How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble? - Toyo tires

Toyo tires > How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble?

How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble?

by: Nathaniel Long

If you drive a Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee and are considering a suspension lift, you may want to think twice. Unfortunately, I was forced to learn this the hard way. I bought a brand new 2001 Jeep Cherokee a couple years ago, and almost immediately stacked on Pro Comp?s 3? lift kit with some 32 x 11.50 r 15 Super Swamper TSL tires. After a couple months of good riding, I started to experience what jeep enthusiasts have come to know as ?the death wobble.?

The death wobble is basically when you are driving your lifted jeep down the road and the front end starts to shake violently. It can happen at virtually any speed, though mostly above 40 mph or so, and is a frightening experience, especially for those witnessing it for the first time. Now it doesn?t 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 over. So it wasn?t that hard to get used to at first. But as it happened more and more, it seemed to get more and more out of control.

After driving with at least one death wobble per day for about three months, I decided to take it into the shop and see what the problem was. Being of course that off-road shops are primarily in the business of ripping people off, they gave me a list of ?everything 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 ?cause you might as well?) shocks, new and stronger track bar, new and stronger drop pitman arm, new and stronger lower control arms with some special urethane bushings, and new sway bar links. Basically, with the exception of my original lift springs, the reinstallation of the entire Pro Comp lift kit with ?better? components.

The bill was just over $1000.00. But to fix my death wobble, and hence my daily fear for my life, it was worth it. And even better, the new components would be strong enough to support a 6? lift if I ever wanted to go that big. The words of the salesman still ring in my ears: ?Dude, you could totally run 35s with this setup.?

For the next couple months, everything ran fine again and I just assumed that my former Pro Comp parts just sucked. I even took the kid?s advice and jumped up to 33 x 12.50 r 15 tires. My new components were working brilliantly. Then one day, riding down I-70 toward the mountains, I hit a pothole and back came the death wobble. For the next couple months, I experienced the death wobble every time I hit a pothole, crack, or even merged onto a simple uneven lane.

Back at the shop, the guys, obviously not recognizing me from six months before, gave me the same proposal as the first time ? almost word for word, too. My shocks, track bar, pitman arm and control arms were all shot again and needed replaced with their ?better and stronger components.? The guys didn?t even take the time to see if my components were the same ones they had sitting on the shelf. In fact, the parts they wanted to give me this time were likely the same Pro Comp components they had replaced initially. At this point, I realized that I?d have to take matters into my own hands.

I had a buddy sit in the driver?s 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. After not even two minutes, it became clear to me what the problem was. All my components were fine. The shaking was coming from the frame rail, which is connected to the axle.

What was happening was simple: 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 start to wobble and fight back and forth against each other. This is probably how Fred Flintstone felt driving around with those rock tires. The fighting tires would cause 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 means that they don?t have frames like a real vehicle, just a combination between a frame and a body. It?s kind of like a tin can on wheels. And if you put tires under that tin can that are too big and heavy for it to handle, it?s going to shake all over the road.

Now I?m not saying don?t lift your Cherokee, I?m just saying don?t lift your Cherokee too high. It can handle 31s or 32s, but if you get any bigger or heavier tires, it won?t be strong enough to consistently support them. If you want to lift a Jeep vehicle for off road purposes, I?d recommend a Wrangler. It has a frame, meaning it can handle big and heavy tires, not to mention a roll over.

If you?ve already got a Jeep Cherokee and are experiencing death wobble, don?t listen to the guys at the shop. They?re just trying to get your money! Test each of the components of your front end yourself. Most of them are rock solid and rarely need replacement. Instead, just get your tires balanced. It should fix the problem right 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 thing you can really do is switch down to smaller tires. Or buy a normal road car ?

About The Author

Nathaniel Long now drives a Chevy Prism. To avoid his local automotive shops, he currently purchases all parts and accessories for his car online at http://www.4wheelonline.com/.

How To Choose The Proper Bicycle

How To Choose The Proper Bicycle

by: Jeff Slokum

There are many different types and styles of bicycles. You will need to decide on the type of biking you will be predominantly doing in order to help you narrow down your choices. Below are just some of the types of bicycles available on the market today.

The first bicycle we will mention here are what are considered by some to be comfort bicycles. These are the type used by most weekend recreational bike riders. They usually have a comfortable shock-absorbing seat and shock absorbing front forks and wide pedals.

Another type of bike which is a bit more rugged than the comfort bike is a trail bike or light duty mountain bike. These bikes can take a bit more rough stuff than the bikes mentioned above but are not meant for serious mountain biking.

Touring bicycles are for those who go long distances and faster than recreational bike riders. These bikes are built for riding on the pavement....

How To Choose The Proper Bicycle

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How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble?

by: Nathaniel Long

How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble?

Toyo tires > How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble?

The Heavenly Vehicle

The Heavenly Vehicle

by: Mark Clarkson

The Toyota Celica?s name is actually a Spanish word that means ?heavenly? or ?celestial?. This vehicle was originally crafted and designed for those people who were young at heart and also for those people who desired and longed for simple transportation. Planning for this vehicle started in 1967. This vehicle lived a ripe age up until 2004. During the time of its planning and design, the Toyota Celica sported a style that was considered to be revolutionary for that time. It also became quite an influential vehicle as per the establishment of the sporty subcompact market segment.

Originally, this vehicle was equipped with a 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine. It was made available in only one trim level which was the ST form. This vehicle was a sport coupe that held two doors. It was rather an image car, not a high-volume car. It sold well during that time.

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The Heavenly Vehicle

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by: Ken Sink

When people ask about my business, I tell them, ?My company offers GPS vehicle tracking systems.? Their response lets me know whether they are an employee or a business owner.

The first words out of the mouth of an employee is: ?Sounds like ?Big Brother? to me.? Oh no, not ?Big Brother!? Visions of mind-controlled drones working like slaves come to mind and they quickly walk away.

?Big Brother?? What is wrong with a business monitoring their vehicles? Or making sure their employees are doing what they?re being paid to do? Who owns these vehicles, anyway? Does the owner have a right to know how they?re being used?

Now, don?t get me wrong. I believe employees should be trusted and treated as adults. But, if you?ve ever driven a rental vehicle differently than the car you own, then you understand how an employee may mistreat a company vehicle.

Take the speeding employee,...

Does GPS Vehicle Tracking Equate To 'Big Brother?'

Toyo tires > Does GPS Vehicle Tracking Equate To 'Big Brother?'

Does GPS Vehicle Tracking Equate To 'Big Brother?'

by: Ken Sink

When people ask about my business, I tell them, ?My company offers GPS vehicle tracking systems.? Their response lets me know whether they are an employee or a business owner.

Take the speeding employee,...

Does GPS Vehicle Tracking Equate To 'Big Brother?'

Toyo tires > Does GPS Vehicle Tracking Equate To 'Big Brother?'

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by: Dr. Drew Henry

Nowadays, car fuel prices are on the rise and consumers are suffering. Gone are the days when you can carelessly drive your car without worrying about burning up too much gas.

There are important procedures that you, as a car owner, can take in order to improve gas mileage. The following are practical tips to conserve gas:

Close Windows - Windows that are open can create air drag that can decrease the fuel consumption by 10%.

Avoid Bumpy Roads - Rough roads should not be taken as much as possible. Dirt, bumps, rough roads and gravels can cause 30% increase in fuel consumption.

Keep Your Car Light - Take out unnecessary baggage. The trunk should be kept clean, any gadget, tools or loads that are not needed should be taken out. 100 pounds of extra baggage can affect fuel economy by two percent.

Drive Efficiently - Just drive reasonably within the speed...

Little Things You Can Do To Save Money On Car Fuel

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Toyo tires How to Fix Your Lifted Jeep Cherokee?s ?Death Wobble? sample resume

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As the owner of a satellite TV website I get asked a lot of questions, so I decided to write a satellite TV FAQ (frequently asked questions) article to answer the most commonly asked questions.

If you have questions I haven't answered in this satellite TV FAQ, you can visit my website to get more satellite TV information by clicking on one of the links below this article.

1. What is satellite TV and how does it work?

A...

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by: Jane Fulton/Smart

In those days, I worked for the Dept. of Motor Vechicles, in the state of California. I lived in Lancaster, California, which is about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. This is dessert area. Very hot in the summer time and snow every three years in the winter time.

This particular winter was an easy winter. At least the weather was easy. My life started to crumble before my very eyes.

At the ripe age of 38,...

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Cheesecake Can It Be Frozen

by: Andrew Krause

Yes cheesecake can be frozen and it freezes very well, if you are having a party next week and you won't have time to prepare your cheesecake at that time, as I'm sure you won't, you can bake your cheesecake a week or so in advance and freeze it, but you must package it properly, but not by wrapping it with tin foil as many people do.

Tin foil is a metal and will cause freezer burn, what you need to do is place...

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