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193 messages, Last post on Sep 26, 2009 at 5:22 AM
You are in the Jeep Wrangler Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
| So i take it no one has chenged the wheels on a Wrangler with the tire pressure monitoring yet! | |
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Replying to: jlehman (Oct 03, 2008 7:29 am) -Paul |
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Replying to: erickpl (Jun 23, 2008 4:20 am) Anyhow, they changed the damper at no charge do to the warranty but charged me $87 for rotate and balance. My boss called a local used Jeep dealer who explained the problem. Chrysler changed out the steering system and I need to install the Rugged Ridge Steering on it. He sounded very convincing. The only problem is that parts and labor will be $330. I've been writing to various consumer organizations in hopes that I can start the ball rolling for a class action suit. Chrystler is denying the fact that they are producing many faulty Jeeps that can one day result in a death. I want to do something before that day comes.
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Replying to: riclee (Oct 07, 2008 11:30 am) I have a 97 TJ and I've never had DW, though I've had some tire/wheel setups that were out of balance or round. That combo got relegated to the spare carrier.  Other than that, even lifted 3" with 33's, I'm doing okay with NO death wobble. I have aftermarket swaybar disconnects, aftermarket trackbar (both JKS), and I have a Grand Cherokee (ZJ) tie rod with new ends. Even with all that change, everything is still running great. And I have the stock steering stabilizer on (which is more of a bandaid/mask than anything). The steering setup for a Jeep has always been a questionable design and a LOT will depend on the draglink and trackbar being parallel. If they are parallel, more than likely it is an issue with one of the joints in the setup (tie rods, track bar ends, drag link connection, or even possibly bad ball joints on the steering knuckles (which I would NOT suspect on a 2006). -Paul
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Replying to: erickpl (Oct 08, 2008 4:22 am) It hasn't done the DW since Chrysler changed out the damper but as you said, that is merely a temporary 'fix'. After the last time is did the wobble I have become a bit frightened of it. I have yet to read where someone has had an accident during the DW and I sure don't want to be the first. My friend also has a '97 with a 3" body lift kit and larger tires. He reports that he never had the problem and he even takes his off road quite a bit.
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Replying to: riclee (Oct 09, 2008 12:27 am) Instead of going with a factory setup, you MAY want to consider some aftermarket steering setups. Currie makes an EXCELLENT one and may be worth doing. I'm a firm believer that the auto companies have great designs, but the aftermarket improves on them even more. 3" body lift? UGH. A body lift will not really alter the steering geometry a bit other than the steering shaft to the steering box. I'd suggest a 2" budget boost and 1" body lift. It'll look a lot better (smaller gaps between frame and tub) and IMO be safer than the 3" body lift. -Paul
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I also experienced the death wobble a few times over the last year in my stock 2003 Sport that I bought new. It has never been off-road, hardly ever been dirty, and only has 13,600 miles on it. I had a Ford Festiva that I drove harder than my Jeep! Anyway, I was convinced that the problem was tires because the car alway started to shimmy at 50 to 60 mph. I did replace the steering damper and this seemed to help but not for long and the wobble was still there. This week I went in to buy new tires but asked for a check of the track bar first since I understand it can cause the problem. The track bar did have a very, very small amount of play in it and I had it replaced still convinced the problem was tires. I've driven the car for a couple of days now, hit all of my favorite bumps that set it off in the past and not only does the wobble seem to be gone but the "tire" shimmy as well. I'm not sure why the track bar would fail on a car that was hardly driven but hopefully I've got my practically "new" Jeep back.
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Replying to: erickpl (Oct 09, 2008 4:42 am)
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Replying to: riclee (Oct 10, 2008 4:38 pm) There are vendors out there like Currie. http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/currectlync.aspx?id=913 It is an upgraded tie rod and drag ling setup. There is also an option called HiSteer by a company called ORO. But this is mainly for offroaders to move the tie rod assembly up higher to avoid rocks and such. The Currie setup is supposed to be pretty good. That said, IF the problem lies with the trackbar setup and being loose at the axle end, the Currie setup won't fix this. Here is a picture of the steering components identified clearly. THOSE are the components you want to look at to resolve the death wobble. SOMETHING is loose somewhere, you have bad tires, or some bushings are worn out. While you shouldn't expect it on a newer TJ, it can happen.  You can see that the trackbar and drag link are pretty much parallel in the pic above. THAT is key for death wobble prevention. If they aren't fairly parallel, you will have problems. (BTW, those sway bar links are aftermarket. Stock will not look like that). Hope that helps some. I've diagnosed a few loose spots on people's Jeeps and solved the cases I've come across, but it is a LOT harder over the net. -Paul
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Replying to: erickpl (Oct 15, 2008 5:21 am) 1- I don't see the damper on your picture, therefore I assume your steering is set up different than mine. Correct? 2- If I do the checking for loose nuts, tec how will I know that I'm not tightening something that may be an adjustment? You see, I really don't have the money to take this in for others to work on it. I suppose I will need to eventually though because it's beyond me.
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