A little confused, clarification please.

Chad

New member
I had death wobble on my 04 Rubi and found the track bar bushing was shot, so I replaced the track bar with OEM. I looked at Eddie's excellent thread on causes of death wobble and I don't quite understand the torque specs.
It says to torque the nuts to 125 Ft/lb but the instructions with the track bar say frame end 60, and axle end 40. I'm guessing the castle nut should be 60, and the frame bolt should be 40, then the mount brackets themselves should be 125?
Don't mean to be ignorant, but still get a death wobble at times, and I am trying to learn more about working on my jeep, but don't want to break anything.
Thanks in advance.
 

WJCO

Meme King
I had death wobble on my 04 Rubi and found the track bar bushing was shot, so I replaced the track bar with OEM. I looked at Eddie's excellent thread on causes of death wobble and I don't quite understand the torque specs.
It says to torque the nuts to 125 Ft/lb but the instructions with the track bar say frame end 60, and axle end 40. I'm guessing the castle nut should be 60, and the frame bolt should be 40, then the mount brackets themselves should be 125?
Don't mean to be ignorant, but still get a death wobble at times, and I am trying to learn more about working on my jeep, but don't want to break anything.
Thanks in advance.

Not sure on the torque specs, but I have found those things have be really tight. Have someone move your steering wheel back and forth while you watch the track bar and see if bushings are still moving. Also, did you check to ensure the bracket holes were true and not elongated?
 

Chad

New member
Yes, surprisingly the hole was true, thankfully. Just want to make sure I get it right, I don't want to break anything with too much torque.
 

WJCO

Meme King
Yes, surprisingly the hole was true, thankfully. Just want to make sure I get it right, I don't want to break anything with too much torque.

Bolts definitely have torque specs for a reason, but I have had to go beyond that for track bar bolts myself. I don't have the torque specs in front of me, but I'm sure Eddie's write up was accurate.
 

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Bolts definitely have torque specs for a reason, but I have had to go beyond that for track bar bolts myself. I don't have the torque specs in front of me, but I'm sure Eddie's write up was accurate.

Eddies wrote up is for the jk so the bolt specs might be different on a tj
 

Chad

New member
Thanks a lot for the quick responses, greatly appreciated!! I guess its time to do some torque wrench work!
 

Benito

Caught the Bug
i would think that the torque spec would be based on the grade of the hardware and size, those charts are easy to find on the web. someone correct me if i'm wrong.
 

Dustbowl

New member
Had a death wobble on my 99 and ended up doing a 98 ZJ conversion after I found that all of the tie rod end bearings on the drag link and tie-rod were shot. Also found that the steering damper had no resistance so that was replaced also. Replacing the steering damper is only a band-aid fix as it only masks the real problem of worn rod end bearings or ball joints. The OEM drag link and tie-rod are kind of wimpy so that's why I did the ZJ conversion. I've had my TJ up to 70 with no more death wobble issues even when going over RR tracks...
 

Chad

New member
Had a death wobble on my 99 and ended up doing a 98 ZJ conversion after I found that all of the tie rod end bearings on the drag link and tie-rod were shot. Also found that the steering damper had no resistance so that was replaced also. Replacing the steering damper is only a band-aid fix as it only masks the real problem of worn rod end bearings or ball joints. The OEM drag link and tie-rod are kind of wimpy so that's why I did the ZJ conversion. I've had my TJ up to 70 with no more death wobble issues even when going over RR tracks...

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure going to 74ft/lbs should/will help. I replaced the drag link end last year because the boot was shot. I can get her to 85-90 mph with no problems. Seems to just want to do the wobble right at 48-50 mph. Gonna torque both ends of the track bar to 74 today. Thanks again!
 

Chad

New member
I bought a set of Synergy ball joints last month, and was finally able to get a ball joint kit and adapter set with it. Gonna replace those in the next 1-2 weeks ,
 
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