Death Wobble

turfinator · May 27, 2014

I have an 07 unlimited and experienced death wobble a year ago when I bought it after going down a rough road. Scared the crap out of me but it never happened again. I've recently added 1 1/2" Spidertrax wheel spacers and the problem has come back when driving over a rough stretch of road. The steering wheel violently shoots back and fourth and stops only when I bring the jeep to an almost full stop. I checked everything and nothing was loose but I'm no mechanic. I had 35's installed a couple days ago and had them road force balanced. The problem unfortunately didn't go away. There's no lift on the jeep either (BW Flat fenders). I have an appt. booked in a couple days for a front endinspection. The shop said they're familiar with jeeps but when I spoke with the guy he knew nothing about death wobble. It's a free inspection and I figured at least I could them to check ball joints etc. Any suggestions?
Sorry for my first post being so long winded.

MR.Ty · May 27, 2014

You will find most of the information you are looking for here

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...s-What-it-isn-t-and-What-You-Can-Do-to-Fix-it

turfinator · May 27, 2014

It seems like most incidents of death wobble are exacerbated by a lift kit. Mine became an issue after the spacers were put on. Just wondering if when I take it in they should be looking for something different.

MR.Ty · May 27, 2014

My interpretation of the information you provided about your JK (being an 07, it is an “older” JK), and from what I read in the tread I posted above, it seems to me that your most likely problem is your ball joints. Putting those wheel spacers on probably shift some weight distribution at the wheels and could be the problem. With that being said, I got all of this from reading… I do not have any experience with death wobble. I hope this helps, and that others join in if I am wrong before you start throwing your money at parts that have nothing wrong.

mikefishes · May 27, 2014

turfinator said:
I have an 07 unlimited and experienced death wobble a year ago when I bought it after going down a rough road. Scared the crap out of me but it never happened again. I've recently added 1 1/2" Spidertrax wheel spacers and the problem has come back when driving over a rough stretch of road. The steering wheel violently shoots back and fourth and stops only when I bring the jeep to an almost full stop. I checked everything and nothing was loose but I'm no mechanic. I had 35's installed a couple days ago and had them road force balanced. The problem unfortunately didn't go away. There's no lift on the jeep either (BW Flat fenders). I have an appt. booked in a couple days for a front endinspection. The shop said they're familiar with jeeps but when I spoke with the guy he knew nothing about death wobble. It's a free inspection and I figured at least I could them to check ball joints etc. Any suggestions?
Sorry for my first post being so long winded.

I had a real bad case of DW after I did my lift. I tried everything under the sun to figure it out and constantly ignored the advice here that said it was almost certainly the ball joints. After about a grand worth of alignments, retorquing, a drag link flip, and shit tons of labor hours, I just had the ball joints replaced and that fixed it.

Weird how the "old timers" here could have saved me some hassle.

jeeeep · May 27, 2014

mikefishes said:
I had a real bad case of DW after I did my lift. I tried everything under the sun to figure it out and constantly ignored the advice here that said it was almost certainly the ball joints. After about a grand worth of alignments, retorquing, a drag link flip, and shit tons of labor hours, I just had the ball joints replaced and that fixed it.

Weird how the "old timers" here could have saved me some hassle.

if you ask, they will inform you....and you should listen.

think of all the other stuff you could have bought! :beer:

mikefishes · May 27, 2014

jeeeep said:
if you ask, they will inform you....and you should listen.

think of all the other stuff you could have bought! :beer:

This is the gospel of the jeep lords. Let us give thanks and praise. Amen

turfinator · May 28, 2014

Thanks for the info. It goes in for a front end inspection tomorrow. If it is ball joints what should I expect roughly for getting them replaced?

cozdude · May 28, 2014

turfinator said:
Thanks for the info. It goes in for a front end inspection tomorrow. If it is ball joints what should I expect roughly for getting them replaced?

Crown sells a set (both sides)of ball joints for just under $100 and they are a supporter of the forum and I run them. I would look at them. As for install goes I had mine installed for $350.

Sent from my iPhone

turfinator · May 28, 2014

I'm taking it in to a Speedy Auto here in Manitoba. I'm not sure what type of ball joints they carry. Would I be better off just ordering the ball joints after the inspection? I'm located in Canada so I have the added expense of shipping. If they try and sell me on the brand they carry is there anything that I should be looking for in a ball joint so I won't have to deal with this again in a few months?

Jkjamesdawson · May 28, 2014

Buy the joints recommended by enthusiasts, not the local Speedy. Five minutes on the Internet will tell you that poly performance balljoints are highly recommended by countless JK owners and still a budget conscious decision compared to some others on the market. If your paying for the install, might as well put in a better joint otherwise you'll be paying for another balljoints install a year from now.

olram30 · May 28, 2014

turfinator said:
I'm taking it in to a Speedy Auto here in Manitoba. I'm not sure what type of ball joints they carry. Would I be better off just ordering the ball joints after the inspection? I'm located in Canada so I have the added expense of shipping. If they try and sell me on the brand they carry is there anything that I should be looking for in a ball joint so I won't have to deal with this again in a few months?

dynatrac prosteer is top of the line, crown hd second, alloy has some for 130 bucks on amazon. then synergy would be last in my opinion for 200 bucks.

wayoflife · May 28, 2014

olram30 said:
dynatrac prosteer is top of the line, crown hd second, alloy has some for 130 bucks on amazon. then synergy would be last in my opinion for 200 bucks.

What he said ^^^^. Crown HD are the same joint as Alloy and Synergy only they cost less. If you're wanting a superior joint, nothing comes close to Dynatrac ProSteers. They literally will be the last set of ball joints you will ever have to buy.

turfinator · May 28, 2014

The Dynatracs are $500 and the others you mentioned are just under half of that here. The Alloys are cheaper than the crown hds. I'm not too concerned about a few bucks but $500 is pretty steep.

wayoflife · May 28, 2014

turfinator said:
The Dynatracs are $500 and the others you mentioned are just under half of that here. The Alloys are cheaper than the crown hds. I'm not too concerned about a few bucks but $500 is pretty steep.

Shop around and you will find Crown HD joints are cheaper.

Regarding Dynatrac ProSteers, all I can say is that you get what you pay for. Unlike ANY other ball joint out there, the ProSteers have a different method of operation. OE and the other joints both have a bottom joint that pivots and a top joint that allows up and down motion but no pivot. The Dynatrac ball joints have a bottom joint that allows pivot and, a top joint that goes up and down AND pivots. This helps keep the ball joints aligned with each other without binding. Bent end forgings or, axle C's are incredibly common in JKs and, this function is a crucial part to ball joint longevity.

If you're okay with changing out your joints from time to time, the other joints are all the same and will do much better than stock. If you want joints that last the life of your Jeep and made here in the USA, well, I think the choice is clear.

NFRs2000NYC · May 28, 2014

wayoflife said:
Shop around and you will find Crown HD joints are cheaper.

Regarding Dynatrac ProSteers, all I can say is that you get what you pay for. Unlike ANY other ball joint out there, the ProSteers have a different method of operation. OE and the other joints both have a bottom joint that pivots and a top joint that allows up and down motion but no pivot. The Dynatrac ball joints have a bottom joint that allows pivot and, a top joint that goes up and down AND pivots. This helps keep the ball joints aligned with each other without binding. Bent end forgings or, axle C's are incredibly common in JKs and, this function is a crucial part to ball joint longevity.

If you're okay with changing out your joints from time to time, the other joints are all the same and will do much better than stock. If you want joints that last the life of your Jeep and made here in the USA, well, I think the choice is clear.

Are the dynatrac joints a "set it and forget it" lifetime joint, or do they need to get rebuilt as often as the alloy/synergy/crown joints need to be replaced? Thanks for your thoughts!

wayoflife · May 28, 2014

NFRs2000NYC said:
Are the dynatrac joints a "set it and forget it" lifetime joint, or do they need to get rebuilt as often as the alloy/synergy/crown joints need to be replaced? Thanks for your thoughts!

While they are rebuildable, I have yet to hear of anyone needing to rebuild theirs and this is since they first came out.

NFRs2000NYC · May 28, 2014

wayoflife said:
While they are rebuildable, I have yet to hear of anyone needing to rebuild theirs and this is since they first came out.

To be quite honest, in the grand scheme of things, it's only a $300 difference, but from what my inexperienced eyes can see, it seems dynatracs are that much better and I won't have issues with them. Seems like it's the smart way to go, so that's the route I'll take. I'll have em installed at the same time as I get my C gussets put in....but then my brain tells me "hey, if you're getting balljoints installed, you need to pull the axle shafts, might as well upgrade those as well." Damn this money avalanche.

noroad · May 28, 2014

olram30 said:
dynatrac prosteer is top of the line, crown hd second, alloy has some for 130 bucks on amazon. then synergy would be last in my opinion for 200 bucks.

I just did mine with crown HD's for 120$, if you do it yourself try and find a good press, the auto zone one is a pos lol but it was free so cant say to much!

jeeeep · May 28, 2014

NFRs2000NYC said:
To be quite honest, in the grand scheme of things, it's only a $300 difference, but from what my inexperienced eyes can see, it seems dynatracs are that much better and I won't have issues with them. Seems like it's the smart way to go, so that's the route I'll take. I'll have em installed at the same time as I get my C gussets put in....but then my brain tells me "hey, if you're getting balljoints installed, you need to pull the axle shafts, might as well upgrade those as well." Damn this money avalanche.

I needed to replace ball joints and had future plans to upgrade axle shafts but after helping a buddy with his ball joints and the mileage I had I decided to do ball joints, axle shafts and bearing hubs since everything was already apart. I have stock hubs and shafts now as backup ...yep it added up fast but hopefully shouldn't have to touch anything for many miles.

BTW how often should I grease the ball joints?

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