DEATH WOBBLE PAGE
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Wow, where do I start? Many lifted Jeep Cherokees (XJs) and Comanches (MJs) suffer from what some refer to as "Death Wobble". Basically what happens is that after being lifted the vehicles steering and suspension geometry are significantly changed.
Plain and simple.
The steering reacts differently than that of a factory setup. The suspension has a few new tricks up its sleeve as well.
My vehicle in particular suffers most from death wobble after hitting a bump or series of bumps on any paved road whille doing about 45 miles per hour. The steering wheel begins to shake violently (and I do mean violently!) The entire front of the vehicle feels as if maybe a wheel has come loose. The first time it happens to you, you will definately know it. The shaking will continue until you bring the vehicle to a complete stop. The first time it happend to me i crawled under the vehicle to see what major component was broken and to my amazement, i could find nothing. I checked all the fasteners, tierod ends, u-joints, and found no obvious problems at all.
I continued to drive the Comanche for several more weeks (yes, i am crazy) and found that i could make the death wobble happen at the same bump in the road whenever i wanted. I would just run up the speedo to about 45mph, hit the bump in question, and whammo..... Death Wobble would ensue. This is especially fun when you have a passenger beside you.
After several weeks of driving and experimenting (did i mention i am crazy?) I found I was able to anticipate the onset of the death wobble. I could feel a slight tremmer relayed thru the steering wheel and i would slow down just a bit and avoid the white knuckle experience of slamming on the brakes from 45mph.
After knocking several years off my life i decided it was time to do something about this annoying problem. I did a lot of research, asked a lot of dumb questions and basically bugged the sh*t out of everyone i knew, met or heard about that owned a lifted XJ or MJ.
The guys at the local alignment shop know me by name now, and i am banned from entering the garage area. Actually they have been an excellent source of information, especially when deciphyering the cryptic termonology of front suspensions, steering and what not.
Soon on this page you will find a few opinions about Death Wobble, some sources of information and in general a lot about what hasnt worked to solve the problem so far. Im still working on a complete solution, and when i find it you will certainly see it posted here. contact me via email at the main page and let me know if you have found something that works or even helps. Hell, even if it dosen't help let me know so we can all save ourselves some time and money!
