front end death wobbles

[jonnie]

hey all,
currently own a 97 wrangler and i hav a bit of a problem.
as im driving if i hit the right sort of bump the front end starts to death wobble. the way u see a motorbike go out of control wobblying it feels the same as that the steering shakes and its pretty scary ... usually stops wen i press the brakes but i think it might be a real problem. im running a 2.5" ome kit....
Umm my idea is that it could be the steering damper ... any ideas or solutions would be appreciated !!


Just to add so i dont make a new thread does anyone no how i can get to the fuel filter i hav suspicions it could need changing becoz i hav flat spots as im revving between 1200 - 2200 rpm and its very very sluggish until it gets to 3000 rpm
my dads a mechanic n he sed it might be a fuel problem and the fuel filter could be it... had a look and cant see a way to get the filter out i know its mounted in the tank any suggestions would help thankss

[BigGav]

Sounds suspiciously like a problem I had a few months ago. In the end it was a wheel alignment problem. Get yourself to a tyre shop and ask for a zero toe-in wheel alignment and hopefully your problems will dissapear.

Cheers

Gav

[MR EXTREME JEEP]

Ditto to Big Gavs comments. By the way just as a friendly tip do a search on this topic. It has been discussed to death. Its just that you might find ppl not wanting to repeat them selves over and over again answering the same questions.
Cheers

[JEEP1]

i disagree about the wheel alighnment i went through every process to fix this problem as it was permanent as soon as i hit a ditch i would get it, it ended up being my control arms, either they were nacked, and bushes were totally stuffed start buy fixing that.

also if that doesnt fix it,

i dont knw if u would need to do it for a 2.5" lift kit but i had to on my 4.5" kit, speak to troy at suburban and ask what he sent out to the 2 jeeps in W.A (trevor) it was a drop bracket for the steering arm this fixed the problem straight away.

[jeepilot]

i nearly 100% almost maybe sorta kinda recon it will be your ball joints on the back of your hub (upper or lower). check them with a tyre leaver , if you get any movement the wheel wont do normaly Eg: up down (on hub), forwards or backward, in or out then thats the prob my 96 mod did it and have had 3 into work with it.
as the wheel hit a bump it will start the movement and the weight of the wheel keeps it going, next time hit the brake quickish and hard it should stop it straight away

I COULD BE WRONG............IT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO HAPPEN :)

[MR EXTREME JEEP]

I will try to explain this as best as I can.
If the wheels are not aligned correctly and they face into each other in normal driving they are fine but you will wear the crap out of your tyres. (worth checking) when you hit a ditch one tyre will then move back from the force, as it comes forward it pushes the other tyre back and so the battle starts from the momentum it just gets stonger. You will find that steering in one direction slightly will cancel it out cause it aligns one of the wheels with the rear wheels and over powers the 4th wheel. Braking will stop this cause it will cancel out the action by putting downforce on the tyres making them "toe out". I went to a place called computalign. They charged $45 for an alignment with my 33's and it went away instanly. You need to do an alignment more often than normal if you go wheelin frequently. A couple of hard knocks can put it out fairly easily. If you get the same problem after a wheel alignment then check your wheel bearings and control arm bushes and ball joints etc etc. An alignment is the cheapest and first point of call for this problem.
Keep us informed.
Cheers.

[jeepilot]

good point on the cheapest and first point of call.........he has a point jonnie boy




did i over do it on the word "point" :???:

[Fat Chili]

Do a search on Death Wobbles, its been covered to death, most have experienced it at some time. ;-)

[jammy jeep]

definitely do your wheel alignment first (can't go to far wrong for $30) and ask for zero toe-in. I had the wobbles for around 10000kms after I put in my lift and no mechanic could work out what was wrong. Mark Hickey told me the answer, and has worked a treat for the last 80000kms.

[maddog]

Sounds like a loose panhard rod bracket or a flogged out pandhard rod bush/ball joint.


....Or you could install 3 steering dampeners to 'fix' the problem....

[Butt Craic]

....Or you could install 3 steering dampeners to 'fix' the problem....

Just install 4 and it will handle better than stock! :hammer:

[Fat Chili]

Does that mean if he installs 6 then it will handle like a Lada Niva? :hammer:

[jonnie]

hey guys thanks 4 all the help ... im gonna start checking everything one by one starting with a wheel alignment as its the cheapest.. ive used the "tyre lever" to check the ball joints and im gonna look at the panhard rods and bushes etc etc check they are all looking right !
really appreciate it thanx.. .

any suggestions on the fuel filter though has any1 ever changed it how do i do it ?? do you think it needs changing ?

[maddog]

I don't think the fuel filter is causing your death wobbles ;)

But to answer your question, they are located inside the fuel tank, so it's not a small job to change them if I recall correctly.

[jonnie]

hey ye i no the filter isnt causing the problem LoL

I think theres shit in the tank and i wanna remove the filter jus cant see a way to get to it and change it.. thats wat i need an answer to.. anyone know how to remove a fuel filter on a TJ ..

[go hard]

I have had death wobbles....

Real DEATH WOBBLES and the flogged out PANHARD rod BUSH was replaced and fixed.....
Shaped like a cotton real and once movement starts , you don't know when it will happen ,, but it will..

[optical]

ive got the same thing on my 4" XJ - assuming its the panhard as the coils, shocks, and control arms are all off ctr - will replace that and sus it from there

[smithyworld]

Fuel Filter is located inside the fuel tank.

AS for the death wobbles my bet is it is the 2.5 ome kit and the big wheels. I had the same kit and the same problems. Suburban could fix it for me for a year so I ended up going else where. It got better after getting a wheel alignment and ome steering dampner although the best result came when I replaced the 2.5 inch kit with a 4.5 inch Rubicon kit. Basically the 2.5 inch kit is a cheap ccheating way of getting larger wheels under it and as far as I am concerned after having one on my car should not be allowed to be sold. I think they are dangerous and inefficient.

Not what you want to hear but hope it helps.

Cheers