Jeep jtd death wobble

[22jtdiesel]

Hi all! Excited to be apart of this forum. I basically bought a gladiator over a raptor because of Eddie. Being very new to anything offroad/wheeling, i watched almost all of Eddies videos and got the whole evo kit while i waited for my jeep to be made.
Evo front/rear 2.5 springs diesel
Evo front/rear trackbar
Evo front/rear upper/lower control arms
Evo king 2.5 front rear shock resi’s
Evo king front air bumps
Evo king steering stabilizer
Evo 1/4 steel bumper + warn 10a winch
KC flex era 4’s front cowl
KC flex era 1’s rear bed cowl chase light
Add stealth fighter rear bumper w KC 2” lights
Doestch 2.5 ton alluminum tie rod/drag link
35x18 toyo at3 black rhino arsenal
May have left some stuff out
50k miles, tons of trails and 2 years later i’ve been plagued with the death wobble. I’ve taken my truck to 4wp, orw and multiple other shops and it goes away for a bit but it keeps coming back these last 7.5k miles.
I torqued down my bolts on the track bar, replaced my tie rod/drag link but it still happens. Im assuming maybe the synergy trackbar relocation kit is the fix but im open to what you all suggest from your experience. I feel i go into these shops as a young guy and they just want my business but they dont really fix my problems so also looking for a good shop recommendation here in IE/socal that does integrity work.
Ill attach pics for a better diagnosis. Really looking forward to being on my first and only forum, what makes it so special is this man that i would watch all his youtube videos can answer a personal question and offer his recommendation ahhhh excited!

 

[wayoflife]

I see that you're running an EVO track bar. Have you tried running a different one? If not, I would highly recommend it and I'm willing to bet your problem goes away. Also, I personally would recommend running an OE stabilizer.

 

[benatc1]

Could definitely be time for ball joints, I’ve replaced them twice to fix death wobble I couldn’t track down on the JL/JTs

 

[wayoflife]

Could definitely be time for ball joints, I’ve replaced them twice to fix death wobble I couldn’t track down on the JL/JTs

THIS^^^ is what I would recommend next.

 

[22jtdiesel]

Thank you benatc1 and eddie! What ball joints and track bar upgrade would you recommend?

 

[cozdude]

Also check your tires. I know those black rock wheels can take a decent amount of weight and your tires look cupped from the pics.

 

[wayoflife]

Thank you benatc1 and eddie! What ball joints and track bar upgrade would you recommend?

First off, do yourself a favor and only do one thing at a time. That way, you’ll know what fixed it. That said, even temporarily running your stock track bar will show you if that’s the problem. Otherwise, RockJock or Synergy is what I would recommend.

 

[22jtdiesel]

Also check your tires. I know those black rock wheels can take a decent amount of weight and your tires look cupped from the pics.

Time for some new tires fersure. These are decaying with decent mileage on them, was looking into bfg ko2 37x18 in a month or two

 

[22jtdiesel]

First off, do yourself a favor and only do one thing at a time. That way, you’ll know what fixed it. That said, even temporarily running your stock track bar will show you if that’s the problem. Otherwise, RockJock or Synergy is what I would recommend.

I put my oe trackbar and stabilizer back one for a quick trial after my first dw. It didnt really fix it so i put the evo and king set up back on and the dw wouldnt be as easily triggered. This was 3.5 months ago. Then i got the tie rod/drag link 3 months ago and then it dampered the dw down a bit but it came back. I will try a new trackbar as suggested and if that still doesnt do the trick, would you say try the ball joints next or vice versa? Thanks for the quick continuous replies

 

[wayoflife]

I put my oe trackbar and stabilizer back one for a quick trial after my first dw. It didnt really fix it so i put the evo and king set up back on and the dw wouldnt be as easily triggered. This was 3.5 months ago. Then i got the tie rod/drag link 3 months ago and then it dampered the dw down a bit but it came back. I will try a new trackbar as suggested and if that still doesnt do the trick, would you say try the ball joints next or vice versa? Thanks for the quick continuous replies

So, a couple of things. The reason why I said to install a new track bar is because the EVO one uses OE bushings. Back in the early JK days, OE track bars came with bonded rubber bushings on BOTH the axle and frame mounts and this was a good design. In fact, I still run it on Moby. However, by 2011-now, Jeep uses bonded rubber at the axle end but now a spherical joint on the frame. This would be fine if the components inside were made out of metal but being that they're made out of plastic, they tend to wear out fast and cause DW. This is something I have personally experienced. Could be your factory track bar is worn out too. Either way, a RockJock or Synergy track bar will fix this problem.

I would address ball joints second and if the track bar doesn't do the trick. Again, the factory ball joints uses plastic components inside of them and they WILL wear out faster than an all metal one. Synergy makes a good HD replacement for this.

Once you get on 37's, I might recommend installing a ram assist as it will help you with steering but it will also completely eliminate any chance of DW - even if you have worn out components.

 

[22jtdiesel]

I did not know that about the bushings and trackbar. Is it the same for the evo control arms as well? When i put my oe trackbar on and oe stabilizer (put it back on original mount instead of steering relocation mount) and now that you mention ram assist i wonder how much would the stabilizer had to do with it. I wasnt doing one fix at a time like you mentioned above, i would do them in groupings of changes.
I will put ob my oe track bar without the oe stabilizer for another trial and if it still cause dw i will upgrade to synergy track bar and if that doesnt fix it i will get into synergy hd ball joints.

How much would a ram assist cost install and parts? I didnt know they completely get rid of dw, that sounds like piece of mind

 

[wayoflife]

I did not know that about the bushings and trackbar. Is it the same for the evo control arms as well?

No. The EVO control arms uses Johnny Joints and they are what I prefer. They are solid and allow for substantial bind free flex. The front upper arms use the bonded rubber bushings on the axle but that's about it.

When i put my oe trackbar on and oe stabilizer (put it back on original mount instead of steering relocation mount) and now that you mention ram assist i wonder how much would the stabilizer had to do with it.

Again, I personally find that the OE stabilizer works the best and it is what I prefer to use on my rigs that still run a stabilizer.

How much would a ram assist cost install and parts?

About $3500 for the kit. I'd say 3-4 hour install.

I didnt know they completely get rid of dw, that sounds like piece of mind

To be clear, it won't fix a worn out or broken component but it will do a fantastic job of masking them. That said, it'll do at least 50% of the work as well and that takes a lot of strain off the components too.

 

[22jtdiesel]

I will give the oe trackbar and oe stabilizer another trial one independently and then if i still have dw ill get a synergy tb and if it persists, synergy balljoints. I will save up for a ram assist in the meantime. Thank you for the help Eddie! I can keep you updated if you’d like.

 

[wayoflife]

I will give the oe trackbar and oe stabilizer another trial one independently and then if i still have dw ill get a synergy tb and if it persists, synergy balljoints. I will save up for a ram assist in the meantime. Thank you for the help Eddie! I can keep you updated if you’d like.

With the factory track bar, your axle will be off center at ride height but it's not that big of a deal. You just want to see if it helps or not. And yes, please do keep us posted.

 

[benatc1]

Thank you benatc1 and eddie! What ball joints and track bar upgrade would you recommend?

Like Eddie said, one thing at a time, but I currently run rock jock track bar and am happy with it, have ran synergy on the past and was happy with that too. For ball joints, either the Spicer HD or the synergy ones.

 

[22jtdiesel]

Update on the death wobble.
1. I started with just switching out the king steering stabilizer with the oem stabilizer.
A: The death wobble was more prone to happen after the smallest potholes around 55mph on the first trial about 20 minutes in.
2. I put back my king stabilizer and then replaced my front evo track bar to my oem trackbar.
A: The oem trackbar was stiffer than the oem stabilizer trial run but looser than evo trackbar trial run. Death wobble happens two days after on the 60 fwy going 65mph.
(both oem stabilizer and trackbar had 100 or less miles on it)
3. I replaced the trackbar for a synergy trackbar and got an alignment.
A: After multiple trial runs to LA, OC and SD. I would hit up to 75-80mph again for the first time in a while since i first got dw. Going on that horrible 60 fwy to LA, they have a couple bumps in the freeway where the jeep would go into an aggressive bump steer but not full on death wobble a couple times. My heart would sink when it would happen to brace myself for a full on dw but it didnt happen however i knew it would eventually.
Last night i got death wobble. It was probably the worst one i had and now when i steer it clunks when i move it side to side. the clunk is definitely coming from the front end side. Took my wheels off and tried to see, everything's seems tight but i tightened the wheels, trackbar, stabilizer just a little more but it still clunks.
I was going to get hd balljoints but the mechanic who did my alignment recently checked the ball joints and said they were fine. I dont know where that clunking is coming or whats causing this invasive dw… does anyone know what it might be?

 

[TrailHunter]

Control Arm(s)?

 

[22jtdiesel]

I just checked the evo front upper and lower they seem tight and solid. What else should i check for in the control arms?

 

[Mike Pierson]

Also, realize that the more you have actual DW events, the more likely your tie-rod ends (TRE) for the drag link and tie-rod, as well as the TRE and bushings on your trackbar, will be getting worse.

 

[TrailHunter]

C

I just checked the evo front upper and lower they seem tight and solid. What else should i check for in the control arms?

check the Jam nuts/bolts. The Arm should not be spinning on the Joint. A while back my front lowers came loose on the axle side.. was getting a clunk. Also make sure all the control arm bolts are torqued to spec.

Have you checked your unit bearings?