Got my new Steering stabilizer put in. Look right to you?

I got my new steering stabilizer in this afternoon and had a little time this evening and decided to put it in. I don't want another experience with "death wobble" . This being very new to me, I wanted to see if this looked right to you guys. The only thing i noticed is how squished the rubber "whatever you call its" are. One end is attached to the axle near the left wheel and the other end is on the steering arm(hope that is the correct term) right of center. I guess I am a little concerned about the angle and I just wanted to be sure that this is nominal or not.

Full Left



Center



and Full Right



I won't get a chance to test drive it till Sunday, perhaps Saturday if I get home early enough. When I am done here I gotta pack for a short trip outta town.

 

You do realize death wobble isn't fixed with a steering stabilizer. It could be something else.

 

Ditto. A stabilizer can reduce or stop the onset of death wobble, but masks the actual root cause.

 

Is it wobble or real "death wobble"? Because true death wobble could run you off the road.

Stabilizer shouldn't be a band aid. Good to have, but the wrong choice to solve your issue.

 

A friend at work with a Jeep called it that. I was headed down the street here and I hit the dip in the road right before our parking lot at work. I was also going around a FedEx truck parked on the side of the road. When I hit the dip the wheel took on a life of its own. Left-right-left=right and so on. I let off the gas and it went away. Fortunately I was only doing about 20 at the time. It is also worth mentioning that we just replaced all four leafs and shocks over the weekend.

 

Wheel balance can also go a long way to preventing death wobble, or said the other way: out of balance tires will contribute to death wobble.
What you need to do is check every moving part in the steering system, from steering box looseness, to bellcrank bearings, to tie rod ends, to king pin bearings in the knuckles, and wheel bearings. Also look at the bushings in the spring shackles and the spring eyes.
A little looseness in all of these adds up, then add out of balance tires and you will have death wobble.
I know, this isn't what you wanted to hear because all of this gets expensive.

Don

 

"When I hit the dip the wheel took on a life of its own. Left-right-left=right and so on."

Sounds exactly like death wobble to me. Check the steering toe-in. Might moderate the occurrence of wobble until you fix the worn parts, like djbutler says.

 

I'll do that guys, thanks!

 

i would upgrade to the one piece tie rod set up and get rid of all those connections that could be the problems. it's cheap to do and makes it safer. all those connections makes for lots of parts moving.

 

+1

 

Looking at your pictures, I see that you seem to have some new springs. That might have a bearing on this too.
As all of the rest have said, get rid of the play in the front, tie rod ends, Pittman arm, drag link, kingpin bearings, wheel bearings, tire balance, steering box adjustment.
The 1 piece tie rod helps keep everything in alignment on bumps.
Also, check the caster on the front axle, it's made a huge improvement for some people.
You guys started it, so I added a few more...

 

If everything is in order on your steering/suspension the stabilizer is totally unnecessary. I always take them off from customers jeeps. Most of the time wobble is caused by worn king pin bearings, in my experience.

 

"Most of the time wobble is caused by worn king pin bearings"

Ditto. Perhaps because it's an area few owners ever get into.

 

My most recent bout with the wobble was due to a combination of worn TREs and incorrect toe in. Drives good again after fixing this.

 

Seems like all these Jeeps that have not been owned by enthusiasts need the front knuckles gone through. There are lots of resources to turn to about this - here's Vernco http://www.vernco.com/FrontAxle/

The TSM covers it well too, and I'm sure there are many other online resources. Member Christian (dummy) wrote this - http://www.jpmagazine.com/techartic...jeep_maintenance_knuckle_busting/viewall.html

 

There are effectively many things to check... try other good quality tyres, with good pressure. Then mechanic problems, shock absorbers, and all that is described by better specialists than me.