Real death wobble this time. WOW!!

[dagod16]

Ok last time I asked the death wobble question I thought it was death wobble. It wasn't, but this time it happened and I almost had a heart attack. Shaking left to right. Jesus!!!! I was going 65 hit a bump and into the shake it went. I slammed on the brakes and brought it to 30 mph.

I had the front end inspected today by a trusted mechanic and they said it is the tires. The said everything is all tight and in place underneath.

It has only happened this bad once but between 58 to 62 mph the steering wheel shakes every single dayand has been for some time. I thought it might need a balance. Tires are balanced, so they said it's the tires

So can tires be that bad. I still have a years worth of tread on them.

They said the front right tire is the worst of the two front ones. I was going to put the full size spare up on the front right for a while and see if anything changes.

I need your thoughts. I wasn't planning on spending 500 on new tires!! not yet at least. I was kinda hoping to feed the kids this month :cry:

Thanks

Rob

[Mudderoy]

Ok last time I asked the death wobble question I thought it was death wobble. It wasn't, but this time it happened and I almost had a heart attack. Shaking left to right. Jesus!!!! I was going 65 hit a bump and into the shake it went. I slammed on the brakes and brought it to 30 mph.

I had the front end inspected today by a trusted mechanic and they said it is the tires. The said everything is all tight and in place underneath.

It has only happened this bad once but between 58 to 62 mph the steering wheel shakes every single dayand has been for some time. I thought it might need a balance. Tires are balanced, so they said it's the tires

So can tires be that bad. I still have a years worth of tread on them.

They said the front right tire is the worst of the two front ones. I was going to put the full size spare up on the front right for a while and see if anything changes.

I need your thoughts. I wasn't planning on spending 500 on new tires!! not yet at least. I was kinda hoping to feed the kids this month :cry:

Thanks

Rob

Rob, if you didn't think you were going to die, then it wasn't death wobble! :rotfl2:

Get the tires balanced. Probably a good idea to have the rotated as well.

[LizardRunner]

what height lift do you have? True DW is usually a function of being lifted and not having the correct length trac bar.

[Mudderoy]

what height lift do you have? True DW is usually a function of being lifted and not having the correct length trac bar.

If I remember correctly and his vehicle info is current, he's stock.

[LizardRunner]

If I remember correctly and his vehicle info is current, he's stock.

Then it definately would not be DW.

[prerunner1982]

Bring the rear tires up front and see if it happens. If so i would think the tires are fine. Get underneath and have someone saw the wheel back and forth and see if anything moves more than it should. When something down there is worn it is in a delicate balance that can be easily upset by a bump or imperfection in the road, then it's hold on nelly until you can get the rig slowed down enough for it to stop. I brought a busy 3 lane road to a halt with an episode of death wobble...

[dagod16]

yep im all stock..
yes i thought i was going to die!!!!!!.
i think im gonna have all four wheels balanced and the front moved to back.
ive still have a year of tread left. tires arent cheap and i hate not getting my money out of something,like tires.

[bigjim350]

Then it definately would not be DW.

Death wobble can for sure happen on a stock vehicle.

[nateyz2000]

Death wobble can for sure happen on a stock vehicle.

Agreed... Alignment fixes mine every time!

[dagod16]

Can my alignment be off if it seems perfectly straight.

So when I take it in I need to do the following.

Tires front to back.
Balance all four.
Maybe an alignment.

[nickyg]

My 96 is almost stock, (It has a 1 inch coil spacer) I had death wobble a few times. 1st time was track bar bushing at the axle, second time was a bad upper ball joint, Drivers side.

[dagod16]

Ok I had the wheels balanced and rotated.
Three wheels were off by a .25 weight and the front right was off by 1.75 weight.

So the tires have been rotated and balance and the steering wheel doesn't much at all anymore, soooo much better.

I have scalloping on the outside edges of the tires. One tread is higher than the next. It goes higher then lower and then higher. This is all along the edges of all the tires. The face of the tires are fine. The mechanic said that is happening because I need an alignment..

Do I get an alignment now or at the end of the summer when I get new tires.

I'm just mad that I only got 55,000 on a set of 80,000 mile tires. I paid for 80K tires. argggg.. But the shaking is gone.

I'm almost at the wear bar, I have some miles left on the tires and we are coming into the summer time and I think I can run these tires down much more.

Should I do the alignment now or when I get new tires in Sept or Nov.

[Paddletrucker]

I've got a really hard time believing tires can be the only problem. I DO think that the tires being out of balance, or even out of round can START the death wobble, but it seems to me that there MUST be something loose somewhere for it to continue or progress into a full violent shimmy. Maybe if not on the front end, maybe something like a U-joint or wheel bearing on the front??

I've never fought this on my XJ, but I HAVE fought it relentlessly on tractor/trailers. You wanna talk scary? Try it under 80,000 pounds with with two or three trailers sticking out 75 or 80 feet behind you in traffic.

Each time it's happened, it was an out of balance or bad tire that started the shimmy, and SOMETHING ELSE on the front end that allowed it to continue or worsen. Once it was a Pittman arm. Once it was the actual steering box. And once, it was a whole bunch of things, causing me to decide to rebuild the ENTIRE system from the steering wheel, all the way out to the wheels.

In two of those cases, I had "highly recommended" and "trusted" front end shops and mechanics tell me everything g was fine. True, it was aligned properly, BUT they did miss something that was loose or worn.

I found an old school front end guy who refuses to use a computer for alignments. He uses a level, a plumb bob, and very precise measurements and it's, without a doubt, the best and longest lasting alignment I've had. HE'S the one who found the parts that were only slightly loose, but loose enough to send a 14,000 pound steering system into a serious bout of death wobble, or extreme shimmy. BTW, the old guy who found my problem was the FOURTH guy to look at my tractor.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that just bbecause the vehicle is aligned properly and a guy shakes a few things and deems it tight as a drum, it may not be. Get another couple of sets of eyes on it.

I'd have my tractor declared perfect. I could let go of the wheel and it'd run two miles down the roAd and never touch a painted line...BUT hit a bump or even a funny spot in the pavement and you'd better make sure you'd packed the baby wipes. Once, I had an out of balance tire and the truck drove PERFECLTY at all times, except at 42mph. If I accelerated or decelerated quickly through 42mph, she'd keep on keepin' on just fine. Hang a split fraction of a second too long at 42, even on a perfectly smooth road, and the tire would bounce and cause a death wobble that could only be stopped by coming to an absolute crawl in first gear (super, super slow in a semi) and start back up through he gears, taking care NOT to let it be at 42mph for any longer than humanly possible.

I've got all the tire balancing problems solved with a product I'll start a new thread for. The other thing I do now is MAKE SURE the guy telling me it's fine does a lot more thAn grab and shake a few components and declare it tight and fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[4.3LXJ]

Ok I had the wheels balanced and rotated.
Three wheels were off by a .25 weight and the front right was off by 1.75 weight.

So the tires have been rotated and balance and the steering wheel doesn't much at all anymore, soooo much better.

I have scalloping on the outside edges of the tires. One tread is higher than the next. It goes higher then lower and then higher. This is all along the edges of all the tires. The face of the tires are fine. The mechanic said that is happening because I need an alignment..

Do I get an alignment now or at the end of the summer when I get new tires.

I'm just mad that I only got 55,000 on a set of 80,000 mile tires. I paid for 80K tires. argggg.. But the shaking is gone.

I'm almost at the wear bar, I have some miles left on the tires and we are coming into the summer time and I think I can run these tires down much more.

Should I do the alignment now or when I get new tires in Sept or Nov.

Yes, do the alignment now

[dagod16]

Well I had two guys at tri county in Farmer city look t it and they are top notch guys. Then I had a guy in Bloomington at the farm and fleet tell me I need the alignment.

Once I had the balance and rotation done last night it felt so much safer. Nothing wanting to start the wobble. I did only experience the death wobble one time. But it still did occur!!!! I can't imagine driving a tractor like that and getting the wobble. OMG

If I get the alignment now and then get new tires in say Nov then will I need to get another alignment or will it be fine.

This vehicle is 13 years old and never had an alignment. Just didn't need it till now.

Can someone comment on me only getting 55K out of 80K tires?
I've never bought tires that have done this.

Also the Farm and fleet guy said he can't guarantee I will make it the rest of the summer. But I have a sliver of tread left before I hit the wear bar. Darn it!!! I can make it till NOV.

Also everyone needs to remember that the more money the government print the higher prices go!!!! Buy gold and silver now while it's still available.

Thanks

[Mudderoy]

Ok I had the wheels balanced and rotated.
Three wheels were off by a .25 weight and the front right was off by 1.75 weight.

So the tires have been rotated and balance and the steering wheel doesn't much at all anymore, soooo much better.

I have scalloping on the outside edges of the tires. One tread is higher than the next. It goes higher then lower and then higher. This is all along the edges of all the tires. The face of the tires are fine. The mechanic said that is happening because I need an alignment..

Do I get an alignment now or at the end of the summer when I get new tires.

I'm just mad that I only got 55,000 on a set of 80,000 mile tires. I paid for 80K tires. argggg.. But the shaking is gone.

I'm almost at the wear bar, I have some miles left on the tires and we are coming into the summer time and I think I can run these tires down much more.

Should I do the alignment now or when I get new tires in Sept or Nov.

I remember years ago the alignment places (also sold tires) would NOT do an alignment unless you had new tires. I think it was the limitations of the equipment they were using. You should be able to get an alignment done anytime now. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. I think they align to the wheels and not the tires.

Personally I would get it aligned and get tires later.

Each time I have had scalloping on my tires it was the wheel bearing assemblies. Once on a set of 32's and once on a set of 33's.

[Paddletrucker]

Each time I have had scalloping on my tires it was the wheel bearing assemblies. Once on a set of 32's and once on a set of 33's.

I've had tires do this or "cup out" due to bad shocks, too.

[Mudderoy]

I've had tires do this or "cup out" due to bad shocks, too.

Yep I've heard this, and actually changed my front shocks on the 32's

[dagod16]

Ok guys. My alignment is just fine. They only charge me $25 dollars because the didn't need to do anything. The more experienced guy who did the alignment said I replaced my shocks last year and the damage was done to the tires and now that I have the new shocks I finally notice the tires. I guess I won't get new socks after 175K again. I will get them every 75 K. My bad.

I am going to keep the tires that I have. They do need to be replaced and since we are coming into summer and the roads will have more dry than wet or ice.... I think I can make it to the fall and then buy them. I want to milk every last drop of value out of these tires. But I do notice an uncomfortable ride, not often but I notice. O well

Thanks to everyone for the help

[zz top]

Something else to look at is your front sway bar bushings and endlinks... I had the wobble at 50 mph... I replaced the end links and bushings and it wasn't as bad... I started to look through my front end, greased everything ( went through 2 tubes of grease!)... I don't think anything was greased on that jeep since the lift was put on it... wtf? I did notice I have 2 bad tie rods, but I gotta get my front axle problem fixed before I get an alignment...

[dagod16]

I noticed those nipples as well and greased and greased and greased. Crazy.
Thanks for the tip. I really think its my tires. I didn't have the shocks replaced soon enough and because of that the tires didn't wear correctly and I now need new tired. But I won't be buying this japanesse brand at all ever again.

Thanks

Rob

[dagod16]

I have four tires in the back of the jeep ready to go on friday.
on the way home from work it was shaking again. not life threatening but i had to slow to 25 foe it to stop. it was a long left right left kinda shake.

i find it hard to believe its just the tires.Can my tires really
be that bad and i canr tell by looking at them.
ive had them balanced and aligned.

your thought.

[4.3LXJ]

yes, they can. If you get a belt separating or broken it can look good, but not be. I had a BFG that had a separation that squeaked when turning in a parking lot and would throw the front end back and forth. But would drive straight. I have had others that separate and make bubbles that shake the steering wheel

[dagod16]

I still can't believe it but I will take your word for it. I have 4 almost new tires in the back of the jeep right now. I paid $150 for all four and they look great. But the tread pattern is waaaaay different on the tires on my jeep now versus the new ones.

What about the traction bar? IF I buy one how much are they?

But I've gone underneath myself along with the mechanic and nothing moves when we push and pull.

I really hope it's the tires.

[4.3LXJ]

The thing to do is to saw the steering wheel back and forth and watch for something moving where it shouldn't. Armstrong just isn't enough most times

[dagod16]

Well I will keep you posted Friday after I get the tires replaced I will be driving up north two hours.