Bad tire wear and death wobble symptoms
- Thread starter desertrunner
- Start date
desertrunner
Active Member
is there anyway to get around welding a plate on there? id have to do a little searching around to get my hands on a welder or someone to do that for me out in Enid. of course i had a plethera of option in CO before i moved :doh:
or anyone out in my area have a welder at home that might let me stop by for a few hours and weld it up ill bring the :beer::beer::beer::beer:
or anyone out in my area have a welder at home that might let me stop by for a few hours and weld it up ill bring the :beer::beer::beer::beer:
2007blackJk
Member
People are not big fans of TF here, but they do offer a neat little gusset plate.
If you can make something similar, all the better.
If you can make something similar, all the better.
cozdude
Guy with a Red 2-Door
this is what i did. i had a washer welded onto my trackbar mount because the hole was wallowed out just a bit. .40 cents for the washer and a case of beer for my welder and all is good! this reminds me i need to check my torque on my trackbar this weekend :crazyeyes:
desertrunner
Active Member
okie dokie well i will work on getting a plate or washer welded up there and when i get that done ill post the update
thanks guys for sticking in there with me :thumb: i know the iconic death wobble is quite the exhausted topic
thanks guys for sticking in there with me :thumb: i know the iconic death wobble is quite the exhausted topic
1/4" toe in is a bit much but not enough to cause death wobble. Ideally, you'd want this to be closer to 1/16"-1/8" but again, it shouldn't make a difference but, could result in some of the tire wear issues you are seeing.
Your track bar mount hole doesn't look as bad as I have seen it on some Jeeps and tightening your bolt to 125-130 ft. lbs. of torque should hold it SO LONG AS you aren't seeing unnecessary additional movement coming from things like worn out ball joints or unit bearings. Maybe I missed it but, did you at least give them a check with a dial indicator? If not, I would start there.
AFTER you address your worn out components, if you still feel the need to reduce the size of your mount hole, I call out a mobile welder or stop by an exhaust shop. shouldn't cost more than $25-30 or less to have done.
desertrunner
Active Member
I am just hoping fixing my toe will help out with the outside tread wear im seeing on my front tires.
like i mentioned before with the front axle off the ground and my buddy inside turning the wheel back and forth there was visible movement in my track bar, not much but still visible (before i took it out). and i just double checked after re install and it is currently torqued to 130 ft-lbs
i have not gotten the chance to check the ball joints out with a dial indicator but i did check them out and there was no visible movement to indicate they were bad (i know the naked eye cant measure hundreds of an inch movements though)
now that i have re installed my track bar and fixed my toe i might take it for a drive and see what happens.
And if i do end up needing to i found a machine shop in town that said they can weld on the washers for me for $30
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desertrunner
Active Member
also how urgent is it for me to fix my caster of +2.5-3 in relation to the problems im having?
2007blackJk
Member
It won't hurt
desertrunner
Active Member
so i figured while i was down there i would measure my whole front alignment and come to find out my front axle is about 1/2" too far to the drivers side (could explain my drivers side pull) so this weekend i am going to re do my whole front end alignment using Eddy's awesome write up :thumb:. Ill check back in with how it drives after i get that done and if i am still seeing movement in my track bar i am going to go ahead and get thos washers welded up.
It will help to instigate it.
Not true at all. Ever get a shopping car with a bum wheel that flops around as you push it? That's caused by a lack of positive caster and you are essentially seeing death wobble. While shallow caster typically will not cause caster, it CAN instigate it.
Your axle being off center will NOT cause your pull to the driver side. In fact, if you load up your Jeep and fill it with occupants and then checked again, I'd be willing to bet your axle will be close to center. It's just the nature of a solid axle with a track bar and not something you really need to worry about other than the fact that it can look funny.
2007blackJk
Member
It won't hurt to install arms for caster angle. That is what I meant by that.
desertrunner
Active Member
so your saying i dont need to re center my axle? :thinking: I am already going to be adjusting my caster i figured i might as well take care of that too. the percice measurment from my reference point was 9" on the driver and 7 7/8" on the passenger so moving it 1/2" toward passenger sound center it up but not sure if that much difference is something to be concerned with if your saying its normal for a soild axle with a track bar
yeah i already have adjustable uppers they just need a little adjustin :brows:
also another sorta un related question i can fix that passenger side lean by extending my passenger side sway bar link correct? or maybe just gain some weight haha
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desertrunner
Active Member
so here is the front track bar movement i am seeing. Right a 5s it focuses in better and you can really see it. Is this enough movement to cause the death wobble? :thinking: double and triple checked and its torqued to 130 ft-lbs. It looks to me that the movement is coming from the bolt inside the track bar not the bolt in the mount hole. I am currently using a 9/16" grade 8 bolt and it seems to fit pretty snug and 5/8" wont fit. any ideas?
also does anyone have a good trick for breaking the tie rod loose? i have soaked it in PB blaster for 2 days and i still cant get the damn thing to budge
is it possible that my tie rod could be slightly bent as well causing the wobble?
i still havent gotten my hands on a micrometer to measure my ball joint movement but i have checked them multiple times and had a buddy who worked in an auto shop check them and we are not seeing any movement to convince me they are bad.
also does anyone have a good trick for breaking the tie rod loose? i have soaked it in PB blaster for 2 days and i still cant get the damn thing to budge
is it possible that my tie rod could be slightly bent as well causing the wobble?
i still havent gotten my hands on a micrometer to measure my ball joint movement but i have checked them multiple times and had a buddy who worked in an auto shop check them and we are not seeing any movement to convince me they are bad.
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2007blackJk
Member
so here is the front track bar movement i am seeing. Right a 5s it focuses in better and you can really see it. Is this enough movement to cause the death wobble? :thinking: double and triple checked and its torqued to 130 ft-lbs. It looks to me that the movement is coming from the bolt inside the track bar not the bolt in the mount hole. I am currently using a 9/16" grade 8 bolt and it seems to fit pretty snug and 5/8" wont fit. any ideas?
also does anyone have a good trick for breaking the tie rod loose? i have soaked it in PB blaster for 2 days and i still cant get the damn thing to budge
is it possible that my tie rod could be slightly bent as well causing the wobble?
i still havent gotten my hands on a micrometer to measure my ball joint movement but i have checked them multiple times and had a buddy who worked in an auto shop check them and we are not seeing any movement to convince me they are bad.
The heim joint looks worn ?
Are you trying to break the tie rod from the knuckle taper ?
Did you try whacking the side of the knuckle ? Or leave the nut on but backed off the the end of the threads.
Use a block of wood and hammer.
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desertrunner
Active Member
the heim joint looks fine to me but if it is going bad i believe RK has a lifetime warrenty haha
and no not trying to get it off the knuckle just trying to get this guy loose to adjust my toe but coat after coat of pb blaster and big ass vice grips on it still cant break it loose
2007blackJk
Member
Heat my friend
desertrunner
Active Member
just got my tires back after finding pretty much the only shop in town that would balance 37s and $100 later that seemed to do the trick for the most part. Im not gonna say its 100% gone but ill give it a solid 90%
i was still able to instigate the wobble by hitting a set of diagonal train tracks but the shimmy was no where near the death wobble i had.
still hoping that fixing my caster and my toe will help me get that last 10% gone.
will update when i get that straightened out
also still looking for an opinion on the vid i posted of the track bar movement im seeing if thats enough movement to be concerned
i was still able to instigate the wobble by hitting a set of diagonal train tracks but the shimmy was no where near the death wobble i had.
still hoping that fixing my caster and my toe will help me get that last 10% gone.
will update when i get that straightened out
also still looking for an opinion on the vid i posted of the track bar movement im seeing if thats enough movement to be concerned
2007blackJk
Member
I tip the tech if he does a good job on my tires. Not often you find somebody who gives a shit.