Possible Fox non-adj steering stabilizer fail

[smbennett]

I installed the Fox non-adj stabilizer from Agile about a year or so ago. It has been fine, until I experienced 2 severe cases of death wobble this month. Both times, on the highway between 70-75mph and I hit a decent pothole/bump on the right (passenger) front. Roads were clear otherwise. The truck started violently shaking (once bad enough that the rear door open alarm triggered) and lost most of my steering. I was able to drift to the right and get off to the side. I took a peek under both times, and everything looked fine. Started it up, and steered fine immediately after. I climbed under later and double checked all torque settings/tightness and no obvious issues. I popped off the stabilizer and noticed it took almost 2 minutes to rebound from full compression on my bench. I do not think that is normal, and have reached out to Fox to check the spec. Meanwhile, I popped the OEM stabilizer back on as both times felt pretty dangerous - and I have been a lifted Jeep guy in the past

Other than that, the truck is running the F/R Fox 2.0 shock set from Agile - nothing else out of the ordinary in the suspension. No lift.

Anyone experience/validate that a failed stabilizer might act this way ? And would anyone be able to confirm a 2 minute rebound seems excessive ?

 

[DenisM]

I have a steering stabiliser (tough dog). It doesn't rebound. If it did, that would be putting pressure on the steering pump trying to maintain a straight line. The oem stabiliser was slightly pressurised... not sure why.
The death wobble is usually associated with solid front axle setup. It was a known but not common phenomenon with Classic and P38 Range Rovers as well as LR Discovery 1&2.
Failed bushes were sometimes blamed.
The front wheel wobble on supernarket shopping carts provides a clue in that it might be worth getting your caster angles checked to see if they've been affected by the thump from the pothole

 

[smbennett]

Thank you Denis - learned something new today

More color to the mystery. I spoke to Agile yesterday, and they pointed to the steering stabilizer being the root cause, and to return it as it "should rebound'. I submitted the repair order, but they did a bit more research and determined the stabilizer was working as intended and unlikely to be the culprit. They echoed DenisM's thoughts on getting the caster checked before anything else. To the alignment shop after the holiday to get that measured...

More to come, but will leave the OEM damper on for now, as it is much firmer and may help reduce any more wobble in the short term.

 

[Dokatd]

Thank you Denis - learned something new today

More color to the mystery. I spoke to Agile yesterday, and they pointed to the steering stabilizer being the root cause, and to return it as it "should rebound'. I submitted the repair order, but they did a bit more research and determined the stabilizer was working as intended and unlikely to being the culprit. They echoed DenisM's thoughts on getting the caster checked before anything else. To the alignment shop after the holiday to get that measured...

More to come, but will leave the OEM damper on for now, as it is much firmer and may help reduce any more wobble in the short term.

Check for loose tie rod or drag link. Many came from the factory loose.

 

[Zimm]

Check for loose tie rod or drag link. Many came from the factory loose.

This

 

[smbennett]

More data points:

Checked tie rod & drag link - were tight, and marked with paint pen,
Had alignment checked this morning - front caster was 2.2 on both sides. Also had them verify tie rod/drag link, just in case I missed something.
Running the OEM stabilizer temporarily, and the Fox 2.0 shocks (non-adj) for now.

The only things that changed prior to the issue was the installation of the Fox shocks, and put winter tires (Hakka 265/70/17) and rims back on. Rechecked the torque on the wheels. Ran the winter tires/rims last year with the Fox stabilizer installed with no issues.

Has not happened since, but a bit leery driving it. The two times (12/14 & 12/30) it happened, I was on highways, about 72-75mph, and passenger front took a small hit which started the heavy vibration and steering "fight".

Going to try to inspect bushings next - but really scratching my head.

 

[Dokatd]

There are lots of variables, there might not be anything wrong per se. These trucks are on the very fine edge of having death wobble issues. If you hit something just right at the perfect speed and tire pressure it can happen.

I would suggest that the Fox stabilizer has broken in at this point and may not be providing enough dampening to stop DW in all situations. This is why I feel the adjustable stabilizer is critical.

If I were you I would stick to the stock stabilizer or better yet buy the adjustable stabilizer and be done with worrying about it. I highly doubt you will find a smoking gun. I say this as a person who has been chasing death wobble on many vehicles for decades. Sometimes you just can't ever find a source.

 

[smbennett]

UPDATE: Well, I replaced the Fox non-adjustable stabilizer with the OEM, then the Fox adjustable from Owl. No further instances of wobble. As unlikely as it might be for the stabilizer to be the issue, the DW did not come back once I removed the original non-adj one. Case solved for now...

 

[INEOS OG]

I came of age when trucks were beginning to be lifted, modified, improved, et al.

We didn't have steering stabilizers then and wouldn't for another decade or so and then only to combat the forces induced by big, heavy and later cheap tires.

It may be an unpopular opinion but in my 40 years around off-road suspensions never have I ever encountered "death wobble" induced by an absent, damaged or failing steering stabilizer.

In every case the fault was loose, worn, or improperly engineered steering components.

 

[Dokatd]

I came of age when trucks were beginning to be lifted, modified, improved, et al.

We didn't have steering stabilizers then and wouldn't for another decade or so and then only to combat the forces induced by big, heavy and later cheap tires.

It may be an unpopular opinion but in my 40 years around off-road suspensions never have I ever encountered "death wobble" induced by an absent, damaged or failing steering stabilizer.

In every case the fault was loose, worn, or improperly engineered steering components.

I'm on the same page as you, I have several big trucks that both don't have a stabilizer and don't have Death Wobble.

That said, as geometry was refined and suspension design changed we started to run into issues. A brand new off the show room floor Grenadier with the stabilizer removed will Death Wobble. These aren't leaf sprung trucks or radius arms setups etc. 4 link suspensions like the Grenadier tend to get a bit squirrely. It no coincidence Jeeps, Ford HD trucks and Grenadier all have Desth Wobble issues. They all have the same suspension design more or less.

 

[INEOS OG]

I'm on the same page as you, I have several big trucks that both don't have a stabilizer and don't have Death Wobble.

That said, as geometry was refined and suspension design changed we started to run into issues. A brand new off the show room floor Grenadier with the stabilizer removed will Death Wobble. These aren't leaf sprung trucks or radius arms setups etc. 4 link suspensions like the Grenadier tend to get a bit squirrely. It no coincidence Jeeps, Ford HD trucks and Grenadier all have Desth Wobble issues. They all have the same suspension design more or less.

I would start with a check wheel nut torque, then look at the front tires for being damaged or out of spec, or out of round from sitting and then check all the nuts on the front suspension for anything that may have gotten loose or out of spec and beyond check the caster and other alignment specs.

 

[Dokatd]

I would start with a check wheel nut torque, then look at the front tires for being damaged or out of spec, or out of round from sitting and then check all the nuts on the front suspension for anything that may have gotten loose or out of spec and beyond check the caster and other alignment specs.

I guess tell that to Ford. Their solution was an HD steering stabilizer setup.

My truck is tip top and absolutely has DW if the stabilizer is set too low or is absent.

DW just isn't reserved for trucks with worn, damaged or otherwise failing parts. I have seen it happen on brand new builds.