they are the 2nd most common issue behind the TB bolts and joints. Were you ever able to take short video of you testing those?
This is unlikely an issue, but you might inspect the axle side TB bracket for cracks. Have seen a broken weld on an axle TB bracket be the cause before. Was trickier to pinpoint cuz the bolts were torqued and the joints didn't show movement when testing, but when driving there was enough play in the bracket due to the cracked weld that it was the same result....too much movement.
At this point, think it's just going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Can't recall the mileage on the jeep. Would find it really hard to believe it would be unit bearing play, TR and DL seems to check out ok. No accident history that you know of? Might just inspect all axle-side bracket welds including control arm brackets.
If you look at ball joints, you might focus on Teraflex. They have a lifetime warranty and seem to be the better mid-priced option lately. If you have jack, jack stands, and decent hand tools, this is a job you can do yourself....or I suspect your mechanic friend would either help or cut you a deal. Most BJs will be in that $225-$250 range, and labor at a normal shop can run $250-$400. It's not technically difficult, but working on a garage floor it can take 3-4hrs to do both sides. if it's something you want to explore, can walk through the process.
I commend you on your efforts this far. You are a determined lady. Most people give up and just take it somewhere and say "fix this". You are building an important understanding of your jeep that is going to serve you well in the future. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions. If you were within couple hours I'd come help....but Cali is a bit far away.
This is unlikely an issue, but you might inspect the axle side TB bracket for cracks. Have seen a broken weld on an axle TB bracket be the cause before. Was trickier to pinpoint cuz the bolts were torqued and the joints didn't show movement when testing, but when driving there was enough play in the bracket due to the cracked weld that it was the same result....too much movement.
At this point, think it's just going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Can't recall the mileage on the jeep. Would find it really hard to believe it would be unit bearing play, TR and DL seems to check out ok. No accident history that you know of? Might just inspect all axle-side bracket welds including control arm brackets.
If you look at ball joints, you might focus on Teraflex. They have a lifetime warranty and seem to be the better mid-priced option lately. If you have jack, jack stands, and decent hand tools, this is a job you can do yourself....or I suspect your mechanic friend would either help or cut you a deal. Most BJs will be in that $225-$250 range, and labor at a normal shop can run $250-$400. It's not technically difficult, but working on a garage floor it can take 3-4hrs to do both sides. if it's something you want to explore, can walk through the process.
I commend you on your efforts this far. You are a determined lady. Most people give up and just take it somewhere and say "fix this". You are building an important understanding of your jeep that is going to serve you well in the future. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions. If you were within couple hours I'd come help....but Cali is a bit far away.
I am going to be needing tires in the near future and my plan is to go up to 34s or 35s so I want to get this issue solved before then.
03-26-2019, 08:59 AM
#4
JK Jedi
When looking at TBs, you might want to focus on something that has a bushing style joints for that application. Metalcloak, Synergy, I think even the Teraflex although think that one is pricey IIRC. I'd steer clear of things with metal joints or old school poly bushings. I've been through a couple TBs over the years. Finally got tired of jacking with my RK TB and bought Metalcloak's. Happy to be back to a bushing style myself.
At 90k miles, and plans to go to bigger tires, ball joints should at least be budgeted for if not just done.
At 90k miles, and plans to go to bigger tires, ball joints should at least be budgeted for if not just done.
03-26-2019, 09:32 AM
#5
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
When looking at TBs, you might want to focus on something that has a bushing style joints for that application. Metalcloak, Synergy, I think even the Teraflex although think that one is pricey IIRC. I'd steer clear of things with metal joints or old school poly bushings. I've been through a couple TBs over the years. Finally got tired of jacking with my RK TB and bought Metalcloak's. Happy to be back to a bushing style myself.
At 90k miles, and plans to go to bigger tires, ball joints should at least be budgeted for if not just done.
At 90k miles, and plans to go to bigger tires, ball joints should at least be budgeted for if not just done.
03-30-2019, 03:49 PM
#6
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
I am not a proponent of randomly throwing parts at the issue, but I will say this.......if you still have the factory BJs in there, it wouldn't be wasted money to replace em if you plan on keeping this for several years. They are just a ticking time bomb on modified jeeps. IMO, they are the 2nd most common issue behind the TB bolts and joints. Were you ever able to take short video of you testing those?
This is unlikely an issue, but you might inspect the axle side TB bracket for cracks. Have seen a broken weld on an axle TB bracket be the cause before. Was trickier to pinpoint cuz the bolts were torqued and the joints didn't show movement when testing, but when driving there was enough play in the bracket due to the cracked weld that it was the same result....too much movement.
At this point, think it's just going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Can't recall the mileage on the jeep. Would find it really hard to believe it would be unit bearing play, TR and DL seems to check out ok. No accident history that you know of? Might just inspect all axle-side bracket welds including control arm brackets.
If you look at ball joints, you might focus on Teraflex. They have a lifetime warranty and seem to be the better mid-priced option lately. If you have jack, jack stands, and decent hand tools, this is a job you can do yourself....or I suspect your mechanic friend would either help or cut you a deal. Most BJs will be in that $225-$250 range, and labor at a normal shop can run $250-$400. It's not technically difficult, but working on a garage floor it can take 3-4hrs to do both sides. if it's something you want to explore, can walk through the process.
I commend you on your efforts this far. You are a determined lady. Most people give up and just take it somewhere and say "fix this". You are building an important understanding of your jeep that is going to serve you well in the future. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions. If you were within couple hours I'd come help....but Cali is a bit far away.
This is unlikely an issue, but you might inspect the axle side TB bracket for cracks. Have seen a broken weld on an axle TB bracket be the cause before. Was trickier to pinpoint cuz the bolts were torqued and the joints didn't show movement when testing, but when driving there was enough play in the bracket due to the cracked weld that it was the same result....too much movement.
At this point, think it's just going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Can't recall the mileage on the jeep. Would find it really hard to believe it would be unit bearing play, TR and DL seems to check out ok. No accident history that you know of? Might just inspect all axle-side bracket welds including control arm brackets.
If you look at ball joints, you might focus on Teraflex. They have a lifetime warranty and seem to be the better mid-priced option lately. If you have jack, jack stands, and decent hand tools, this is a job you can do yourself....or I suspect your mechanic friend would either help or cut you a deal. Most BJs will be in that $225-$250 range, and labor at a normal shop can run $250-$400. It's not technically difficult, but working on a garage floor it can take 3-4hrs to do both sides. if it's something you want to explore, can walk through the process.
I commend you on your efforts this far. You are a determined lady. Most people give up and just take it somewhere and say "fix this". You are building an important understanding of your jeep that is going to serve you well in the future. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions. If you were within couple hours I'd come help....but Cali is a bit far away.
So......now I'm trying to decide which ball joints to purchase. I am planning on going up to 35s once I need new rubber so I want some good joints. I have been looking at the Teraflex HD 30/44. What are your thoughts on these?
03-30-2019, 04:16 PM
#7
Super Moderator
Teraflex carries a lifetime warranty if you grease them every oil change. I've moved to them after burning through a set of Synergy's. They seem to work fine.
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03-30-2019, 04:33 PM
#8
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
I meant to post these earlier. Took a couple pics of the factory TB bushings.
Frame side
Axle side
03-30-2019, 05:13 PM
#9
JK Jedi
y, Karl and several others are using the TF. They seem to be the best option available without moving to $500+ BJs. I had poor results with Synergy as well (a couple sets). Alloy is basically the same as Synergy. If you are hearing a clunk when testing those, definitely not a good sign. Do you think you change those yourself or have your friend do for you?
03-30-2019, 05:39 PM
#10
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
y, Karl and several others are using the TF. They seem to be the best option available without moving to $500+ BJs. I had poor results with Synergy as well (a couple sets). Alloy is basically the same as Synergy. If you are hearing a clunk when testing those, definitely not a good sign. Do you think you change those yourself or have your friend do for you?