My life with a Brick

JKbrick

JKbrick

Active Member
I'm really close to giving up on this damn thing. I've been fighting death wobble since July. It is a 2009 2dr rubicon, 13,500 miles on it now. I had a JKS lift that ended up giving me 3 1/4" of lift. Flipped my drag link, raised both stock track bars. All Currie adjustable control arms except front uppers. Wheel spacers and stock rubicon tires and wheels. It never looked great lifted with stock tires so I never drove it much and just drive my work truck. It all started in July when I had my tires balanced and I rotated them. That was my first death wobble, I could tell the trackbar bolt had moved by the paint scratched away from the hole. Had the tires rebalanced and put them back to original location and then no death wobble but a sensation of my front pass side tire felt like it wanted to fall off when I hit a bump. Got so sick of it I took my lift off and put steering and track bars back to stock locations. I even had the local dealer give me a set of 16" steel wheels with the little car tires on them brand new to eliminate the problem being a tire. Yesterday I was anticipating a test drive like driving a new jeep but 2 miles down the road the f'ing thing had death wobble back, so it got worse not better. My son came over and turned the wheel for me and nothing seemed to move at all that shouldn't have. He pried up and down on the tires and there seemed to be no movement at all. So I'm down to throwing money at parts in hopes I guess the right ones or just parking it till I hit the lotto. So damn frustrated.


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When did you put the lift on? Did you have your tires balanced a 2nd time? Is the bolt hole in for your front track bar wallowed out at all? Are you sure your unit bearings and ball joints are still good?

Sorry for all the questions, I know death wobble sucks! I had it over the summer and it turned out to be a combination of a loose front trackbar, busted steering stabilizer, and caster being too low.

I sincerely hope your find the problem.
 
I feel for you! i had mine tore apart for 3 weeks bumming rides to work because i couldnt drive it due to death wobble.

Mine had a lot more miles on it than yours but ill at least tell you what i found with mine

Idk if i wasnt doing it right (im sure that was the case) but when prying up and down on the tires it didnt look like my ball joints were moving at all but i Bit the bullet and swapped them out for pro steers, when i pulled the stock ones out they basically fell apart in my hand they were so shot. What size tires are you running? I know the stock ones are cheap and could get wore out pretty quick.

I didnt have a drag link flip at the time so i went ahead and did that and when i did the joint that connected my drag link to my knuckle was shot as well might be something to look at?

And i had my caster about 2* off what it should have been

Once i fixed those my Death wobble went away, I didnt mess with my unit bearings although i think i should have but i ended up selling the jeep before i got to it.
 
Clutch1981 said:
When did you put the lift on? Did you have your tires balanced a 2nd time? Is the bolt hole in for your front track bar wallowed out at all? Are you sure your unit bearings and ball joints are still good?

Sorry for all the questions, I know death wobble sucks! I had it over the summer and it turned out to be a combination of a loose front trackbar, busted steering stabilizer, and caster being too low.

I sincerely hope your find the problem.
Click to expand...

Put the lift on in 2012, redid the balance and unrotated them back to where they were, I've been looking at replacement track bar bushings and hub bearings on rock auto today, none of it seems bad but something sure is


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desertrunner said:
I feel for you! i had mine tore apart for 3 weeks bumming rides to work because i couldnt drive it due to death wobble.

Mine had a lot more miles on it than yours but ill at least tell you what i found with mine

Idk if i wasnt doing it right (im sure that was the case) but when prying up and down on the tires it didnt look like my ball joints were moving at all but i Bit the bullet and swapped them out for pro steers, when i pulled the stock ones out they basically fell apart in my hand they were so shot. What size tires are you running? I know the stock ones are cheap and could get wore out pretty quick.

I didnt have a drag link flip at the time so i went ahead and did that and when i did the joint that connected my drag link to my knuckle was shot as well might be something to look at?

And i had my caster about 2* off what it should have been

Once i fixed those my Death wobble went away, I didnt mess with my unit bearings although i think i should have but i ended up selling the jeep before i got to it.
Click to expand...

I have a set of used Dynatrac ball joints I got from a guy on here a couple years ago I was saving for a pr44 housing, I guess I'll throw them on and replace everything else if it seems bad or not. What a pain in the ass


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JKbrick said:
I have a set of used Dynatrac ball joints I got from a guy on here a couple years ago I was saving for a pr44 housing, I guess I'll throw them on and replace everything else if it seems bad or not. What a pain in the ass


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Click to expand...

It was kinda a pain in the ass yeah but i did it in my garage in half a day with a rented ball joint press from Napa or Advance AP and in my case it was worth it. I did have to improvise a bit with some random hardware i bought at lowes to make the BJ press work with the Pro Steers if i had to do it again i would just buy their little $12 washer kit

JKbrick said:
Both of you mentioned caster but I think mine was right on, since I took my lift off I'm going to throw my stock control arms back on for now


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Click to expand...

Right i dont think that was really a factor in my case it was just something else i found while tearing apart my front end.
 
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desertrunner said:
It was kinda a pain in the ass yeah but i did it in my garage in half a day with a rented ball joint press from Napa or Advance AP and in my case it was worth it. I did have to improvise a bit with some random hardware i bought at lowes to make the BJ press work with the Pro Steers if i had to do it again i would just buy their little $12 washer kit



Right i dont think that was really a factor in my case it was just something else i found while tearing apart my front end.
Click to expand...

I bought an Astro Pneumatic ball joint press and the washer kit from Dynatrac when I got the prosteers so hopefully I have everything. Waiting to hear on a stock steering knuckle I'm going to install to replace the one I drilled when I flipped my drag link


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I got the 4wd ball joint install loaner from O'Reilly's and it has the longer install cup in it. I had purchased the Jeep specific adapter but the install cup it came with is too short unless and you will need the $10 washer kit.

the Jeep wedged adapter cup made the job easier as well as having new axle guides. the axle guides made it easy to slide the axle shaft back in - no leaks after test drive.

have you checked the toe in?

what's your caster set at?

if your track bar was loose, did you pull the track bar and check the bushings on it?
 
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jeeeep said:
I got the 4wd ball joint install loaner from O'Reilly's and it has the longer install cup in it. I had purchased the Jeep specific adapter but the install cup it came with is too short unless and you will need the $10 washer kit.

the Jeep wedged adapter cup made the job easier as well as having new axle guides. the axle guides made it easy to slide the axle shaft back in - no leaks after test drive.

have you checked the toe in?

what's your caster set at?

if your track bar was loose, did you pull the track bar and check the bushings on it?
Click to expand...

If he has the factory track bar it doesn't have a rubber bushing. The old track bars have solid bushings which don't wear out like the new style.


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jeeeep said:
I got the 4wd ball joint install loaner from O'Reilly's and it has the longer install cup in it. I had purchased the Jeep specific adapter but the install cup it came with is too short unless and you will need the $10 washer kit.

the Jeep wedged adapter cup made the job easier as well as having new axle guides. the axle guides made it easy to slide the axle shaft back in - no leaks after test drive.

have you checked the toe in?

what's your caster set at?

if your track bar was loose, did you pull the track bar and check the bushings on it?
Click to expand...

Didn't check the toe in was hoping to get that after a new tie rod, but didn't buy a tie rod yet, my angle finder said 88 so I thought I was good. I went so far as to put the stock control arms back on yesterday and my angle finder says 86.3 now. For $14 a piece I thought I would press new bushings in the track bars for the heck of it


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JKbrick said:
Jeeeep is sending me a steering knuckle in case the one I have that is drilled is dicked up and I'll put my pro steers in when I change that. Would you do the unit bearings also?


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I would. If your gonna tear down your axles to replace your ball joints you'll be taking your unit bearings off. It would be great to start fresh with some new Timkin unit bearings at the same time. Their not super spendy either. Some where around $200ish. Unless your starving, than put the old one's back on!


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Click to expand...
 
Journeyman said:
JKbrick said:
Jeeeep is sending me a steering knuckle in case the one I have that is drilled is dicked up and I'll put my pro steers in when I change that. Would you do the unit bearings also?


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I would. If your gonna tear down your axles to replace your ball joints you'll be taking your unit bearings off. It would be great to start fresh with some new Timkin unit bearings at the same time. Their not super spendy either. Some where around $200ish. Unless your starving, than put the old one's back on!


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Click to expand...

Thanks, I saw timken and moog on rock auto, not sure which is better, timken are a hair more so maybe better?


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Click to expand...
 
jeeeep said:
I got the 4wd ball joint install loaner from O'Reilly's and it has the longer install cup in it. I had purchased the Jeep specific adapter but the install cup it came with is too short unless and you will need the $10 washer kit.

the Jeep wedged adapter cup made the job easier as well as having new axle guides. the axle guides made it easy to slide the axle shaft back in - no leaks after test drive.

have you checked the toe in?

what's your caster set at?

if your track bar was loose, did you pull the track bar and check the bushings on it?
Click to expand...

Where did you get axle guides?


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