[bostonmtb]

So yesterday I hit a series of small bumps, and cause my JK to have a death wobble. I have 35's with the Teraflex leveling kit. The track bar was never removed and the jeep only has 3,000 miles.

What is causing a death wobble on a brand new jeep?

 

[tarpon4me]

You might want to check the balance and trueness of your wheels. Hitting a bump doesn't cause death wobble. That's typically worn bushing or something of the sort. You're jeep is too new for that, so i'm thinking a bent rim or you lost a heap of wheel weights and it's out of balance.

 

[Billetjksport]

Or somethings loose...not torqued correctly. Or a sway bar link is disconnected.

 

[bostonmtb]

You might want to check the balance and trueness of your wheels. Hitting a bump doesn't cause death wobble. That's typically worn bushing or something of the sort. You're jeep is too new for that, so i'm thinking a bent rim or you lost a heap of wheel weights and it's out of balance.

Wheels and tires are brand new, only a week old. I feel like the install was not done correctly.

 

[bostonmtb]

Or somethings loose...not torqued correctly. Or a sway bar link is disconnected.

Do you know the torque specs? Does it matter that the install was done without the track bar removed? The sway bar, shocks, and control arms where tightened with a impact gun and not torqued.

 

[Indianaforester]

Did you remove the washers from the wheel studs?

 

[WredTJ]

New tires does not mean balanced properly. I'd guess torque.

 

[65aircooled]

A brand new tire could be out of round, it has happened to me, and it's near impossible to balance, so I would have that checked.
Which kit do you get, the one with spacers? If so, I installed my teraflex level kit without disconnecting the track bar. I also didn't torque all bolts to torque specs (I know I'll get bashed for that) and I have no DW... Last Thursday I had to go to Maryland (from NJ) and back in one day. I also have Spidertrax spacers, and I have hit plenty of bumps and a couple of pot holes... no DW. Mine is an 08 with 56k or so miles.
Have the tires checked, move front to back and if the problem continues have them road force balanced. After that maybe a failed steering component?

EDIT: My tires are not 35s, the larger the tire, the more DW issues one will get when something is out of balance or loose...

 

[Undispu7ed]

Check torque specs above all else first

 

[ddcha]

Take a wheel off and check to make sure those washers are off the studs. I've owned a dozen different cars and have never seen these on any other vehicle.

I always Roadforce balance my SUV tires. I've learned the hard way in the past. Hunter Roadforce is the way to go.

sway bar endlinks 75 ft/lb torque.

 

[Forgettable1]

Take a wheel off and check to make sure those washers are off the studs. I've owned a dozen different cars and have never seen these on any other vehicle.

I always Roadforce balance my SUV tires. I've learned the hard way in the past. Hunter Roadforce is the way to go.

sway bar endlinks 75 ft/lb torque.

THIS. New wheels may not have a space machined in them to accommodate the assembly clips. Remove all clips, re install wheel. Go chew out tire shop.

 

[dynojoe]

Something similar happened to me. I took it to my local mechanic and he rebalanced and all was fine. I hope that's all you have to do.

 

[bostonmtb]

Did you remove the washers from the wheel studs?

New tires does not mean balanced properly. I'd guess torque.

A brand new tire could be out of round, it has happened to me, and it's near impossible to balance, so I would have that checked.
Which kit do you get, the one with spacers? If so, I installed my teraflex level kit without disconnecting the track bar. I also didn't torque all bolts to torque specs (I know I'll get bashed for that) and I have no DW... Last Thursday I had to go to Maryland (from NJ) and back in one day. I also have Spidertrax spacers, and I have hit plenty of bumps and a couple of pot holes... no DW. Mine is an 08 with 56k or so miles.
Have the tires checked, move front to back and if the problem continues have them road force balanced. After that maybe a failed steering component?

EDIT: My tires are not 35s, the larger the tire, the more DW issues one will get when something is out of balance or loose...

Check torque specs above all else first

Take a wheel off and check to make sure those washers are off the studs. I've owned a dozen different cars and have never seen these on any other vehicle.

I always Roadforce balance my SUV tires. I've learned the hard way in the past. Hunter Roadforce is the way to go.

sway bar endlinks 75 ft/lb torque.

THIS. New wheels may not have a space machined in them to accommodate the assembly clips. Remove all clips, re install wheel. Go chew out tire shop.

Something similar happened to me. I took it to my local mechanic and he rebalanced and all was fine. I hope that's all you have to do.

I took the wheels off, and the washers were removed. I will have the tires roadforce balanced tomorrow, and will torque everything down too. Can you get death wobble from rear end? Every time I hit a bump feels like my rear end is going to kick out. My jk feels floaty. I am running 28psi 315/70/17 4.5

The teraflex install youtube video, I see them snap the rear spacer back into the nipple. If that wasn't done will it snap into place once the spring compresses?

Thank you everyone for the help and comments.

 

[kjeeper10]

Measure the height on each corner. No you wont have issues if the spacer is not seated, just a height difference. Take a look up top, you can see if its seated or not.

 

[Reaper22]

Take a wheel off and check to make sure those washers are off the studs. I've owned a dozen different cars and have never seen these on any other vehicle.

I always Roadforce balance my SUV tires. I've learned the hard way in the past. Hunter Roadforce is the way to go.

sway bar endlinks 75 ft/lb torque.

I did not remove my wheel clips because the Synergy spacers are cut out for them :}

 

[flyfishnevada]

Did you loosen the control arm bolts and retighten with the Jeep on the ground after the lift. If not, the bushings will twist in there and can cause issues. That's all I got beyond what's been mentioned.

 

[RAMM241]

Did you loosen the control arm bolts and retighten with the Jeep on the ground after the lift. If not, the bushings will twist in there and can cause issues. That's all I got beyond what's been mentioned.

This ^^^ plus I loosely tightened all bolts and drove it around the block for everything to seat properly. Re-checked everything and torqued to spec. No issues and going on 5 months now.

 

[Overthinker]

The teraflex install youtube video, I see them snap the rear spacer back into the nipple. If that wasn't done will it snap into place once the spring compresses?

Yes. I wouldn't worry about that being the issue. It would be difficult to fit the spring back in if that wasn't snapped up there, but if they did, far less than the weight of the vehicle would pop it in place.

Do check the bottom ends of your springs to make sure they're in the seats, though.

 

[DrkKnight614]

I took the wheels off, and the washers were removed. I will have the tires roadforce balanced tomorrow, and will torque everything down too. Can you get death wobble from rear end? Every time I hit a bump feels like my rear end is going to kick out. My jk feels floaty. I am running 28psi 315/70/17 4.5

The teraflex install youtube video, I see them snap the rear spacer back into the nipple. If that wasn't done will it snap into place once the spring compresses?

Thank you everyone for the help and comments.

Is what you are experiencing really death wobble? Rememeber your jeep has a solid rear axel, so of course when going over bumps at high speed it may feel like the back end is going to kick some. And now with your increased height, that would be amplified some. Make sure everything is tight, after that Id say look into upgrading your steering stabilizer and trackbars. You added a significant amount of weight at each corner with the 35s too.

 

[bostonmtb]

Yes. I wouldn't worry about that being the issue. It would be difficult to fit the spring back in if that wasn't snapped up there, but if they did, far less than the weight of the vehicle would pop it in place.

Do check the bottom ends of your springs to make sure they're in the seats, though.

Thanks, I looked today. It was in the correct place