Warning: This video contains grapic images of "death wobble". If you have ever experienced this you may find parts of this video disturbing and/or unsettling.
Death wobble cause?
This is my 2006 jeep wrangler, axel side track bar mount. I've already had the lower control arm bushings (Didn't fix anything), as well as the alignment and wheel balance done. Everything else looks pretty healthy so I think this might be causing the death wobble.
UPDATE** Just in case anyone wants an update, I replaced this bushing on the stock trackbar with a set of polyurethane bushings from Energy Suspension for 10 dollars. Did it myself following this write-up http://www.gibnet.us/JeepMods/trackbar.htm in one afternoon. Been about 3 months and 4 road trips and still no death wobble! We'll see if it ever comes back...
PLANMAN explains Common source of death wobble on Jeep JK Wranglers
To understand your front end and see a Death Wobble Diagnosis, you need to watch my 2 other videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uQwlmlhiF4&list=UUKzIyplv3FIj1EXoFsRG0qg&index=6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii81V7XYr-k&list=UUKzIyplv3FIj1EXoFsRG0qg
Northridge4x4.com now has a solution for the undersized bolt issue that is more affordable than sourcing the hardware yourself. http://northridge4x4.com/shop/nr4x4-jeep-jk-hardware-kit
Chrysler decided to use 14 mm bolts for the front trackbar on 07-12 Jeep JKs even though the stock bracket holes and the trackbar end bolt sleeve holes are 9/16".
This is a common source of Death Wobble for 07-12 Jeep JKs because if the stock bolts are not correctly torqued and periodically retorqued, the looseness or play of the 14 mm bolts in the 9/16" bracket holes ends up ovaling/wallowing the holes out--allowing even more play/looseness.
When the bolts are not sufficiently torqued and the bolt holes are ovaled/wallowed out, and the suspension hits a pothole, railroad track, or some other road imperfection, the front end suspension and steering can get thrown into a very violent harmonic type resonance that can end up damaging the rest of the front end components (ball joints, drag link ends, tie rod ends, unit bearings, front upper axle side control arm bushings, etc.).
Death wobble is so violent that it can crack or tear off stock trackbar brackets and welds.
Death wobble requires coming almost to a complete stop to get the harmonic resonance/vibration/wobble to stop. It is dangerous because the driver can lose control of their vehicle.
It is vital to stop driving a vehicle that has had even one episode of death wobble and immediately diagnose and fix the source(s) of the problem.
Death wobble is relatively simple to diagnose and fix through a series of component inspections.
I have posted write-ups on several jeep related forums about how to diagnose and fix death wobble. Generally, post #1 explains DW, and post #2 gives an inspection checklist.
Google:
Death Wobble - Track Bar Conversion to Fix Death Wobble - KevinsOffRoad.com
Death Wobble Cure: Highlights of the KevinsOffroad.com Track Bar Conversion and Super Durometer Bushings to help stop Death Wobble on the Jeep ZJ Grand Cherokee, the Jeep XJ Cherokee, and the Jeep MJ Comanche - KOR-9001 Track Bar Conversion for Jeep XJ MJ ZJ
Hey guys. It's Kevin from KevinsOffroad.com . Today we are going to look at one of our Track Bar Conversions.
This is what we use to get rid of Death Wobble on the XJ Cherokee and the ZJ Grand Cherokee, and we've been using it for a lot of years. It seems to work really, really well...I'm going to show you all the components that are involved.
First off, we have the lower end. That goes down on the axle side. We've got a jamb nut that goes on over it, and then this assembly threads into this main bar here. Now, this bar, you'll notice, has an open end...it does not have a bushing like the normal factory track bar would. This is an after market JKS track bar, which is mounted from the bottom side of the Track Bar Bracket on the Jeep. This piece goes up through the bottom of this bracket here. You can see the little hole which is left over.
This bracket has been modified with this extra piece down below. We do that for two reasons, one to keep the cost down for you guys, but most importantly, you'll see this rib on the back side of this bracket here. This mounts to the frame here... you have two bolts that come up from the bottom and two bolts that come in from the side.
When the Jeep turns left and right, the axle moves left and right, and the Track Bar's job is to keep it positioned so that it doesn't move, so if you don't have this rib on the back side of this thing, what happens is this bracket actually bends like this... there are some After market brackets that are on the market that just bend, and then you still have Death Wobble problems, so this is very,
very important, and key to a good solid design.
The bar fits into the bottom here, and it gets a Grade 8 half-inch bolt through it. You have your option of either the bushings that come with it normally... these are the same bushings that would come in any after market track bar...made by Daystar...or you have the upgraded Super Durometer bushings that we have manufactured specifically for us.
This is an exclusive KevinsOffroad.com product... you can't get this anywhere else. I'll show you the difference. If you squeeze this, you may be able to see on camera how it mushrooms out a little bit. If I squeeze this one...uurrrrr...no mushrooming. So, this is a 60 or so Rockwell Durometer bushing, this is a 45 or so...so this one's approximately one third to half again stiffer. I think this one might be like a 62 or 64 or something...I'm not a hundred percent sure on that. It's much, much stiffer.
What happens is that these bushings get put together as a pair, and they go inside of this here, and then the other end goes inside, just like that...in fact, I'll show you...maybe not very well... well, I won't waste your time with that, but basically everything slides together... a pair goes in here, and this tightens up the steering immensely because of the lack of movement the track bar is allowed, because these bushings don't crush any longer since you've got these Super Durometer bushings.
So, basically, this is why this is such a wonderful bar if you're having Death Wobble problems. So, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a shout. Our e-mail address is sales@kevinsoffroad.com ... and if you want to give us a call it's 602-841-3355.
Thank you very much! I really appreciate it, and let us know how we can assist.
Death Wobble
2008 Dodge 2500 6.7L cummings doing the death wobble
Jeep Wrangler Death Wobble
2008 Stock Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited. 24,000 miles just experienced my first Death Wobble. I got up to 60 mph and hit my brake to initiate. It wobbled down to 20 mph. Nothing I could do to stop it regardless if I held the brake or let off it. I took my hands off the wheel to video what the steering wheel was doing.
Steering/Death Wobble and Rancho shocks on a Ford Super Duty
Installing a Rancho steering stabilizer and upgrading to Rancho RS9000XL shocks. Cured my steering wheel wobble. The BEFORE and AFTER comparison is at 6:10. Part numbers are:
Stabilizers are part number RS98510. You must have a leveling or lift kit. This does not work on non-lifted front ends. Shocks are Front: RS999043, Rear: RS999047.
Death of a young Jeep Wrangler
Our long-planned safari from Malindi, Kenya, to Namibia got abruptly interrupted, when our new Jeep Wrangler burned down on a remote sand stretch in North-eastern Namibia. Later I heard of several other Jeep Wrangler owners who had the same experience. Obviously a design error - especially for a car advertised as a real adventure vehicle!
Trackbar Flex
Steering/Suspension linkage film along with trackbar flex on my '07 2-door JK.
