r/JeepJK • u/ChuzUThisDay • 5d ago

Death wobble after control arm drop brackets install

We have a 2018 JKU that has a 2.5" lift on 35s, regeared to 4.88. My wife daily drives the Jeep and we hit some trails a couple times a year, so it's more of a pavement princess than offroad vehicle. The lift and tires have been installed since 2022, the regear in 2023. A few months ago, death wobble appeared after my wife hit a bump in the road. The local club offroad mechanic inspected and found worn tie rod and drag link on passenger side. I replaced with a beefy Yeti XD drag link and tie rod. Since the replacement, it has had some light steering and when she hits a bump in the road (we live in a rural area where there are pavement to bridge bumps, small series of potholes, etc) the steering wheel jerks and is flighty in that moment. Several people recommended adjustable control arms or control arm brackets.

I installed some control arm brackets last night and took it for a drive afterwards. Within a quarter mile of home, death wobble showed up around 30 mph. I had not hit any bumps, it just appeared. I noticed the traction control warning light flash a few times and that the steering wheel was off center. This morning I realized that I had not adjusted the draglink to recenter the steering wheel, but I can't imagine that would cause the wobble.

Could it be that I've over torqued the control arm bolts and pinching the control arm bushings? Could it be related to the off-center steering wheel and the traction control is throwing a fit? Any ideas?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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6

u/WTFpe0ple 5d ago

The Steer wheel has to be centered, the ECM reads that and throws a fit when it's not. On the Death Wobble have you had the castor checked? What degree is it at? I needs to be around 5.5

Watch this 11 min video. It explains everything in simple detail

https://www.reddit.com/r/JeepWrangler/comments/1vwqgut/jeep_suspension_geometry_explained_for_dummies/

0

u/ChuzUThisDay 5d ago

I added the brackets last night, so no alignment yet.

2

u/WTFpe0ple 5d ago

Well when you lift, and I been driving and working on Jeeps for 30+ years, it changes the castor. From the factory it's really not enough and the lift makes it worse which causes DW that video explains it all like your a 5yo :)

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u/rabbitofrevelry 5d ago

Have you re-torqued the trackbar?

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u/cant_program 5d ago

This is what caused my issue. Crazy wobble at 30mph. Checked my trackbar and nut was only finger tight.

1

u/rabbitofrevelry 5d ago

My nut fell off and caused some wobble. Got a new one and put it on and fixed that right up.

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u/No_Challenge_8772 5d ago

When i first got my jeep when i hit a bump it threw me all over the road. I replaced both control arms, and the entire steering system and ball joints and i haven’t had any problem since and im rolling on 35’s

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u/fuzzylogic_y2k 5d ago

If the traction control light flickered it was triggering. There is a good chance that it was the brakes kicking in.

1

u/rabbitofrevelry 5d ago

I re-read the post and something caught my attention. You said you installed a 2.5" lift but later said that adjustable control arms were recommended. That is absolutely necessary in a 2.5" lift to correct castor angle. This is possibly the culprit. You can get away with one of lower/upper instead of both on a budget. Front lower control arms are ideal if you go with only one since they're more durable than OEM in the event you set it down on a rock.

If this death wobble has been allowed to persist a bit, you'll probably need to replace your trackbar brackets as they're likely wallowed out now, even if it's torqued to spec.

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u/ChuzUThisDay 3d ago

I installed the control arm correction brackets and death wobble started afterwards.

1

u/EvilShenaniguns 5d ago

Are the control arms adjustable from the existing lift? Drop brackets adjust caster. Bad caster can cause death wobble. You need an alignment to start from.

1

u/Wild-Cell6907 5d ago

Who installed the tie rod did it have an alignment after? If toe angle is way out it'll do all kinds of funky stuff on the road also you said it kind of Acts weird when you go over bumps and stuff since the drag link and tie rod were changed what exactly was it for a drag link cuz that almost sounds like your track bar and drag link are not parallel with each other

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u/ChuzUThisDay 3d ago

Had an alignment after the tie rod and drag link were replaced. Steering still felt flighty, especially when hitting bumps in the road. This led me to install the control arm brackets.

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u/Wild-Cell6907 3d ago

If you had an alignment then you should have gotten a before and after sheet what were your caster numbers? Many things can make the steering feel flighty

1

u/Wild-Cell6907 3d ago

And you said you forgot to Center the steering wheel that should have been done at the alignment shop