WiscoHR’s JL Adventures

YAHAHA

YAHAHA

New member
Will you please take a straight-on rear shot to show how high up the tire is mounted? How much window does it block?


It's not just a Jeep, it's an amusement park on wheels.
 

WiscoHR

WiscoHR

Member
WJCO said:
When does the shake occur?
Click to expand...

Going about 30-40 mph, when I hit a bump the steering wheel will shake back and forth for about 10-15 seconds. It moves the steering wheel about 3-4 inches. Only thing I’ve found so far is the Johnny joint on my drivers side lower control arm has a lot of play in it. It will move around with very little effort. All the other joints move but they are pretty stiff. Not sure if that is normal.


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JTCO

JTCO

Meme King
WiscoHR said:
Going about 30-40 mph, when I hit a bump the steering wheel will shake back and forth for about 10-15 seconds. It moves the steering wheel about 3-4 inches. Only thing I’ve found so far is the Johnny joint on my drivers side lower control arm has a lot of play in it. It will move around with very little effort. All the other joints move but they are pretty stiff. Not sure if that is normal.


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

Sounds like death wobble. A re-torque very well may help. Check track bar bolts for sure. And definitely look for signs of a cracked upper weld. It's normal for the Johnny Joint to rotate and flop around, but it's not normal for it to have play as if there is a gap between the centering ball and rubber. It shouldn't move as if there is excessive clearance between the parts (if that makes sense).
 

WiscoHR

WiscoHR

Member
WJCO said:
Sounds like death wobble. A re-torque very well may help. Check track bar bolts for sure. And definitely look for signs of a cracked upper weld. It's normal for the Johnny Joint to rotate and flop around, but it's not normal for it to have play as if there is a gap between the centering ball and rubber. It shouldn't move as if there is excessive clearance between the parts (if that makes sense).
Click to expand...

Re-torqued everything up front, didn’t find anything that was loose. Rotated the tires and about to take it for a spin to see if anything has improved.


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LauraRose

LauraRose

New member
I've never experienced the "death wobble", but have seen videos of it online... does NOT look like fun!.. good luck!!

Laura Rose from PA
 

JP223/3USA

JP223/3USA

Member
WiscoHR said:
Going about 30-40 mph, when I hit a bump the steering wheel will shake back and forth for about 10-15 seconds. It moves the steering wheel about 3-4 inches. Only thing I’ve found so far is the Johnny joint on my drivers side lower control arm has a lot of play in it. It will move around with very little effort. All the other joints move but they are pretty stiff. Not sure if that is normal.


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

Scary as hell and you almost crap yourself when it happens. It’s an earthquake on wheels


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WiscoHR

WiscoHR

Member
WJCO said:
Sounds like death wobble. A re-torque very well may help. Check track bar bolts for sure. And definitely look for signs of a cracked upper weld. It's normal for the Johnny Joint to rotate and flop around, but it's not normal for it to have play as if there is a gap between the centering ball and rubber. It shouldn't move as if there is excessive clearance between the parts (if that makes sense).
Click to expand...

Think I found the culprit, drivers side lower shock bolt was loose. Got that tightened back up and it’s a lot better than it was. Next step, I’m going to order a rebuild kit for the Johnny joint that has some play which happens to be the one right next to the shock.

Thinking the shock being loose damaged the joint. But right now it’s driving about 90% better than it was.

Feel like an idiot because that was the last thing I checked.


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JTCO

JTCO

Meme King
WiscoHR said:
Think I found the culprit, drivers side lower shock bolt was loose. Got that tightened back up and it’s a lot better than it was. Next step, I’m going to order a rebuild kit for the Johnny joint that has some play which happens to be the one right next to the shock.

Thinking the shock being loose damaged the joint. But right now it’s driving about 90% better than it was.

Feel like an idiot because that was the last thing I checked.


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

Glad you found it. Shock shouldn't cause death wobble, but I bet it was bouncing pretty good if one side was loose while the other was tight. Hopefully that johnny joint rebuild will fix it completely.
 

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