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death wobble cannot fine cure.

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Old 07-20-2013 | 10:18 PM
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zombiehunter99's Avatar
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From: cbus
Year: 1999
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Question death wobble cannot fine cure.

My 99 Cherokee sport has tha famous dw. It didnt accrue til after I replaced my front shocks and sway bar bushings. I happens at 50-65mph and have to slow down to 45 to stop the wobble.I have checked everything under the front my tie rods track bar control arms and ball joints are tight no movement. I noticed my steering stablizer shock has fluid all over it. Could this be my culprit or look elsewhere? Need help
Old 07-20-2013 | 10:19 PM
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Stock suspension and tires?
Old 07-20-2013 | 10:24 PM
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Its not the steering stabilizer. You can take that off completely and it won't make any difference.
Old 07-20-2013 | 10:29 PM
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Track bar is the #1 cause of dw...
Old 07-20-2013 | 10:49 PM
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All stock no lift want to. And stock tires
Old 07-21-2013 | 12:50 AM
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ok so everything is good?
Must be magic then
Old 07-21-2013 | 12:51 AM
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How old are tires? Ever been balanced?

And how'd you check the front end for play? Detailed explanation would help
Old 07-21-2013 | 03:02 AM
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Okay found out my track bar has movement how I found out is I had someone turn the wheel side to side while I was under the jeep and I saw the joint on the driverside move side to side and moved up n down as the wheel was turning. Did think to check it that way I tried to moveIit by hand nope that didnt cut it. So im going to replace the track bar and stabilizer shock and ill let you guys know how it goes.....
Old 07-21-2013 | 08:32 AM
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Good deal. Track bar should fix it right up. As someone said a few posts up, you don't even really need a steering stabilizer. You should be fine without it
Old 07-21-2013 | 09:30 AM
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replace the steering stabilizer. it's bad and it is not doing its job.. it's there for a reason and that reason is to prevent this from happening whether or not there are other worn elements in play. it was put on there from the factory for a reason. also replace any other worn front end components like the track bar because this will cause pre mature wear on the stabilizer. it's the nature of the steering setup that causes the death wobble and typically on a system that is completely in spec it should not happen but this is not a perfect world and we all drive jeeps so we know there is no such thing as perfect.. i replaced mine when i did my tires and lord have mercy what a difference it made. my death wobble would come in and i would need to come to damn near a complete stop in order for it to dissipate. i do have intentions on replacing all four control arms and track bar up front. i've replaced numerous other stabilizers on customer cars after people have come in from other repair shops after having the front end basically rebuilt but with the same problem (one car had ALL new tie rods. Track bar. Control arms. shocks. alignment was good. still had a wobble. the stabilizer was so old that fluid had leaked out long ago and no longer left any evidence it was leaking. replaced the stabilizer shock drove the car.... best jeep i ever felt.)
Old 07-21-2013 | 09:34 AM
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Thanks for the info. Im going to replace these parts monday so I keep ya posted
Old 07-21-2013 | 03:20 PM
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Hahahaha. So you're a mechanic eh? One that I would never take my car to. The stabilizer shock is there to dampen. To mask. To COVER UP other worn components. Yes if there are other components that are worn enough, it will cause the stabilizer to wear faster. The steering stabilizer is not an important component. I took mine off and have zero wobble. Because all the rest of my front end is good.

The stabilizer does not cure death wobble. It masks other worn parts of the front end.

Sorry bout it
Old 07-21-2013 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by 1996sportXJ
Hahahaha. So you're a mechanic eh? One that I would never take my car to. The stabilizer shock is there to dampen. To mask. To COVER UP other worn components. Yes if there are other components that are worn enough, it will cause the stabilizer to wear faster. The steering stabilizer is not an important component. I took mine off and have zero wobble. Because all the rest of my front end is good.

The stabilizer does not cure death wobble. It masks other worn parts of the front end.

Sorry bout it
I second this.
It's a mask.
Old 07-21-2013 | 03:47 PM
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The track bar bolt (lower) is likely worn to hell, for my dw I hit everything with an impact (200-300ft lbs minimum) lol.
Didn't work, and I snapped the lower bolt due to over torque, haha! But this revealed it being worn too thin, replaced it and it drove perfect.
I've ran 33's for years now and burnt wheel bearings that had my tires hanging over an inch to the side, but it didn't cause dw at 70+ mph.
That one worn bolt was enough to put my jeep into other lanes at 55.

I you have a stock track, may as well replace it!
But if you're upgraded check out that bolt first.

Last edited by rawk krawler; 07-21-2013 at 03:49 PM.
Old 07-21-2013 | 08:05 PM
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Originally Posted by 1996sportXJ
Hahahaha. So you're a mechanic eh? One that I would never take my car to. The stabilizer shock is there to dampen. To mask. To COVER UP other worn components. Yes if there are other components that are worn enough, it will cause the stabilizer to wear faster. The steering stabilizer is not an important component. I took mine off and have zero wobble. Because all the rest of my front end is good.

The stabilizer does not cure death wobble. It masks other worn parts of the front end.

Sorry bout it
1. Are you an engineer? The stabilizer was put there for a reason. Can you explain why Jeep would put a "mask" on their vehicles to cover up parts that need REPLACING $$$?

2. The damper will be much appreciated when wheeling at high speeds. For example, when you are on a logging road going 35 and you hit a big pot hole. The damper will not let the wheels jerk when you run over stuff at high speeds.

You probably wont need a steering damper if you have bigger tires and steering because it will take more to move a beefy front end than it will a stock.

Without a damper you will notice more "noise" in the steering wheel.



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