Steering stabilizer question.....

DH2002

DH2002

Member
So I bought a new Quadratec steering stabilizer to replace my stock stabilizer because my OEM one has a decent dent in it due to wheeling. so I replace the shock and decide to take a run on the highway to make sure everything was ok and once I hit 40 mph I got death wobble like crazy, I have never had the problem before so I immediately went home and put the OEM stabilizer back on and presto! no wobble at all. So needless to say very confused....Thanks for any help...
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
DH2002 said:
So I bought a new Quadratec steering stabilizer to replace my stock stabilizer because my OEM one has a decent dent in it due to wheeling. so I replace the shock and decide to take a run on the highway to make sure everything was ok and once I hit 40 mph I got death wobble like crazy, I have never had the problem before so I immediately went home and put the OEM stabilizer back on and presto! no wobble at all. So needless to say very confused....Thanks for any help...
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That is extremely confusing. Regardless, SS won't cause or fix death wobble. Did you have DW for sure or just a bad shimmy? Is it possible the new stabilizer is defective and not allowing the piston to move or something?
 
DH2002

DH2002

Member
Yeah I made sure it did by cycling it in and out completely to get the fluid moved through....
 
DH2002

DH2002

Member
WJCO said:
That is extremely confusing. Regardless, SS won't cause or fix death wobble. Did you have DW for sure or just a bad shimmy? Is it possible the new stabilizer is defective and not allowing the piston to move or something?
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thats whats weird it never even shimmied before, the only reason I got a new one is because the original is dented, its def wobble the whole front end was shaking like crazy and the tires were wobbling all over.... I might have to get a replacement and try again....
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
DH2002 said:
thats whats weird it never even shimmied before, the only reason I got a new one is because the original is dented, its def wobble the whole front end was shaking like crazy and the tires were wobbling all over.... I might have to get a replacement and try again....
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With someone else turning your steering wheel back and forth, check visually for any play especially in track bar and steering linkage. (You can do this yourself with a video camera too but takes longer). If swapping your stabilizer caused that symptom to show up, I would focus on those two areas to start with.
 
DH2002

DH2002

Member
WJCO said:
With someone else turning your steering wheel back and forth, check visually for any play especially in track bar and steering linkage. (You can do this yourself with a video camera too but takes longer). If swapping your stabilizer caused that symptom to show up, I would focus on those two areas to start with.
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Looks like ill be putting the wife to work next weekend.....
 
Sharkey

Sharkey

Word Ninja
WJCO said:
That is extremely confusing. Regardless, SS won't cause or fix death wobble. Did you have DW for sure or just a bad shimmy? Is it possible the new stabilizer is defective and not allowing the piston to move or something?
Click to expand...

Agreed, and you shouldn't even need a steering stabilizer if everything is set up correctly.
 
AC1977

AC1977

New member
I just went through this similar situation, that steering stabilizer (or any) shouldn't/wouldn't cause true death wobble. That in conjunction with loose bolts in the track bar, worn ball joints and / or tie rod ends, loose control arm bolts will definitely cause or contribute to death wobble. I agree with WJCO, start with the track bar connections, and steering linkage first. There are some really good articles that will take you step by step on how to test and check. Invest in a good torque wrench and check the torque on the track bar and control arm bolts. They should be 125 foot pounds if I'm not mistaken.
Mine turned out to be a lot of things causing death wobble, and all of them combined were the ultimate issue. New ball joints, tie rods, grade 8 bolt swap, torquing EVERYTHING properly and a new upgraded steering stabilizer fixed my issues. I ran the steering stabilizer off for a week after all repairs just to be sure it was right. Take that stabilizer off and you'll quickly find you've got some bigger issues. DW is dangerous and can be very aggravating to nail down so good luck!
 
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Highpocketse5

Highpocketse5

Member
I just went through this same issue. Turns out I needed an alignment and have my tires rebalanced. Had the dealer check everything in the front end while they were replacing my inner axle seals and nothing was out of tolerance. Drives better than ever now.
 
DH2002

DH2002

Member
AC1977 said:
I just went through this similar situation, that steering stabilizer (or any) shouldn't/wouldn't cause true death wobble. That in conjunction with loose bolts in the track bar, worn ball joints and / or tie rod ends, loose control arm bolts will definitely cause or contribute to death wobble. I agree with WJCO, start with the track bar connections, and steering linkage first. There are some really good articles that will take you step by step on how to test and check. Invest in a good torque wrench and check the torque on the track bar and control arm bolts. They should be 125 foot pounds if I'm not mistaken.
Mine turned out to be a lot of things causing death wobble, and all of them combined were the ultimate issue. New ball joints, tie rods, grade 8 bolt swap, torquing EVERYTHING properly and a new upgraded steering stabilizer fixed my issues. I ran the steering stabilizer off for a week after all repairs just to be sure it was right. Take that stabilizer off and you'll quickly find you've got some bigger issues. DW is dangerous and can be very aggravating to nail down so good luck!
Click to expand...

Sigh of course, never anything easy lol... would a leveling kit cause things to loosen up like that?
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
DH2002 said:
Sigh of course, never anything easy lol... would a leveling kit cause things to loosen up like that?
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If it was put on incorrectly, you could have a coil spring that didn't seat right or something. Did you do the leveling kit or someone else? Do check all the control arm bolts. You also should buy a cheap angle finder and see what your caster angle is sitting at.
 
DH2002

DH2002

Member
WJCO said:
If it was put on incorrectly, you could have a coil spring that didn't seat right or something. Did you do the leveling kit or someone else? Do check all the control arm bolts. You also should buy a cheap angle finder and see what your caster angle is sitting at.
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did it myself, the springs are in correctly but looks like next weekend ill be busy going through everything...
 
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AC1977

AC1977

New member
If a leveling kit was installed the bolts in the control arms should have been loosened and re-torqued after installation of the leveling kit with the weight of the Jeep back on the ground. I would do the same for the track bar. You might want to inspect the holes that the track bar mounts to, sometimes after DW occurs those holes are egged out. If they're not in bad shape, swapping those 14mm bolts for 9/16 grade 8 bolts with thick hardened washers will help fill that hole up. Honestly as long as the track bar bolts are torqued properly you shouldn't have a problem. The track bar is held firm by the torque of the bolts, that's the critical point. A leveling kit would not have CAUSED the bolts to loosen but if things weren't torqued properly then that can help bolts loosen.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
you replaced your steering stabilizer because it had a big dent in it from wheeling, did you check your tie rod to make sure its not bent?
 
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