I work in the bush and they were always getting bent. We then drive with our thumbs outside the steering wheel so they would not get broken!
1997 with Death Wobble? ...help appreciated
- Thread starter Wrencher93
- Start date
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Another vote for wheel imbalance here.
I've dealt with death wobble many times over the years on the 80, 60 and FJ40. In my cases it has overwhelmingly been a wheel balance issue rather than neglected maintenance of suspension bushings or improper torque of bearings. I just got done dealing with this again on my '97 after replacing shocks, every suspension bushing, tie rod and full knuckle service. I double checked again on my bubble balancer, and sure enough two wheels were off balance.
I don't want to discount all the previous suggestions, because everything mentioned above can exacerbate the issue. However, a wobble starts somewhere and an imbalanced tire, especially a lateral imbalance, will begin to wobble when weight shifts such as going around a curvy road. Or going down hills, when the weight of the truck shifts to the front tires.
Balancing large, soft rubber, off-road tires can be tricky. My suggestion would be to double check wheel balance first, retorque your wheel bearings to MUD specs rather than factory specs and go from there.
I've dealt with death wobble many times over the years on the 80, 60 and FJ40. In my cases it has overwhelmingly been a wheel balance issue rather than neglected maintenance of suspension bushings or improper torque of bearings. I just got done dealing with this again on my '97 after replacing shocks, every suspension bushing, tie rod and full knuckle service. I double checked again on my bubble balancer, and sure enough two wheels were off balance.
I don't want to discount all the previous suggestions, because everything mentioned above can exacerbate the issue. However, a wobble starts somewhere and an imbalanced tire, especially a lateral imbalance, will begin to wobble when weight shifts such as going around a curvy road. Or going down hills, when the weight of the truck shifts to the front tires.
Balancing large, soft rubber, off-road tires can be tricky. My suggestion would be to double check wheel balance first, retorque your wheel bearings to MUD specs rather than factory specs and go from there.
- Thread starter
- #23
I appreciate the advice. I will definitely check into my tires and see if they need balancing. However, I'm fairly confident that I need a new steering damper and new TRE's anyway so I ordered both. They will go on the truck along with the new bushings I already have. All of that needs to be done, wobble or not, so I may as well do it now. If it solves my problem - great. If not, one less thing I have to worry about for a while.
- Thread starter
- #24
If this ends up being JUST a tire that needs balancing, then I will go on record as saying the 80 series isn't as good as I thought. There has to be something else at play for the truck to shake that violently in a lateral direction. This wasn't vertical shaking like a really bad washboard road - I thought I was going to see steering components start to litter the road behind me. If that's 100% tire then I'm putting on a set of tracks and not looking back. 
a new steering dampener will not solve this at all but good to get new one on there...TRE's fo sho, panhard/control arm bushings and look for cracks by steering box and where panhard connects to frame
- Thread starter
- #26
Agreed. I don't expect the damper to solve it, but having an old tired one isn't helping me either. I'm betting on the bushing being toast. Guess we'll see.
60wag
SILVER Star
No one has mentioned caster yet? What kind of lift and caster correction do you have?
- Thread starter
- #28
Approx 2.5" lift (TJM springs in front, OME heavies in rear, TJM gold shocks)
Land Tank 2.5" caster plates.
I've had the plates installed for about 3k miles now. Haven't had issues. I torque striped the hardware when I put them in, also marked the knuckle studs. I will check all of them when I get under the truck to make sure nothing moved.
- Thread starter
- #29
Before I put the plates on I had some darting issues at speed - shocker. But this current problem isn't darting, it's shaking. Truck drives fine when not having a seizure 
Zjohnsonua
SILVER Star
Two truths here:
1) Death wobble is terrifying.
2) There is no go-to cure.
All of the items listed below can lead to death wobble:
Worn rod ends
Loose wheel bearings
Worn bushings (any of them and there are many)
Failed tires (even new ones)
Sloppy steering boxes (rare but possible)
The really crap part is that all these trucks are old now so you'll likely have a few of these going on at once, and you'll need to fix all of them to get the chassis under control again. Whenever a truck comes in with DW that DOES NOT initiate with braking, here's my approach:
- With the weight of the truck still on the front tires, have a helper rock the wheel while you check every joint in the front chassis.
- Get the front tires off the ground and check for wheel bearing play.
- Note everywhere that had movement and adjust or repair as needed.
Take the truck for a drive to see if this fixed the issue. It likely did. But, if it didn't, drive the truck to a shop with dynamic or "road force" balancers. These are the only balancers that will show you failed structure in a tire (result of poor manufacturing, pot hole damage, age, etc) because they apply force to the tire via a roller to load the sidewall. Traditional balancers will NOT perform the same check. Up to 10lb of road force imbalance is not uncommon. The bad tire will stick out from the others like a sore thumb. I've seen them as high as 40lb out of balance (that truck couldn't take a corner above 30mph without initiating DW).
If your issue initiates with braking, then check all the above, and give extra attention to your radius arm bushings. One of them is likely shot.
A healthy steering damper is important, but you should be able to drive the truck at speed without one if the front end is in check.
Good luck.
1) Death wobble is terrifying.
2) There is no go-to cure.
All of the items listed below can lead to death wobble:
Worn rod ends
Loose wheel bearings
Worn bushings (any of them and there are many)
Failed tires (even new ones)
Sloppy steering boxes (rare but possible)
The really crap part is that all these trucks are old now so you'll likely have a few of these going on at once, and you'll need to fix all of them to get the chassis under control again. Whenever a truck comes in with DW that DOES NOT initiate with braking, here's my approach:
- With the weight of the truck still on the front tires, have a helper rock the wheel while you check every joint in the front chassis.
- Get the front tires off the ground and check for wheel bearing play.
- Note everywhere that had movement and adjust or repair as needed.
Take the truck for a drive to see if this fixed the issue. It likely did. But, if it didn't, drive the truck to a shop with dynamic or "road force" balancers. These are the only balancers that will show you failed structure in a tire (result of poor manufacturing, pot hole damage, age, etc) because they apply force to the tire via a roller to load the sidewall. Traditional balancers will NOT perform the same check. Up to 10lb of road force imbalance is not uncommon. The bad tire will stick out from the others like a sore thumb. I've seen them as high as 40lb out of balance (that truck couldn't take a corner above 30mph without initiating DW).
If your issue initiates with braking, then check all the above, and give extra attention to your radius arm bushings. One of them is likely shot.
A healthy steering damper is important, but you should be able to drive the truck at speed without one if the front end is in check.
Good luck.
- Thread starter
- #31
Appreciate it. That type of response, with a recommended procedure for trouble shooting, is why MUD is so valuable. I really do appreciate the input from everyone who has chimed in. I apologize if I seem argumentative. I've tried simply to answer the questions that were posed and give relevant information. I hope to have this sorted out soon but I'm having to do it around my work schedule.
surfpig
The Anti-Tech
My death wobble for the 80 has always been the panhard bolt to the frame working loose over time. Especially after extended washboard travel. Others have listed all the other possible things that can cause it. Now that I've replaced all the bushings and have everything torqued down properly it's no longer an issue. But that became the first thing I would check when it happened. YMMV.
I’ve never replaced a steering damper. My first 80 was bought at 30k and sole with over 250k. The truck I’m running currently has over 330k and a factory damper, maybe it was replaced. For all I know it’s blown out and doing nothing. I seriously doubt it’s the damper.
I have seen the captured nut on the axle mount for the panhard break free, that was a scary ride. Might also check for frame cracks where the panhard bolts to.
I have seen the captured nut on the axle mount for the panhard break free, that was a scary ride. Might also check for frame cracks where the panhard bolts to.
Last edited:
Zjohnsonua
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #35
Yeah I was thinking about frame cracks earlier. Hopefully I don't find any but I know I wouldn't be the first to have them.
Had a 2000 Cherokee solid-axle 4x2 in which I could summon the wobble at will with just the right amount of directional input and a well-timed bump on the inside wheel. Never bothered to investigate, just lived with it. A Jeep thing I hear. lol
- Thread starter
- #37
Yeah living with it is fine if it's a rock basher and going above 40 mph is abnormal. My 80 is our second vehicle and sees normal highways speeds often. Not something I want to happen when my wife has our son in the back seat on a curvy road with a creek bed on one side and a rocky ditch on the other.
- Thread starter
- #38
OK so this weekend I pulled the drag link, tie rod, and front panhard off the truck. As suspected and previously mentioned in this thread, the panhard bushings weren't looking so hot. I popped them out with the appropriate Wit's End press tool and installed new OEM ones. It just so happened that I had them on hand because I was planning on replacing all of them anyway. While I had everything apart I replaced all four TRE's with brand new 555 ends from Cruiser Outfitters.
Obligatory pics:
Existing bushing before removal. You can see how the rubber was shredded and cracked.
Other end. Same issue.
New bushing installed. The press made loud scary noises getting the old ones out. New ones went in super easy. The Wit's End tools are worth the money if you don't have a metal lathe. Worked great.
Obligatory pics:
Existing bushing before removal. You can see how the rubber was shredded and cracked.
Other end. Same issue.
New bushing installed. The press made loud scary noises getting the old ones out. New ones went in super easy. The Wit's End tools are worth the money if you don't have a metal lathe. Worked great.
- Thread starter
- #39
More pics...
Brand new TRE's waiting to be installed.
New ends on the drag link. Fortunately the last time I worked on the drag link I was liberal with the anti-seize and I had no trouble getting the old ends off.
Everything installed and new bolt torque striped for easy reference.
Brand new TRE's waiting to be installed.
New ends on the drag link. Fortunately the last time I worked on the drag link I was liberal with the anti-seize and I had no trouble getting the old ends off.
Everything installed and new bolt torque striped for easy reference.
- Thread starter
- #40
Wobble seems to be gone but I still have some vibration and some shaking in the steering. It's manageable but there's definitely something else that needs to be addressed.
