Scared to drive ol' Red: another death wobble story

[Jskunk]

Over the past few weeks I have had three or four random "death wobble" episodes triggered by a large bump or pothole at around 45 mph. This is for sure the "OMG I ALMOST DIED AND SHIT MY PANTS AND AM NEVER DRIVING AGAIN" type episodes and not just a little shake or shimmy, Which I have also been experincing.

About my setup, 2016 JKU. I have a very basic quadratec 2.5 inch spring lift, Bilstein 5100's with less than 10k miles, 35 inch Ironman MT tires on newer steel wheels. I have had the wheel and tire setup on for just over 5k miles and just started experiencing this issue.


The wierd part is lately it has been happening only when the vehicle is cold on very cold mornings. After 10 or 15 miles everything warms up and doesnt seem to get the death wobble.


The mud terrain tires I am running is showing cupping in the center of the tread only on the rear which is a little odd. Checked tire pressure at about 36 PSI. Instead of throwing money at a shop or guesing whats wrong I just hit 99k miles and decided to just replace all the stock components.

Ive jacked it up and shook, poked, proded, wiggled, everything I could think of and dont really see anything that is alarming. The track bar and tie rod assembly seems a little loose but Ive seen some posts saying this is normal.

Things I have ordered so far:

RSO Suspension Heavy Duty Adjustable Front Track Bar

Rancho RS5000 Steering Stabilizer

RPM Steering 1-Ton Aluminum Tie Rod and Drag Link Kit w/ HD Stabalizer clamp

Wheel Hub Assemblies x 2

Rough Country Suspension Heavy Duty Replacement Ball Joints

PowerStop Z36 Extreme Truck and Tow Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads (Might as well do these while I have it apart)

And I ordered some less aggresive more reputable tires. I am running Ironman MT's and they are terrible on a daily driver. Tires are like new but I ordered some Goodyear territory MT's ( the bronco pattern) Just because I am over the loud bumpy ride of the ironmans.

Is there anything basic I am forgetting while I have this pulled apart? Besides throwing salt over my shoulder and praying to baby jesus?

 

[BLACKJKU]

Have you checked for play in the steering gearbox, have you don't the chalk test on your tires so that your not overfilling them?

 

[Jskunk]

Have you checked for play in the steering gearbox, have you don't the chalk test on your tires so that your not overfilling them?

Nothing abnormal that I could see when checking for loose steering but I dont have access to a lift to do it properly. I dropped down to 28 psi and drove it around this morning and didnt make much difference. I think the cupping is the sympton of a bigger problem not the cause of the wobble. Althought it could be compouding the issue now that its starting to wear unevenly.

I changed the brand new spare out yesterday for the worse off looking tire and didnt notice any difference at all. There is some abnormal wear but ive driven on some pretty bad tires before and these look like new still.

Worth a shot but think im having a bigger problem than tires or psi.

As my jeep sits I cant go over 40 mph without getting death wobble when I drive to work in the AM but if I wait until its warm out it drives normal. So strange.

 

[BLACKJKU]

Nothing abnormal that I could see when checking for loose steering but I dont have access to a lift to do it properly. I dropped down to 28 psi and drove it around this morning and didnt make much difference. I think the cupping is the sympton of a bigger problem not the cause of the wobble. Althought it could be compouding the issue now that its starting to wear unevenly.

I changed the brand new spare out yesterday for the worse off looking tire and didnt notice any difference at all. There is some abnormal wear but ive driven on some pretty bad tires before and these look like new still.

Worth a shot but think im having a bigger problem than tires or psi.

You don't need a lift to check for steering gearbox play. Just unlock the steering wheel and not running and turn your steering wheel back and forth and watch the left front tire to move. The tire should move back and forth with every movement of the steering wheel. If the steering wheel moves and the tire doesn't right away then you have to much play in the gearbox.

 

[Jskunk]

You don't need a lift to check for steering gearbox play. Just unlock the steering wheel and not running and turn your steering wheel back and forth and watch the left front tire to move. The tire should move back and forth with every movement of the steering wheel. If the steering wheel moves and the tire doesn't right away then you have to much play in the gearbox.

Yes, I had a buddy sit in the seat and give it the ol 11 to 2 back and forth slowly. I didnt notice anything loose, any clunks, or delay. Again not a mechanic but ive always worked on my own stuff. How much movement are we talking?

Thanks for your input, Anything helps.

 

[BLACKJKU]

Yes, I had a buddy sit in the seat and give it the ol 11 to 2 back and forth slowly. I didnt notice anything loose, any clunks, or delay. Again not a mechanic but ive always worked on my own stuff. How much movement are we talking?

Thanks for your input, Anything helps.

You shouldn't have over a 1/2" of movement in the steering wheel before the tire starts moving.

 

[Jskunk]

You shouldn't have over a 1/2" of movement in the steering wheel before the tire starts moving.

Thanks for the info, will go out and check it out again.

Would this cause the issue only at a certain speed? You would think a loose gearbox would be noticeable all the time.

 

[Jskunk]

You shouldn't have over a 1/2" of movement in the steering wheel before the tire starts moving.

With the vehicle off the steering is super tight. I didnt notice any slack at all and the tires turned even with the slightest steering wheel movement. When I tested before I was just looking for movement in the suspension and linkage parts.

 

[Jskunk]

A cool 33 degrees this morning on the Crystal River. I took the Jeep for a test ride and checked PSI. Was sitting at 32 PSI cold.

Same results, Super rough ride and death wobble at 30-35 mph. I dropped it down to 28 psi and drove around real slow doing wide turns to "warm" the tires up. I didnt feel anything odd in the suspension at all just a "bump" feeling ever second or so. It really does feel like a hard spot in one of the tires.

After a couple miles of slow wide turns things seem to have losened up and I could drive as normal. Although there is still a slight vibration especially around 35-40ph. Still stumped.

Parts and new tires show up later this week.