Hi group!
I have been chasing death wobble for about 2 months or more. I am providing a very detailed and lengthy description of my efforts and how this all began. First I'll give you my Jeep info and then the background.
2015 JKU, auto
4" lift (unknown company to me)
35x12.5x17 Radar Renegade RT tires, 28psi
CavFab 1 ton steering
RC double cardan front driveshaft
The journey:
North GA had significant snow in January and freezing/below freezing temps for almost 2wks at mountain elevation. The forest roads sustained a lot of damage and erosion from frequent abuse and things melting and refreezing multiple times. The roads were not smooth to begin with and existing potholes or other eroded areas got bigger and deeper. A normal 15" wide x 6" deep hole grew to cover most of the width of the road and depth increased to about 18". The erosion and growth of that hole was unknown and unexpected to me when I came thru at my normal speed of 25-30mph (I don't need to hear about my speed, thank you).
I noticed later that day on pavement that things felt off/a steering shimmy had developed, but nothing appeared damaged. That was 2/13/25.
Here is a timeline of my front end issues and efforts to fix them. As of today 5/18, I'm still chasing death wobble. So I'd like yall to read over, let me know if something was missed on inspections and testing, where to go from here etc. I'm going to include everything i think is relevant, including some service work prior to February 2025. I also have used my same 2 normal shops (a Jeep/offroad shop and a regular shop) for all of the work except for the last alignment done on 5/5/25.
11/2024 - front driver wheel hub replaced
NYE 2024 - tire rotation
2/13/25 - slammed front end into hole described above
3/5/25 - tire rotation, auto transmission fluid change, checked/torqued/marked all suspension and steering bolts, greased fittings/checked bushings. He said my drag link ends looked and sounded worn (stethoscope) and also that when doing steering shimmies that the track bar looks like it's flexing.
3/14/25 - full on DW on the freeway at 65mph
3/18/25 - auto transmission check, discovered bad ball joint, oil cooler checked for a nonpressurized coolant leak.
3/19/25- replaced radiator, topped off coolant/burped
3/24/25 - installed Trail Forged 1 ton (Apex) replacement drag link ends. Alignment by hand and not machine. Steering shimmy still very present.
4/14/25 - installed Teraflex HD ball joints, new brake rotors and pads all around (no alignment yet because other work scheduled a week later - Jeep was driven very minimally)
4/23/25 - installed Core 4x4 adjustable front LCAs
4/24/25 - alignment (can provide screenshot of the measurements), had DW at 35mph on way home in a slight curve. Discovered drag link jam nut was finger loose. Tightened it, dropped psi down from 28 to 26 and did another short drive and had DW at 40mph in another curve.
4/29/25 - returned to shop. All weights stripped from wheels, wheels checked for any damage/bent, rebalanced and rotated around and put back on. No adjustments/alignments done. DW about 40mph on way home.
4/30/25 - purchased 5 used 37" Mickey T Baja Boss. The wear is not even, but is not real bad.
5/2/25 - installed RC adjustable track bar, mount and balance the 37s
5/5/25 - alignment. Did not provide me the numbers. Said he did not touch my caster because it was in the right specs. Said he felt front driveline vibration and my pinion angle was probably off and that I should install front adjustable UCAs to really dial in the total caster. They drove it several times at high and low speeds and no wobble. Unfortunately, I had DW later that day.
5/7/25 - 5/14/25 - inspected, test drove, tried to duplicate DW. Felt play in steering box and swapped out from an existing JK. Advised to order a steering box (RedHead, non ported). Swapping the box there was still a bit of play but not as bad as the one they took out. Drove many miles in many different speeds and could not reproduce DW. I live 5 miles from shop and had DW twice on way home. New steering box has been ordered and will arrive next week.
I have since ordered the upgraded track bar and control arms grade 8 bolt kit with the 14mm additional bolt and those will be replaced on Wednesday while we're waiting for the steering box.
As you can see, I believe we've exhausted damn near everything on the death wobble checklist, with things being checked and/or retorqued to over 125 ft lbs upon each shop visit.
If these bolts and this steering box dont fix this, I'm honestly at a loss now.
I am seeking advice on other things to check, also what my alignment numbers should be, do I really need the front adjustable UCAs?
What else? Bad wheel hubs, weakened weld joints, bent axle tube(s)? I've spent about $3K in parts and labor in the last 2 months and I'm genuinely afraid to drive my Jeep.
I have been chasing death wobble for about 2 months or more. I am providing a very detailed and lengthy description of my efforts and how this all began. First I'll give you my Jeep info and then the background.
2015 JKU, auto
4" lift (unknown company to me)
35x12.5x17 Radar Renegade RT tires, 28psi
CavFab 1 ton steering
RC double cardan front driveshaft
The journey:
North GA had significant snow in January and freezing/below freezing temps for almost 2wks at mountain elevation. The forest roads sustained a lot of damage and erosion from frequent abuse and things melting and refreezing multiple times. The roads were not smooth to begin with and existing potholes or other eroded areas got bigger and deeper. A normal 15" wide x 6" deep hole grew to cover most of the width of the road and depth increased to about 18". The erosion and growth of that hole was unknown and unexpected to me when I came thru at my normal speed of 25-30mph (I don't need to hear about my speed, thank you).
I noticed later that day on pavement that things felt off/a steering shimmy had developed, but nothing appeared damaged. That was 2/13/25.
Here is a timeline of my front end issues and efforts to fix them. As of today 5/18, I'm still chasing death wobble. So I'd like yall to read over, let me know if something was missed on inspections and testing, where to go from here etc. I'm going to include everything i think is relevant, including some service work prior to February 2025. I also have used my same 2 normal shops (a Jeep/offroad shop and a regular shop) for all of the work except for the last alignment done on 5/5/25.
11/2024 - front driver wheel hub replaced
NYE 2024 - tire rotation
2/13/25 - slammed front end into hole described above
3/5/25 - tire rotation, auto transmission fluid change, checked/torqued/marked all suspension and steering bolts, greased fittings/checked bushings. He said my drag link ends looked and sounded worn (stethoscope) and also that when doing steering shimmies that the track bar looks like it's flexing.
3/14/25 - full on DW on the freeway at 65mph
3/18/25 - auto transmission check, discovered bad ball joint, oil cooler checked for a nonpressurized coolant leak.
3/19/25- replaced radiator, topped off coolant/burped
3/24/25 - installed Trail Forged 1 ton (Apex) replacement drag link ends. Alignment by hand and not machine. Steering shimmy still very present.
4/14/25 - installed Teraflex HD ball joints, new brake rotors and pads all around (no alignment yet because other work scheduled a week later - Jeep was driven very minimally)
4/23/25 - installed Core 4x4 adjustable front LCAs
4/24/25 - alignment (can provide screenshot of the measurements), had DW at 35mph on way home in a slight curve. Discovered drag link jam nut was finger loose. Tightened it, dropped psi down from 28 to 26 and did another short drive and had DW at 40mph in another curve.
4/29/25 - returned to shop. All weights stripped from wheels, wheels checked for any damage/bent, rebalanced and rotated around and put back on. No adjustments/alignments done. DW about 40mph on way home.
4/30/25 - purchased 5 used 37" Mickey T Baja Boss. The wear is not even, but is not real bad.
5/2/25 - installed RC adjustable track bar, mount and balance the 37s
5/5/25 - alignment. Did not provide me the numbers. Said he did not touch my caster because it was in the right specs. Said he felt front driveline vibration and my pinion angle was probably off and that I should install front adjustable UCAs to really dial in the total caster. They drove it several times at high and low speeds and no wobble. Unfortunately, I had DW later that day.
5/7/25 - 5/14/25 - inspected, test drove, tried to duplicate DW. Felt play in steering box and swapped out from an existing JK. Advised to order a steering box (RedHead, non ported). Swapping the box there was still a bit of play but not as bad as the one they took out. Drove many miles in many different speeds and could not reproduce DW. I live 5 miles from shop and had DW twice on way home. New steering box has been ordered and will arrive next week.
I have since ordered the upgraded track bar and control arms grade 8 bolt kit with the 14mm additional bolt and those will be replaced on Wednesday while we're waiting for the steering box.
As you can see, I believe we've exhausted damn near everything on the death wobble checklist, with things being checked and/or retorqued to over 125 ft lbs upon each shop visit.
If these bolts and this steering box dont fix this, I'm honestly at a loss now.
I am seeking advice on other things to check, also what my alignment numbers should be, do I really need the front adjustable UCAs?
What else? Bad wheel hubs, weakened weld joints, bent axle tube(s)? I've spent about $3K in parts and labor in the last 2 months and I'm genuinely afraid to drive my Jeep.
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