"Death Wobble" (?) Dilemma

JancytheJeep

New Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2024
Messages
4
Location
Canada
I have a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Sahara JKU with the 3.5 Inch Metal Cloak Gamechanger and I need help.

After hitting a small-medium bump, death wobble begins between 40 and 60km/h (25-37mph), most commonly in the 50km/h (30mph) range.
Once it begins, I reduce the speed to under 40km/hr and it stops.

While the movement is side to side, my front tires are also bouncing up and down.
When driving normal roads in 4WD (winter) it takes much larger bumps to do it, but when it does the back tires get involved.

Note: Isn't death wobble normally at higher speeds and only side to side?

I have replaced:
  • Steering dampener (with a stronger one)
  • Tie rod and all ends
  • Drag link
As a last-ditch effort, I took it to my mechanic today for an inspection. Everything looked fine, and he did an alignment and informed me that my ball joints have slight up-and-down play but no side-to-side play yet. Regardless, I will be replacing those just in case.

At this point, I do not know what to do or what could be causing this… any input would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
 
Track bar can do that, over inflated tires could also, no adjustable control arms on the front axle.
 
Track bar can do that, over inflated tires could also, no adjustable control arms on the front axle.
Do you mean the track bar itself, or the bushings? I haven't checked the track bar or control arms yet, but they were both replaced about a year ago with the Metal Cloak lift (done by a mechanic, not me). I'll look into what to look for and check those both tomorrow
 
Do you mean the track bar itself, or the bushings? I haven't checked the track bar or control arms yet, but they were both replaced about a year ago with the Metal Cloak lift (done by a mechanic, not me). I'll look into what to look for and check those both tomorrow

The track bar bushings, also do you have alot of play in the steering gearbox?
 
With 3.5” of lift your caster may be off, which I think can cause this issue. Do you have adjustable LCA’s if so you could adjust them to get the caster correct.

When did you last have the tires balanced? An unbalanced tire can cause this especially since it is at certain speeds.

With DW I believe to get to stop you basically need to bring the Jeep to a stop to stop the DW.
 
With 3.5” of lift your caster may be off, which I think can cause this issue. Do you have adjustable LCA’s if so you could adjust them to get the caster correct.

When did you last have the tires balanced? An unbalanced tire can cause this especially since it is at certain speeds.

With DW I believe to get to stop you basically need to bring the Jeep to a stop to stop the DW.

I had DW 2 times in my 97 Dodge Ram 2500 and I had to come to a complete stop before it would stop shaking. I was just glad there wasn't any other Vehicles around when it happened.

1st time it was the track bar, 2nd time it was the left front wheel unit bearing.