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Bad wobble-'99 TJ (NOT balance related!)

Hey everybody,

I tried Googling this first, but couldn't get an answer. I have a '99 TJ Sport with 31" muds on it. Between the speed ranges of 48-52 MPH, it wobbles so badly that the CD player skips and soda spills out of cans in the cup holder(like 4 or 5 inches either way). Thinking it was a balance or camber or toe-in or something problem, I took it to a tire/alignment shop. They checked the balance, etc. and it was fine, but said "carrier bolts" had been really loose and tightened them. They didn't charge me, either :) It fixed the problem for a day or two, but I took a long highway drive and now it's back-worse than ever. Questions: is this something I can tighten the hell out of and Loc-Tite? Is the existing condition dangerous? (I just go faster and work through the shimmy). The Jeep's never been in an accident and everything's properly maintained, except I was a little late in the

60,000 mile axle servicing. Any ideas? I'm getting a little scared here. :)

Thanks in advance,

Matt

Reply to
Matt
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you need new tires... they are cupped I have had this happen on many occasions on used jeeps I have bought. They can have a lot of tread left and look OK but they are cupped due to not rotating correctly.

Reply to
IsellJeeps

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

And you need to check the tires for round and any bushing in the control arms or track bar for play.

A worn out steering shock will allow the 'death wobble' to happen, but usually some part or tire is marginal to set it off.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

"L.W.(ßill) Hughes III" wrote:

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Reply to
Mike Romain

there is a big difference in a shimmy and the death wobble.. a shimmy would be the stabilizer..like Bill said. I am 99.9 % sure it is the tires.. I have had this on numerous Jeeps I have bought through the years and that has always been a guaranteed fix.

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Reply to
IsellJeeps

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

If the CD is skipping and soda is spilling from 4 to 5" side to side, that's as close to the death wobble you 'ever' want to be....

A worn/about to break part at that point can be deadly.

And no disagreement on tires, I mentioned them as something to look at.

Mike

IsellJeeps wrote:

Reply to
Mike Romain

I have a 99 with a 2" lift and have never fullly gotten rid of the problem. The track arm is the first suspect. After that i find any part individually or parts as a group that have play will allow the problem.

I would like to run the stock tires when I am commuting to work. But the DEATH WOBBLE prevents that. And then I end up replacing the track bar after a coule of severe incidents. So I keep my 32" MTR's with offset rims on and that suppresses the problem. I still feel it in the steering wheel trying to come back. Eventually it will as the pulsations are getting stronger.

The suspension is on the edge to begin with and lifting or adding tires seems to push it over the edge. If everything is not very tight, a harmonic can begin and there you have it.

I am going to try replacing the stock control arms. It seems my friends running with Tera Flex Arms don't have the problem. I am guessing the softer rubber bushing is allowing to much movement.

Reply to
Trust5280

Thanks for all the advice guys...I'll definitely take it back to an alignment shop. I guess my last question is, why did tightening down the bolts fix it temporarily? Anyone know what the "carrier bolts" are, or where they are?

Thanks again!

Matt

Reply to
Matt

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