'98 TJ Death Wobble?

[Coco]

OK so I recently purchased a 98 TJ that has the long arm kit, 37s (we are going to downsixe to 35s) it is built. Last night I replaced the steering box, (thought that was the problem) but we still got death wobble at around 40 mph, or hitting a good bump in the road. So I an wondering if anyone has any ideas what it could be?

We are probably going to put the whole thing up on jack stands, and start searching through the whole thing:-\ so any ideas would be good. Thanx

 

[Greg]

Congrats on the TJ Colton! You'll have to post pics when you can. What suspension, axles?

It can be a number of things; worn bushings in the control arms, worn TRE's, bad track bar ends, ball joints, alignment, etc, etc. Your best bet is to start checking each of those items.

There's a bunch of other death wobble threads on here, search them out for ideas. Here's a good one- http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=37869

I got death wobble on my old Toyota after swapping springs. I aligned the frontend in the garage & cured the issue.

 

[RockChucker]

i used to have death wobble big time in my tj also. go through the whole front end and make sure everything is tight. i'm assuming that you still have a track bar, that was one of my biggest culprits. after that, adjust out the lca's to give you more negative caster. in all my death wobble research, this seemed to be the biggest cause of death wobble. also, tire balance is an issue and even control arm bushings.

i know this is a frustrating problem and i wish you the best of luck finding out what is wrong. if all else fails, you could take it to somewhere like teraflex and have a 4 wheel alignment done.

 

[Coco]

Congrats on the TJ Colton! You'll have to post pics when you can. What suspension, axles?

It can be a number of things; worn bushings in the control arms, worn TRE's, bad track bar ends, ball joints, alignment, etc, etc. Your best bet is to start checking each of those items.

There's a bunch of other death wobble threads on here, search them out for ideas. Here's a good one- http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=37869

I got death wobble on my old Toyota after swapping springs. I aligned the frontend in the garage & cured the issue.

Thanx Greg!:greg: OK here are specs:

1998 TJ

front axle:
Dana 30 w/ CTM u joints, warn hard shafts, ARB air Locker

rear axle:
Dana 44 w/ warn hard shafts, ARB air locker

Tires and Wheels
37" Pro Comp X Terrains
some type of ultra wheel...

misc.
Warn 9500 lb Winch
Safari Gard front bumper

I am sure I am missing things...not sure if it has gears or not, was my uncles jeep, and my dad helped build it, so he would know best. Maybe I will get pics up today, and post them in the members rigs section

Thanx for the help so far guys.

 

[Devel]

Steering Stabalizer or Track Bar are my bets

 

[Greg]

Steering Stabalizer or Track Bar are my bets

IMO a steering stabilizer has nothing to do with death wobble. It'll help mask wobble, but won't cause it. If a stabilizer makes death wobble go away, then there's an underlying problem. A new stabilizer is only a band-aid for the real problem.

 

[Chevycrew]

I agree with greg, I dont run stabilizers on any of my rigs, 37's 38.5's and 40's (soon to be 46's) most of my tires are unbalanced as well.

I also second the caster, disregard pinion angle, and set the axle to the factory alignment specs.

 

[zacn64]

ive found if the trackbar and the drag link arnt inline of eachother it will cause the problem.

 

[Coco]

it is going into Teraflex Plus on wednesday to have a 4 wheel alignment done, and hopefully they can find the problem(s) and get it fixed! I want to get this thing on the road! I am downsizing the tires to 35s soon as well

So, if anyone wants 5 37x13.50R15 Pro Comp Xterrains, for $1000 or trade for dirtbike:greg: OBO lmk!