Having death wobble with my TJ...

ob_tj

New member
So I just wanted to get some advice from people that have been around longer than I have with TJs. I have been having some pretty bad death wobble lately. And before I drop some money on anything big just wanted so advice on what to try.


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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I have. Already replaced the trac bar with a HD chromoly one I was thinking drag link and tie rod next.

Being that the tie-rod is connected to the drag link, this could be your problem if either or both have worn out joints. What is your toe-in set at now?
 

ob_tj

New member
Being that the tie-rod is connected to the drag link, this could be your problem if either or both have worn out joints. What is your toe-in set at now?

^^^^ This is also a very likely suspect.

I don’t know what my toe-in is set at. I have noticed a little cupping on my front passenger tire. After swapping the trac bar it moved my steering wheel to the right a bit. My next thing I was going to buy was goin to be the synergy steering kit.


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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I don’t know what my toe-in is set at. I have noticed a little cupping on my front passenger tire. After swapping the trac bar it moved my steering wheel to the right a bit. My next thing I was going to buy was goin to be the synergy steering kit.

Cupping on the inside is typically a sign of worn out shocks or other suspension components that are allowing for too much wheel hop. If I could guess, you might have bad ball joints.

Would like to mention my tie rod doesn’t have side to side movement but it does have quite a bit of rotational movement.

Rotational movement is totally normal.
 

ob_tj

New member
Cupping on the inside is typically a sign of worn out shocks or other suspension components that are allowing for too much wheel hop. If I could guess, you might have bad ball joints.



Rotational movement is totally normal.

Hmmm well all of that other than my tie rod and trac bar are all factory with 140K miles on them and just a “few” wheeling trips.... nothing crazy. So I guess it couldn’t hurt to start replacing stuff. I’ll get some ball joints on order now!


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WJCO

Meme King
Hmmm well all of that other than my tie rod and trac bar are all factory with 140K miles on them and just a “few” wheeling trips.... nothing crazy. So I guess it couldn’t hurt to start replacing stuff. I’ll get some ball joints on order now!


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You can check them for play first. Jack up each tire under axle about 2 inches off the ground. Put a large shovel or tampar bar under the tire and pry upward. If ball joints are bad, you'll see the play. Anything over 1/16" is usually enough to give you an issue. Hate to see you spend time and money on something that isn't bad. But at 140k, they likely are.
 

ob_tj

New member
You can check them for play first. Jack up each tire under axle about 2 inches off the ground. Put a large shovel or tampar bar under the tire and pry upward. If ball joints are bad, you'll see the play. Anything over 1/16" is usually enough to give you an issue. Hate to see you spend time and money on something that isn't bad. But at 140k, they likely are.

That’s what I was thinking. That after all those years and trips to the mall that it’s highly unlikely that they are still good. I will look over that when I get home. From work.


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jwalt

Member
I have had the same issue with mine. When inspecting underneath nothing appeared to be loose but everything did have some wear to it. After checking tire balance and alignment I started by changing tie rods ends and even the pitman arm because it was worn. It narrowed down the wobble to a smaller section 50-65mph. After this I replaced ball joints and while I was in there I pulled the axles and did the ujoints and wheel bearing assemblies. This again tightened everything up and really made the tj ride nice but I still got a narrow band death wobble at about 50-55 constant speed if hitting a bump. This next week I will be replacing the trac bar and if that doesn’t fix it I will replace control arms. I know I am in to this for a bit of time and money but I can say that all of these components were worn enough that each has helped my TJ drive better and be more enjoyable. My Jeep has 165000 on it with much of it having been towed behind an RV. I plan to let my kids drive this when they get to high school so it has been fun having them help do the work and learn about the components. In the meantime I get to make it safer, drive it, wheel it, and put the good scratches in it.
 
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