How to Repair Your Lifted Jeep Cherokees Death Wobble

出典: くみこみックス

If you drive a Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee and are thinking about a suspension lift, you might want to think twice. However, I was forced to find out this the tough way. I purchased a brand new 2001 Jeep Cherokee a couple years ago, and virtually instantly stacked on Pro Comps 3 lift kit with some 32 x 11.50 r 15 Super Swamper TSL tires. Immediately after a couple months of good riding, I started out to encounter what jeep enthusiasts have come to know as the death wobble.

The death wobble is essentially when you are driving your lifted jeep down the road and the front end starts to shake violently. It can take place at practically any speed, although largely above 40 mph or so, and is a frightening encounter, specifically for those witnessing it for the first time. Now it doesnt throw you off the road or anything the front end just shakes. And the only way to stop it is to slow down and pull more than. So it wasnt that challenging to get used to at very first. But as it occurred a lot more and far more, it seemed to get a lot more and a lot more out of control.

Right after driving with at least one particular death wobble per day for about 3 months, I decided to take it into the shop and see what the problem was. Becoming of course that off-road shops are mostly in the business of ripping people off, they gave me a list of every thing that was wrong with the front end that is causing the TJ shimmy. Their proposal included the rotation and balancing of my tires, new front (and rear trigger you could as well) shocks, new and stronger track bar, new and stronger drop pitman arm, new and cold air intake discussion stronger lower manage arms with some particular urethane bushings, and new sway bar links. Basically, with the exception of my original lift springs, the reinstallation of the whole Pro Comp lift kit with better elements.

The bill was just over $1000.00. But to repair my death wobble, and therefore my daily worry for my life, it was worth it. And even much better, the new components would be strong sufficient to help a 6 lift if I ever wanted to go that massive. The words of the salesman nonetheless ring in my ears: Dude, you could totally run 35s with this setup.

For the next couple months, every little thing ran fine again and I just assumed that my former Pro Comp components just sucked. I even took the kids assistance and jumped up to 33 x 12.50 r 15 tires. My new components had been working brilliantly. Then one particular quick release hub review day, riding down I-70 toward the mountains, I hit a pothole and back came the death wobble. For the subsequent couple months, I experienced the death wobble each time I hit a pothole, crack, or even merged onto a basic uneven lane.

Back at the shop, the guys, naturally not recognizing me from six months before, gave me the same proposal as the 1st time nearly word for word, as well. My shocks, track bar, pitman arm and manage arms had been all shot once again and required replaced with their much better and stronger elements. The guys didnt even take the time to see if my components had been the very same ones they had sitting on the shelf. In fact, the parts they wanted to give me this time were most likely the identical Pro Comp elements they had replaced initially. At this point, I realized that Id have to take matters into my own hands.

I had a buddy sit in the drivers seat of my jeep and shake the steering wheel back and forth in an attempt to recreate the death wobble so I could view it from the other side. Following not even two minutes, it became clear to me what the issue was. All my elements had been fine. The shaking was coming from the frame rail, which is connected to the axle.

What was occurring was basic: My tires, as off road tires tend to do, kept going out of balance. Therefore, when I hit a pothole or uneven pavement, or too high a road speed, the tires would website begin to wobble and fight back and forth against every other. This is probably how Fred Flintstone felt driving around with those rock tires. The fighting tires would trigger the axle to shake back and forth, which in turn caused the frame rail to shake. Hence the death wobble. Now the wobble could have been stabilized by the bar attached to the frame rail if only it was attached to a real frame.

See, Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees have what is referred to as a unibody design. This implies that they dont have frames like a actual vehicle, just a combination among a frame and a body. Its sort of like a tin can on wheels. And if you place tires under that tin can that are as well massive and heavy for it to handle, its going to shake all more than the road.

Now Im not saying dont lift your Cherokee, Im just saying dont lift your Cherokee as well high. It can manage 31s or 32s, but if you get any bigger or heavier tires, it wont be strong sufficient to consistently help them. If you want to lift a Jeep vehicle for off road purposes, Id suggest a Wrangler. It has a frame, meaning it can manage large and heavy tires, not to mention a roll more than.

If youve currently got a Jeep Cherokee and are experiencing death wobble, dont listen to the guys at the shop. Theyre just trying to get your cash! Test each of the elements of your front finish your self. Most of them are rock solid and hardly ever need replacement. Rather, just get your tires balanced. It must repair the dilemma correct away, at least until the tires go out of balance again. To end it permanently, unless you can somehow fabricate a stabilizer bar to strengthen the front-end frame rail, the only factor you can truly do is switch down to smaller tires. Or get a regular road vehicle