Suspension Torsion Bar Problems of Jeep Wrangler

Jeep tj frame separated at the torsion bar on passenger rear wheel making vehicle unstable and un- usable.

See all problems of the 1998 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

While driving and when speed reached 55 -60 mph, the steering had a small shaking to it. As time and more miles went by, it turned into uncontrollable steering. I had to let off the accelerator and coast to a slower speed. Eventually I could not drive the Jeep until I changed the torsion bar, tie rod ends and steering stabilizer, (twice, the last time with a heavy duty one) and then what fixed it was the steering gear box. But once I changed it, the wobble or uncontrollable shaking stopped so I got a front end alignment and had to change all four ball joints due to the damage the wobble caused. That has been about 10 months and the small shaking has started up again. Getting worse to worse as time and mileage goes by.

See all problems of the 2008 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

I started experiencing the Jeep "death wobble" in February of 2012. While traveling at speeds of 50mph or faster and driving over any small bump or pot hole on the road, it causes the Jeep to "wobble" out of control. There was a few times I actually lost control of the vehicle and swayed onto the opposite side of the road. The only way to stop the Jeep from wobbling is to slow the Jeep down to about 10-15mph and which is very unsafe when you are on a highway. I spent $1500 to have this fixed covering everything Jeep said to do (suspension, shocks, torsion bar, bushings, tire pressure, tire balance, steering stabilizer, caster angle, draglink and tierod) and it still has not been fixed. I am now left with a vehicle I owe $17,000 with only 44,000 miles that is too unsafe to drive.

I purchased this vehicle new from a dealer. The vehicle has not been modified in any way. About 2005 it started to shake at highway speed. Did not know what it was and since the vehicle is driven mostly in town it was not noticed very much. Now that the vehicle is driven more it starts to shake uncontrollably at about 50 mph and then it will stop when slowed down to around 40 mph. I have taken it to 2 dealers, a mechanic and a tire store. Since starting to try to correct the problem I have had several repairs done. The tires were checked, the balance was checked, the alignment was checked, new tires were put on, shocks were replaced, brake rotors were replaced, torsion bar clips were replaced, and I do not remember the many other things that were replaced or repaired. The last dealer that it was taken to test drove the vehicle and said that he could feel the shake but he did not know what it was or how to fix it. He suggested that I take it to a frame shop. Since then I found out that other Wranglers have this problem and that it even has a name. They call it the "death wobble. " when this starts the vehicle shakes all over the and there is little control until you get the vehicle under 40.

See all problems of the 2001 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Vehicle sways at +55mph due to premature failure of sway bar links.

1. The transmission has started jumping in and out of 3rd gear in the 32 to 50 mph range. Bubbles are present in the fluid indicating a seal is failing. Repair estimate at this time is over $1000. This failure in snowy driving conditions causes vehicle control problems. 2. Passenger seat belt retracts intermittently. The passenger will lean forward and back may not notice the seatbelt has not retracted. This can certainly cause serious injury or death in the event of an accident. 3. Sudden acceleration at idle. Vehicle idle will jump from 1. 5k to 3k without warning. Obviously a serious safety hazard. 4. Anti-sway bar link failure. This is perhaps the most insidious failure. The stabilizer bar link ball will corrode in the socket and cause it to separate. The rubber boot around it covers the failure. When an emergency turn is required, the Jeep will sway violently. I talked to the Chrysler parts attendant and he said he sells about 12 a week to those lucky enough to notice the failure. For those who do not notice this, it is a time bomb. The parts attendant told me I would be back soon to replace more. What he said is true.

While driving at 45 mph and without prior warning front sway bar broke, and the front wheels felt like they were falling off.

See all problems of the 1997 Jeep Wrangler 🔎.

Front torsion bar is flimsy and undersized, became stressed under normal operating conditions (no offroading) and gave way. Turning, maneuvering in traffic very dangerous as side-to-side swaying became excessive.

Sway bar link balljoints popped out on boths sides making the Jeep unstable in turns. The are like this on 9 out of 10 Jeeps I have inspected with low mileage.