The "Death Wobble", as it is commonly referred as, is when your vehicle begins to violently shake at certain speeds, usually after hitting a bump or a gap in the pavement. Sometimes it is all you can do to slow down and keep control of the vehicle until the shaking stops. The Death Wobble is generally caused by improper caster angle, worn out parts, and/or loose fasteners. Other causes are incorrect wheel backspacing or a damaged steering dampner shock along with incorrect alignment, a bad trackbar, bad joints or even tires.
One way to correct this wobble is to take your vehicle to an alignment shop that is familiar with four wheel drive vehicles. Tell the shop that the caster angle should be put at about 5-6 degrees on a lifted TJ. The JK Wrangler, 2007 and newer should be set at 3-4 degrees. If you cannot achieve that caster then the best solution is to install adjustable length flex arms on the front to allow the caster to be set at the factory specification.
Another thing to do is to check all parts and make sure everything is still in good shape and functioning as it should be. Check for loose or worn out parts. We also recommend that you take it back to the shop where your lift and/or suspension kits were installed and ask them to check the vehicle over.
July 27th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I have the DW’s in my 01 dodge 1500. I never had them before this time my master cyclinder went out mid brake and I had to drive off the road and slam on the emergency brake. I noticed a spacing develope in my gearbox (i think it is) that does the turning. So far ive changed the swat bar linkage, had my tie rods inspected and tightened, an alignment, ball joints inspected. Pretty much the whole front end inspected. Im gettin a new rancho steering stabilizer shock next week. Anything else that can be thought of?? Front and rear shocks are my next big buy for my truck. Should I have my caster angles tweaked as they do in jeeps?
July 28th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
One big thing that is often overlooked is tires. How they are wearing, how they are balanced etc… Balance is one of the most important things; we recommend using a static balance on oversize tires. This makes the tire more true then doing other types of balance. Alignments are another factor. When dealing with lifted vehicles the factory specs do not work for anything that is lifted. You want to make sure that you are getting work done at a shop that is familiar with lifted vehicles because they should align it to drive right not to how factory specs say. Caster angles are a huge thing in getting any vehicle to drive right. To change caster you may need adjustable control arms to your axle this will let you change caster without sacrificing pinion angle. Depending on vehicle application you may want to change caster by as much as 2 degrees more positive.