Death Wobble Help

SnowDirt said:

I took the wheels and hubs off and already discovered my joints were toast so I’m ordering some terraflex ones soon. So any help with the tie rod and track bar is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Click to expand...

A little clarification please. By joints are you referring to the axle u-joints?

Axle u-joints may cause noise but not anything in to do with death wobble. The vast majority of DM issues are caused by a track bar that is not tight. Other suspension issues may come into play. You mentioned that the tie rod will rotate by not move. Slight rotation is normal and not an issue. The tight drag link is good, the loose track bar is not. I would remove the bolts at both ends and check the brackets and the track bar ends. If the holes in the brackets are wobbled out at all, they need to be repaired. If the bushings in the track bar show wear, the track bar must be replaced.

A Mopar OEM front track bar will run $250 at the dealer. You can order one form mymoparparts for $178. If you let them know you are a Wrangler Forum member they will not charge shipping. You can get after market bars for $100 and up from Quadratec and let them know you are a WF member and they will set you up with a discount and free shipping. You will have to call the first time and get set up. After that time if you order online, they will add the discount. It will not show up on the initial online ordering, but will be there when it is charged to your card.

If the track bar ends are good and the brakets are good, replacing the bolts with 9'16" Grade 8 bolts will help. The bolts need to be 3-3 1/2" long shoulderd with washers on both ends and nuts that match the bolts (make sure they have the nylon insert to lock the nut. Torque them to 125 foot pounds (this is critical).

If you want to learn more about DW (other than experiencing it) here is a lint to that discussion with good explanation of what is and is not DW, a video and two videos of diagnosis of how to determine the part causing it. In the conversion to the new forum format, the text is very small and a little hard to read, but worth it.

Here is a discussion (also by planman) about the 9/16" vs 14MM bolts.