Death Wobble on 2011 JK

cpwolf

cpwolf

JK Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2020
Messages
131
Location
Cedar Park, TX
Background: my buddy got a free JK through work (long story, not shady) about 55,000 miles and 2011 JK 2 door.

Death Wobble big time, I drive it and it's not vibes, ha. 25 mph and hit a bump of any kind and you have to stop completely, I know the difference, and it is bad.

Older tires but good tread (Nitto). I put the spare that had no use and got good pressure (30 psi) and same thing. It was at a shop that does some work, they changed the stabilizer and called and said all fixed. I'm more than skeptical....

Question, has anyone seen just a stabilizer on these JK's be the only reason?
 
You talking about the steering stabilizer? Find it hard to believe if that was what they changed fixed it.
 
BLACKJKU said:
You talking about the steering stabilizer? Find it hard to believe if that was what they changed fixed it.
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Yes, steering stabilizer. My experience it can mask issues, a Jeep should be able to run without one. It's a small shop, my buddy is part owner, so I know they're not screwing him per se, his mom is the business manager, ha.

But.....I know the guy knows nothing about Jeeps specifically. I need to drive it, but I bet he threw one on, it stopped acting terrible, and he said "Yep, all fixed."

I'm going to go through the whole setup, he's putting on new tires and we'll get them balanced perfectly.

My first thoughts are usually track bar if none of the steering components jump out at me, then I need to test the ball joints.
 
Sounds like you’ve got it figured out. I run 28psi in my tires it tides nice. New tires and a perfect balance will correct the DW. Loose components generally do not cause the wobble.
 
JKTim said:
Sounds like you’ve got it figured out. I run 28psi in my tires it tides nice. New tires and a perfect balance will correct the DW. Loose components generally do not cause the wobble.
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Not sure on that? I've seen loose track bar or components cause issues all the time. I do agree, starting with tires and balancing are stop #1. I didn't get it into my garage to get after it, so I can't say yet, just the initial look and it seemed to be tight.
 
I can relate to having a mechanic that isn't super familiar with Wranglers. Buddy owns a shop and I'm his main jeep customer. I trust him 100% so that is where I go.

For my 2009, I solved the death wobble with new ball joints. It should be an easy check by the mechanic, or even just you and your buddy in the driveway. There are a number of videos online on how to check to see if they are bad.

A loose trackbar can effect the stability of the ride a ton. I don't remember exactly what the torque spec is for a JK but I believe it's around 125 ft-lbs.
 
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