Willys Jeep Death Wobble

As some of you know, I have a 1946 Willys CJ2A Jeep.

From time to time, it gets a “death wobble”. I’ll be driving along at about 20 mph on a residential street, and the front end will wobble uncontrollably. The steering wheel rocks back and forth and there’s nothing I can do bu come to a stop and start up again.

Last week I tried to build an adaptor between the four-prong trailer wire plug on the Willys and the seven (?) prong plug on my Cherokee. Being unsuccessful, I decided to take the vehicles to an automotive electrical shop today. (Turned out that the Cherokee plug was wired incorrectly – probably when the hitch was replaced after the collision a couple of weeks ago. I was wondering why I was having so much trouble with just four wires!) I made a right turn out of the driveway and the Willys was towing hard. I heard sqeeling. I stopped and got out. The Willys’ wheels were turned to the left. Seems it got a case of the wobbles right out of the gate. Once I straightened the wheels it towed normally.

I’m hoping I only need to get the wheels aligned. I’m worried there might be something wrong with the steering knuckles. Does anyone have any advice as to how to cure Death Wobble?

Can’t say for sure, but here’s a few things to check:

Check your front shocks. Consider ones with stronger damping. If you don’t have one, RUN, don’t walk, to the parts store and buy a steering stabilizer. It’s basically a shock absorber for the steering tie-rod.

If you have a stabilizer, double-check that it’s actually working- IE, damping motion.

Running big soft offroad tires? Make sure tire pressure is equal. REALLY big tires? Double up on that steering stabilizer.

Check the springs for broken leaves or hangers, binding bolts or links, and/or worn or damaged bushings.

Check your steering box for excessive play, and check the “rag joint” for wear or looseness. And while you’re under there, check all the tie-rods, ball joints and even the spindles and hubs.

Does that vintage Willys have leading or trailing steering? (IE, is the tie-rod in front of the axle or behind it?)
Is the truck heavily modified? If you have lots of lift, a crossover steering conversion can cure various problems.

We have previously established the near 20 year difference in our chosen vintages. I am not sure whether you knew or understood that mine is nonetheless still a Willys, or not. Regardless, I am merely laying some groundwork for possible inconsistencies in my knowledge, and memory. Thirty some years have past since I did the major work on my beast.

Do you know of “steering dampers”? Regardless of the condition of any of the components that make up the front end, a good damper should be in place. If one is already there, disconnect an end and check for functionality.

I can’t recall the correct term/s regarding the steering box, thus I waffle. Do you know of the “drag link” and the adjustment that can be made there? While this is normally only an issue with slop at the steering wheel, a series of seemingly minor conditions can net the shimmies so many Willys have.

It would be foolish to mention wheel bearing adjustment, so I won’t.

Raising the front end and settling it down on blocks at the leaf springs, such that there is only an estimated 100 pounds or so of weight on each wheel, will allow for a bit of classic “shade-tree” inspectionism. The following will be some of what can be done without any dismantling, but requires that your hands and noggin have a bit of learned or innate “touch” in, on, and about them.

Since the wheel bearings are a non-issue, it would be pointless to suggest grabbing the top of a tire with both hands while putting the ball of one foot against the side wall, and then levering the wheel back and forth in search of the near undetectable little bump, so ignore that.

With a low profile scissors type jack, or blocks of wood and some sort of pry bar or length of 2X4, you can lever around on swing arms looking for obvious slop in bushings, ball-joints and the like. Slop at the upper and lower ends of the “king pin” is traditionally a culprit in the shimmying problem.

Unless you remove the cover on the “pumpkin”, and carefully wedge things tight, as close to the splined end of the axle as is possible, your mechanical senses needs be on a fine setting to make any reasonable assessment of the drive/steering knuckles. If you jack up under a lower swing arm until that wheel is near a normal running position, and use your magic hands to roll the wheel back and forth,(with one eye closed and the mantra “there’s nuttin’ like a Willys…ooohhhmmm” richochetting around the ol’ convolutions) you will definitely be able to tell if there is a significant problem, and could quite likely be able to detect a smaller one. The simplest version is that it should feel similar to grabbing a drive shaft and rolling it to and fro. There will be some slop. You would evaluate it as best as you can.

Southern California once had three reliable sources for information and new/used parts for the good old vintage stuff. The local after market lads can help on some things, but there are too many who are much too willing to speculate on that which they know not, just because of the inability to say, “I don’t know”. Sooner than later, I will find what specific information I have, incase you desire some concrete information.

If you have any measure of the frugality that I do, I can offer up that a simple method of checking your front alignment using string or wire and a ruler will allow for being sure that you have some at least token degree of toe-in, before paying someone your ducats. Caster and camber are much less significant on a beast such as yours, with an unknown service/wear/replacement history than is the toe.

I am more convinced of your likely ability to rise to the occassion than I am of most of those who post so intensely and vociferously on some of the 4-wheeler boards.

Do keep those of us who enjoy this type of occasional interruption, informed, when you can.

Yep, Doc is on your side, I see.

No big tires. Except for the steering damper and the trailer lights and wiring, the CJ is completely stock.

No excessive play in the steering; it’s actually “tight” for a Willys. This page shows the steering system. The tie rods are forward of the axle. (BTW: Photos of my Jeep are on the “Owners’ Photos” page.)

Bawdysurfer: Good suggestions, but I don’t have a jack or blocks. Very little space too. My neighbours park on either side of me and their cars are always there when I’m home. O, for a garage!

Here’s a thought: I think my right-front brake is cooked (it was smoking for several miles after I made an “emergency stop” from about 45 mph). The death wobble happens infrequently, so I don’t know if the tendency was there before the brake overheated. Anyway, could it be that at certain slow speeds (I used to have a '48 and it only wobbled at slow speeds) and road conditions, the right brake “grabs” and causes the oscillation? Granted, there would also be other things wrong, but I wonder it there is a causal relationship?

Oh. The shocks are painted the same O.D. as the rest of the Jeep so I suspect they’re due for replacement. I may as well replace the steering damper at the same time.

Thanks for the replies.

No emergency stop, in your vehicle, with your current drums, from 45 mph, should generate any smoke from that area, unless there are pre-existing issues.

A dragging shoe that had pre-heated the whole area, and at least some amount of lubricating or brake fluid present on some surface would most likely have preceeded the hard braking to net smoke for several miles.

There are a number of old school brake designs that when warn and tired, could leave a shoe rubbing heavily. Sometimes the configuration would even allow for a wedging action due to rotation and a deteriorating mechanical situation. So, yes the brake could grab cyclically to exacerbate other problems, but this seems rather far-fetched in my book.

The hand can be used to check for differences in temperature at each wheel after a short drive with intermittant braking.

Just for me, or you, do a cantilevered and wagging ass test at both wheels, for kicks and grins.

With the ball of one foot against the sidewall nearest the ground, and the other foot and arse awigglin’, lever the durn wheels top to bottom and side to side. Maybe pull over after inducing the shimmy for an immediate check.

If your circumstances require that you pay someone to do some of the work for you, I hope that you could at least look over a shoulder, to verify some of the findings.

Overall, my instincts seem to point towards a heat generated warping of metal causing run-out induced wobble due to less than snug front end components.

I wish I could offer you my garage, but i am obsessively private in that area.

Your heart is in the right place. You’ll get there. But remember, “Thou shalt not have carnal knowledge of thine ride, even though she’s a four-banger.”[sub]snk snk snrk[/sub]