Death Wobble

[Fatboy2004]

We all have heard of the death wobble with jeeps before. Has anyone had it happen while towing your jeep. I’m at a dealer have mine look at right now. It has happen twice while driving it. (2022 Jeep Wrangler) Concerned it might happen while towing.

 

[Underboss]

It has never happened to me when I had Wranglers, but a friend had the issue and he added a dual steering stabilizer and never had an issue again.

 

[DennisT]

Thought it was in older ones but “if I recall correctly” there was an update to correct the issue on those that had the problem.

 

[Fatboy2004]

All four shocks and the steering damper are leaking oil. There are replacing all under warranty. Hope that fixes it.

 

[clancey1023]

Happened to the wife and I several times. Traveling over 70 mph and hit a pothole and the Jeep wobbles like a 9.0 earthquake.

 

[redbaron]

We all have heard of the death wobble with jeeps before. Has anyone had it happen while towing your jeep. I’m at a dealer have mine look at right now. It has happen twice while driving it. (2022 Jeep Wrangler) Concerned it might happen while towing.

Yes. I have a lot of experience with death wobble: the cause, and the cure.

First question I have for you--What trim / option level is this (ie: rubicon Recon, etc)
Second question: What changes have been made to it since it left the factory?

 

[redbaron]

All four shocks and the steering damper are leaking oil. There are replacing all under warranty. Hope that fixes it.

This has nothing to do with death wobble--sorry to burst the bubble.

 

[Springhook]

2019 Jeep Wrangler with death wobble. I was not taking any chances. I had replaced:
1. Heavy duty drag link
2. Heavy duty tie rod
3. Fox. 2.0 Performance Series IFP steering stabilizer with Synergy steering stabilizer kit
4. Steer Smarts TETI XD sector shaft brace w/frame sidetrack bar reinforcement bracket.
5. Ball joints.

$2741.00 out the door

I had no idea what would happen if it wobbled going down the road in the back of my MH.

 

[BGMAC]

This has nothing to do with death wobble--sorry to burst the bubble.

I tend to disagree somewhat. There is something going on with the front suspension for sure. The steering stabilizer leaking would cause the death wobble and could fix it, or it could mask the real problem temporarily. The leaking shocks could cause the issue and maybe cause the steering stabilizer to go bad.
The reality is that the entire front end needs to be checked even after finding those items leaking.

 

[redbaron]

2019 Jeep Wrangler with death wobble. I was not taking any chances. I had replaced:
1. Heavy duty drag link
2. Heavy duty tie rod
3. Fox. 2.0 Performance Series IFP steering stabilizer with Synergy steering stabilizer kit
4. Steer Smarts TETI XD sector shaft brace w/frame sidetrack bar reinforcement bracket.
5. Ball joints.

$2741.00 out the door

I had no idea what would happen if it wobbled going down the road in the back of my MH.

Your build is sounding a lot like mine.

The Drag link / Tie rod are suspect in the order of testing. What I discovered on mine is after I upgraded the components, the brackets used for the Drag Link to the axle where the weak part. The only way I found this was driving with a camera pointed at the front end and looking for any movement. Once I saw movement, I started disassmebly and discovered a broken weld on the bracket.

Shocks have nothing to do with death wobble. The death wobble happens when the front axle moves side to side or forward/backward.

Tie Rod, Drag Link, Ball Joints, Hubs, Wheels and Tires (balance) all can cause death wobble.

Steering stabilizer is not necessary, and you can safely drive a properly balanced JL wrangler without one. You will get bump steer, often very severe bump steer, but you will not get death wobble if everything else is good.

A stabilizer will mask issues and make troubleshooting more difficult.

You mention you have new ball joints, and based on the Steersmarts / Fox2 / Synergy labels, I assume you didn't skimp here either.

I would still check your ball joints, and then remove your stabilizer and do a test drive to find the conditions to trigger the death wobble. Once you can easily replicate, then I would re-torque your front end, test again. It takes just a small turn of the nut to make the difference between DW and normal driving.

If you need torque specs or other details I can provide. Also -- inspect the drag link ( i said this already---but this is very common)

 

[Springhook]

Your build is sounding a lot like mine.

The Drag link / Tie rod are suspect in the order of testing. What I discovered on mine is after I upgraded the components, the brackets used for the Drag Link to the axle where the weak part. The only way I found this was driving with a camera pointed at the front end and looking for any movement. Once I saw movement, I started disassmebly and discovered a broken weld on the bracket.

Shocks have nothing to do with death wobble. The death wobble happens when the front axle moves side to side or forward/backward.

Tie Rod, Drag Link, Ball Joints, Hubs, Wheels and Tires (balance) all can cause death wobble.

Steering stabilizer is not necessary, and you can safely drive a properly balanced JL wrangler without one. You will get bump steer, often very severe bump steer, but you will not get death wobble if everything else is good.

A stabilizer will mask issues and make troubleshooting more difficult.

You mention you have new ball joints, and based on the Steersmarts / Fox2 / Synergy labels, I assume you didn't skimp here either.

I would still check your ball joints, and then remove your stabilizer and do a test drive to find the conditions to trigger the death wobble. Once you can easily replicate, then I would re-torque your front end, test again. It takes just a small turn of the nut to make the difference between DW and normal driving.

If you need torque specs or other details I can provide. Also -- inspect the drag link ( i said this already---but this is very common)

Sorry, Synergy ball joints