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

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.

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

"L.W.(ßill) Hughes III" wrote:

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.

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:

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.

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