dbltap's Mojito! JLUR

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Nope. The pic above is fom Wheeler Lake, 08/27/19. Had a great time, but unfortunately it was also the last time that I had the jeep out. I thought that I had solved the DW the day before Wheeler, but that wasn't the case. So far Synergy DL, Synergy TR, Synergy TB, Synergy TB / sector shaft brace, Fox SS, checked all CA joints and mounting points, checked welds, different toe adjustments, rebalanced wheels, no ovaled bracket holes, no visual play in the ball joints, no unit bearing play, everything has been torqued and checked multiple times. ODO has 14K. It's crazy because the DW is so violent that you would think every bolt in the front end is loose. Dealer has offered to replace the steering box under warranty. After that, I'm all out of juice. Honestly, I'm just sick and tired of fucking with it.

Well that sucks and I'm really sorry to hear it. Have you checked the tolerances on your ball joints? It wouldn't surprise me in the least that they're blown. On one of my JK's back in the day, they were shot after 14k miles and that was giving me all kinds of DW.
 

MrGiant

New member
Oh no, that really does sound frustrating! I can imagine you have enough of trying to fix without success and it is a long list of things you checked/beefed up.
I hope you find a way to get it on the road nicely

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR
 

JL_John

New member
Sorry you have to deal with this. I had a similar experience on mine and changed out just about every part, different alignment settings, high caster, new ball joints etc and was only able to mask the issue with stiff stabilizers. On top of the occasional death wobble my Jeep had tons of play in the steering and drifted all over the roads.

I took a shot with the PSC kit and it was like night and day. I did the gearbox and mechanical pump conversion but left the ram off to see how the jeep would react it and couldn’t be happier. Steering is solid even without a SS, tracks straight down the road, no more play in the wheel. It’s an expensive experiment but worked for me. Just me .02 cents.


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doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Sorry you have to deal with this. I had a similar experience on mine and changed out just about every part, different alignment settings, high caster, new ball joints etc and was only able to mask the issue with stiff stabilizers. On top of the occasional death wobble my Jeep had tons of play in the steering and drifted all over the roads.

I took a shot with the PSC kit and it was like night and day. I did the gearbox and mechanical pump conversion but left the ram off to see how the jeep would react it and couldn’t be happier. Steering is solid even without a SS, tracks straight down the road, no more play in the wheel. It’s an expensive experiment but worked for me. Just me .02 cents.


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Thanks for chiming in with your experience. I've been considering the PSC kit, but would hate to go that route only to find that I still have the same problem. Interestingly, I've never suffered from loose steering, wandering or drift either stock or after upgrades. Steering has always been tight , both before and after tires, suspension and steering mods. As soon as I hit a manhole, pothole or break extremely hard everything goes to hell.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for chiming in with your experience. I've been considering the PSC kit, but would hate to go that route only to find that I still have the same problem. Interestingly, I've never suffered from loose steering, wandering or drift either stock or after upgrades. Steering has always been tight , both before and after tires, suspension and steering mods. As soon as I hit a manhole, pothole or break extremely hard everything goes to hell.

If you run the PSC ram assist, I can guarantee you that you won't have death wobble. Even with worn out and loose steering components, the ram will help keep everything under control. Ask me how I know :crazyeyes:
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
My death wobble began in August of 2019, when I installed a Synergy JL Tie Rod and a Synergy JL Drag Link because the tie rod end on my OE drag link (at the pitman arm) was worn/sloppy.

After reinstalling various bits and pieces, my initial observations were:

OE TR + OE DL + OE SS = NO DW
OE TR + OE DL w/o SS = DW

Synergy TR + Synergy DL + Fox SS = DW
Synergy TR + Synergy DL w/o SS = DW

The service manager at my local dealership stated that they would replace my steering box so long as I reinstalled the OE SS.

Yesterday I removed my FOX Performance Series 2.0 Stabilizer TS.

20200307_120208_copy_1024x768.jpg

I installed the Synergy Jeep JL / JLU / JT Steering Stabilizer Relocation Kit (Part #: 8807-03) along with my original/OE SS.

20200306_165928_copy_1024x768.jpg

I have now come up with a new formula:

Synergy TR + Synergy DL + OE SS = NO DW

That's right, I currently have no death wobble. Last night I had it out for about 30 minutes and hit every single pothole and manhole that had previously resulted in DW, but my front end remained DW and shimmy free each and every time. I put the FOX SS back on, and the DW returned.

With the OE SS reinstalled, we took the Jeep out for about 150 miles today on freeway, city roads and fire service roads, all without issue. The Jeep feels as it did before.

Whether or not you should be able to drive all solid axle vehicles without a steering stabilizer, I don't know. How long my front end is going to remain symptom-free, I don't know that either. My experience seems to go against conventional wisdom, but I've got my fingers crossed.
 

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JTCO

Meme King
Glad to hear that you were able to enjoy your Jeep again. I truly hope it's fixed for good.
 

MrGiant

New member
Glad you found a solution - though it is quite surprising the upgrade ss seems to cause your problems in the front end

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Thanks everybody, although I do fear that the solution may only be temporary. It still just doesn't add up. And driving now? It's like a return to walking after you've broken your ankle... cock-a-hoop freedom tainted by trepidation, causing me to cringe at the sight of any road irregularity. Time will tell however, and I'll post updates as necessary.


WTF, I'm posting like I've recently audited a community college beginners literature course. 😅

Either way...

ZomboMeme 08032020090350.jpg
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
My death wobble began in August of 2019, when I installed a Synergy JL Tie Rod and a Synergy JL Drag Link because the tie rod end on my OE drag link (at the pitman arm) was worn/sloppy.

After reinstalling various bits and pieces, my initial observations were:

OE TR + OE DL + OE SS = NO DW
OE TR + OE DL w/o SS = DW

Synergy TR + Synergy DL + Fox SS = DW
Synergy TR + Synergy DL w/o SS = DW

The service manager at my local dealership stated that they would replace my steering box so long as I reinstalled the OE SS.

Yesterday I removed my FOX Performance Series 2.0 Stabilizer TS.

View attachment 15121

I installed the Synergy Jeep JL / JLU / JT Steering Stabilizer Relocation Kit (Part #: 8807-03) along with my original/OE SS.

View attachment 15122

I have now come up with a new formula:

Synergy TR + Synergy DL + OE SS = NO DW

That's right, I currently have no death wobble. Last night I had it out for about 30 minutes and hit every single pothole and manhole that had previously resulted in DW, but my front end remained DW and shimmy free each and every time. I put the FOX SS back on, and the DW returned.

With the OE SS reinstalled, we took the Jeep out for about 150 miles today on freeway, city roads and fire service roads, all without issue. The Jeep feels as it did before.

Whether or not you should be able to drive all solid axle vehicles without a steering stabilizer, I don't know. How long my front end is going to remain symptom-free, I don't know that either. My experience seems to go against conventional wisdom, but I've got my fingers crossed.

Awesome!! So glad to hear you were finally able to get your DW in check and that you're now able to enjoy your Jeep again. It's funny because the setup you're running now is the EXACT setup I've been running as well. I removed my Fox SS mainly because of the damage I've done to the tie-rod clamp but maybe it wasn't helping anything either.

Anyway, enjoy :thumb:
 

WiscoHR

Member
Glad to see the JL is back up and driving. That Oem SS should last for a while. They were putting one on mine every oil change for a while but the latest one has been on for about 10k miles with no steering wheel shake.


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