WJ Death wobble.

[BDASH]

And here's an article from last year
Chrysler acknowledges Jeep "death wobble"
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...eam&id=8768540

[airlock]

thanks guys, ill have a good look at it tomorrow and see if i cant spot the problem

[SMBCJ]

Track bar bushes sorted mine. I tried adjustable front arms too to correct the geometry, which did help, but since the new trackbar bushes, no more brown trousers!

[Tiddy]

Originally Posted by airlock

had the crap scared out of me today. driving back from walking the dog and hit the brakes to go from 100 to 60 and the front wheels started shaking violently from side to side, a lot like a bad motorcycle tank slapper.
its lifted 2" and has AT tyres, any idea how this can be sorted?

Airlock, if this happened during a hard braking, I would put it down to warped rotors & buggered pads. My grand like yours is lifted with AT's, on a trip to Wollongong recently down thru Bulli pass during braking my Grand shook & vibrated shockingly & got worse the hotter the rotors got.

I'm currently having the rotors & pads replaced along with ball joints, ties rods & all the control arms.

I could be wrong but from your description I think it's the brakes, but no harm in checking & replacing the other bits & pieces & given its age, those bits & pieces are probably all due for replacement anyway.

tiddy

[JamesLaugesen]

Originally Posted by Tiddy

Airlock, if this happened during a hard braking, I would put it down to warped rotors & buggered pads. My grand like yours is lifted with AT's, on a trip to Wollongong recently down thru Bulli pass during braking my Grand shook & vibrated shockingly & got worse the hotter the rotors got.

I'm currently having the rotors & pads replaced along with ball joints, ties rods & all the control arms.

I could be wrong but from your description I think it's the brakes, but no harm in checking & replacing the other bits & pieces & given its age, those bits & pieces are probably all due for replacement anyway.

tiddy

You wouldn't felt pulsing through the pedal too though?
Warped rotors is usually pulsing in the pedal + shaking/vibration in the steering wheel... rather than death-wobble of the whole car.

[fester]

What I think is really important to know is if it was whilst applying the brakes did it go away the moment they were released. Braking can cause death wobbles to start by dropping the car to that speed where the harmonics and the right bumps take over. Isn't the most common DW speed around the 80k mark, so slowing from 100 could trigger it.

I'm with the above thinking. There is a significant difference between brake shudder and DW. I have had bad brakes before and would not liken them to anywhere near a motorbike tank slapper. DW on the other hand is just like a massive tank slapper. Also if the brakes I would think it would happen every time the brakes are applied with varying degrees of intensity.

[ohmygrodd]

Just backing up Fester here.
DW in my limited understanding is the car's response to a problem that only rears its ugly head in a certain scenario, usually triggered by an event at around a certain speed, ie hitting a pothole or bump or heavily applying the brake AT A GIVEN SPEED RANGE. These scenarios all lead to the DW which causes the suspension and/or steering systems to vibrate or shudder violently.
I believe that if the application of the brakes is a factor then they (or at least the actual fast reduction of speed) would be the "trigger" rather than the problem. If the state of repair of a component in the brakes was in question then the effect would or should be there on each application of the brake, certainly at that speed, every time you would think.
I'm definitely no expert as mine was a simple fix of replacing the steering damper but I did read all the DW posts extensively when it happened to me and that is what I have based these thoughts on
Hope this helps and that you can solve the problem soon mate.