2012wrangler
New member
I know that there is a lot of info on DW, much of which I have read and read...and read. I think much of the info is for jeeps that have been around awhile and have potential wear. My jeep has less than 18,000 miles, with only a couple of light off road/mud adventures. My story below, any help would be super appreciated.
Sorry for the long post, but I want to give all the info the first time to avoid wrong information because of not knowing the whole story.
2012 wrangler sport. Here is what I have on the Jeep now:
Rims: steel. I’m thinking these might be the problem because they are heavy and I have read that steel rims are never really perfect round.
These are not hub-centric:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92600_0009_07.htm
Tires, pretty heavy, also suspect, but then again you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a jeep doing just fine with bigger tires. They seem to be wearing correctly. They are directional and are on correct in that regard:
LT305/65R17
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92609_13XX_PG.htm
In addition to the wheels (and at the same time) I had a shop put on a budget coil spacer lift, 1” back, 2” front (leveling kit with bump stops) No extended swaybar links.
Problem started when I put the aftermarket wheels/tires/lift on. Shimmy (not death wobble) started immediately around 35mph, went away around 45mph). Put OEM wheels back on and shimmy goes away. This makes me think the lift kit was installed correctly (I hope). Back at the shop, they added an aftermarket stabilizer (steering one did not help, I got the other) and it helped, but did not solve the problem. After several trips to the shop, each requiring several hours (they are really busy) and 2 rebalances, I gave up on the shop and took it to be road force balanced. They said a rim did not spec out, showed me the computer printout. Got rim replaced, shimmy went away. So now all was good with the new combo on. I thought at this point that the issue was behind me.
5000 miles later, I rotate front to back. Now I get real death wobble. Shimmy is there all the time, all speeds over 25mph. Hit a bump and Jeep virtually uncontrollable, have to slow down to under 25mph for control to come back (death wobble for sure). Maybe the road force place was only concerned with the front? This is the only road force place around me and I don’t want to go back. They are very busy, destroyed several lug bolts, managed to lose (and deny that they lost) one of my air pressure sensors. These guys act like they are doing me a personal favor just by taking over 100.00 for balancing my tires. (end rant). But they did fix the problem. So put my wheels back the way they were from the road force place and all is good.
Fast forward another 3,000 miles. I’m beginning to see a little shimmy sometimes around 40mph. I also had one case the other day when I hit a bump while decelerating at 40mph and got a pretty big shimmy for a couple of seconds. So now my worry is that the problem is just being masked and will come back down the road as components wear. Also, I can't rotate, and when the tires wear out and are replaced, I imagine I will have problems again (not to mention another 140.00 for another Road Force balance.
If the shop had messed something up doing the lift, wouldn't I have the problem even after the road force balance and with the OEM wheels? The "loosen everything, shake it, and retighten" advice seems wise but I'm no mechanic (don’t even have a torque wrench, or know the specs), I'm afraid I might find myself in worse shape (and this is my daily driver). They say that it was torqued on the ground, and all seems good and tight, but they may just have said that to get rid of me.
For all I know, my issue could be caused by all these factors, rims, tires, lift. Maybe all these things are off just a bit and it adds up to my problem? That is the frustrating part.
I read on the internet that DW can come from the tires/wheels being too heavy. Could that be it? These steel wheels are heavy for sure. I’ve also read that steel rims are never really perfect round and that I should go alloy.
I found this rim: http://www.amazon.com/Rugged-Ridge-...UTF8&qid=1394449577&sr=8-1&keywords=jeep+rims
It’s hub centric and alloy, could this be my answer? Very expensive for my limited budget, I would really be bummed if I spent this money and had the same problem!
One other thing. The dampener I have is a Skyjacker Hydro 7000 Series shock absorber – so It’s not made (I imagine) specifically for steering. Problem?
Thanxs again, I really appreciate the help, I'm not much of a mechanic, and know next to nothing about Jeep suspensions.
Sorry for the long post, but I want to give all the info the first time to avoid wrong information because of not knowing the whole story.
2012 wrangler sport. Here is what I have on the Jeep now:
Rims: steel. I’m thinking these might be the problem because they are heavy and I have read that steel rims are never really perfect round.
These are not hub-centric:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92600_0009_07.htm
Tires, pretty heavy, also suspect, but then again you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a jeep doing just fine with bigger tires. They seem to be wearing correctly. They are directional and are on correct in that regard:
LT305/65R17
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92609_13XX_PG.htm
In addition to the wheels (and at the same time) I had a shop put on a budget coil spacer lift, 1” back, 2” front (leveling kit with bump stops) No extended swaybar links.
Problem started when I put the aftermarket wheels/tires/lift on. Shimmy (not death wobble) started immediately around 35mph, went away around 45mph). Put OEM wheels back on and shimmy goes away. This makes me think the lift kit was installed correctly (I hope). Back at the shop, they added an aftermarket stabilizer (steering one did not help, I got the other) and it helped, but did not solve the problem. After several trips to the shop, each requiring several hours (they are really busy) and 2 rebalances, I gave up on the shop and took it to be road force balanced. They said a rim did not spec out, showed me the computer printout. Got rim replaced, shimmy went away. So now all was good with the new combo on. I thought at this point that the issue was behind me.
5000 miles later, I rotate front to back. Now I get real death wobble. Shimmy is there all the time, all speeds over 25mph. Hit a bump and Jeep virtually uncontrollable, have to slow down to under 25mph for control to come back (death wobble for sure). Maybe the road force place was only concerned with the front? This is the only road force place around me and I don’t want to go back. They are very busy, destroyed several lug bolts, managed to lose (and deny that they lost) one of my air pressure sensors. These guys act like they are doing me a personal favor just by taking over 100.00 for balancing my tires. (end rant). But they did fix the problem. So put my wheels back the way they were from the road force place and all is good.
Fast forward another 3,000 miles. I’m beginning to see a little shimmy sometimes around 40mph. I also had one case the other day when I hit a bump while decelerating at 40mph and got a pretty big shimmy for a couple of seconds. So now my worry is that the problem is just being masked and will come back down the road as components wear. Also, I can't rotate, and when the tires wear out and are replaced, I imagine I will have problems again (not to mention another 140.00 for another Road Force balance.
If the shop had messed something up doing the lift, wouldn't I have the problem even after the road force balance and with the OEM wheels? The "loosen everything, shake it, and retighten" advice seems wise but I'm no mechanic (don’t even have a torque wrench, or know the specs), I'm afraid I might find myself in worse shape (and this is my daily driver). They say that it was torqued on the ground, and all seems good and tight, but they may just have said that to get rid of me.
For all I know, my issue could be caused by all these factors, rims, tires, lift. Maybe all these things are off just a bit and it adds up to my problem? That is the frustrating part.
I read on the internet that DW can come from the tires/wheels being too heavy. Could that be it? These steel wheels are heavy for sure. I’ve also read that steel rims are never really perfect round and that I should go alloy.
I found this rim: http://www.amazon.com/Rugged-Ridge-...UTF8&qid=1394449577&sr=8-1&keywords=jeep+rims
It’s hub centric and alloy, could this be my answer? Very expensive for my limited budget, I would really be bummed if I spent this money and had the same problem!
One other thing. The dampener I have is a Skyjacker Hydro 7000 Series shock absorber – so It’s not made (I imagine) specifically for steering. Problem?
Thanxs again, I really appreciate the help, I'm not much of a mechanic, and know next to nothing about Jeep suspensions.
