Death wobble

[Grand_Wag_85]

My 77 J10 has developed a rather nasty case of death wobble while cornering. I thought FSJ's were immune to this, anyone else have this happen?

Would worn ball joints cause it?

[GrandW]

Hmmm, seems conceptually possible, and fortunately easy to check. Can you jack it up and check one of the front joints? If it's that bad the play would likely be fairly pronounced.

[Stuka]

No vehicle is immune to it.

On our Jeeps, its typically bad ball joints, but could also be a loose bearing. Bad TRE's can cause some oscillation as well. Bad alignment will also cause it, but that seems unlikely in this case.

[derf]

Inspect the ball joints, steering joints, spring bushings, and wheel bearings. Some or all of them are worn out. Replace as necessary.

[Phils67]

Bad leaf spring or shackle bushings can cause it also. At least in my case that was the issue. Have someone shake the steering wheel. If the springs rock side to side like mine did it will cause wheel oscillation

[candymancan]

Another thing that will cause it is a bad steering stabilizer... ky moms ZJ had death wobble once i replaced the stabilizer snd it hasnt happend in years since

[Phils67]

I have 2 of those. The problem is still there. I drove the truck a total of 6 miles this year! Mostly just for my own personal therapy. The axles and suspension are all being replaced and the build's still moving along although moving slowly. 2 years later and I am almost done with the new front axle! Lol

[KJ Ryu]

That sounds familiar. Took about two years to build the D60 for my crawler. I feel your pain. When you do get to drive it again, though, you quickly forget all the time you couldn't.

[Phils67]

That sounds familiar. Took about two years to build the D60 for my crawler. I feel your pain. When you do get to drive it again, though, you quickly forget all the time you couldn't.

I DO occasionally drive it but it is pretty brutal. I really shouldn't though. Eventually I know the payoff is going to be greater than the cost. It is going to be an entirely different animal when its all said and done for the better.

[MReese Wagoneer]

Have you checked the tires for balance ? the VERY first ever DW i experienced was in a J10 Golden Eagle after putting the spare on..

[Phils67]

The tires are worn out. I refuse to replace them since I am changing rim size when I finish my 8 lug build. They WERE balanced but this issue followed when I tried different tires.