Death Wobble

oneton

New Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2020
Messages
3
Location
Indiana
Just purchased a 2010 JK with 36,000 original miles and fully stock. Driving it home from purchase and got the death wobble after a small bump. Did it again a couple more times at 50mph. Every thing on front end seems tight. Only thing I can think is it still has original tires which are wore and severely dry cracked. Any one else have any info about this issue? Thanks in advance.

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36,000 miles. I have a feeling you are going to get some strange problems from things just not being used much. How's the rust underneath?

I just had to replace the ball joints in my 2009, but it has around 188K. I guess it's possible that they failed by just sitting there.. maybe. If you end up having to replace them, go on Rock Auto and get some grease-able Moog ones.

First thing I would do, other than changing the tires, is see if there are any grease points on the front end. If you have a torque wrench, check the track bar bolts.
 
Most death wobble comes from tire balance. I would start by balancing the current tires and inspecting front suspension and replacing the worn parts. That will give you time to shop and save for tires.
Keep us updated on your discovery.
 
First and foremost, was it death wobble or vibrations? Death wobble is a shit your pants life changing experience. With true death wobble you can not speed up or slow down to stop it, it will only stop once you've come to a complete stop.

A vibration however will usually go away at certain speeds, and if you apply the brakes, it will stop often times well before you've come to a complete stop.