Steering stabilizer bar

[Cheshire cat]

Having experienced the Dodge death wobble on my 1996 Dodge ram 2500 I can tell you the track bars are terrible and way underbuilt. I replaced mine years ago with a heavy duty track bar and never had a problem again. I am hesitant to replace the overly stiff factory steering stabilizer to improve the steering that I don't really have a problem with because I have heard a few reports of death wobble after the change.

Your experience sounds a bit like mine, in that I have been fortunate in never having had any steering issues with my Grenadier. All very strange as I know some people have had serious problems.

 

[Nevada Grenadier]

The only reason you will get death wobble is if you set it too low. I am sure if you have a convo with Owl or Agile etc prior to buying they will happily refund you if you have an issue that cannot be attributed elsewhere.

I hope you will give it a shot and report back here. I think there has been a lot of circumstantial issues with some people install that has lead to a couple bad reviews. Plus the new designed bracket is much more appropriate on the FOX. The King looks like it just drops right in as well.

Install is 100% diy so you can swap back and forth for free excluding your time.

I have not decided on King or Fox shocks yet and if I am being honest I want the stabilizer to match the shocks. I will for sure try one but man death wobble is no fun, I might have PTSD from the Dodge...

 

[Nevada Grenadier]

Your experience sounds a bit like mine, in that I have been fortunate in never having had any steering issues with my Grenadier. All very strange as I know some people have had serious problems.

I have driven 350 miles after getting the 2.5" lift installed, still feels fine to me.

 

[Dokatd]

My unadjustable Fox Stabilizer I bought from Agile Odd Road for $269.00 is quite good. My issue is with the XXL turning radius. Many times I have to reverse and turn once or twice. It can be rough when you have cars waiting behind you. It would be very nice if the camber would have a factory fix.

I made a video comparing the Grenadier to a Gwagon and several other solid axle vehicles. It wasn’t great My huge Unimog U1300L just eeks out a smaller turning radius. That was with the factory set steering stops. As soon as my back recovers I plan on making some adjustments and seeing if I can get it a bit closer to a stock Gwagon. Luckily the Unimog has the same style half shafts and joints. So I can get some factory specs from it and a few other mog’s I own and feel comfortable enough with any increases I make on the Grenadier.

The key is always to mitigate stress on the front end while at full lock. CV’s and Ujoints etc can be brutally strong in a straight line but not so much at extreme angles. I suspect Ineos was protecting the Double Cardan joints by limiting the steering angle. Yet another compromise.

 

[Dokatd]

I have not decided on King or Fox shocks yet and if I am being honest I want the stabilizer to match the shocks. I will for sure try one but man death wobble is no fun, I might have PTSD from the Dodge...

No doubt, it gets spooky. It’s even worse on a built rig with 40”+ tires.

And yes I feel dirty having the FOX stabilizer and the King shocks, but hey it is what it is at the moment. I do like the ease of adjustment on the FOX though and the new Fox option for the Grenadier looks nice. But man the huge Kings really take a beating without a sweat.

 

[Nevada Grenadier]

No doubt, it gets spooky. It’s even worse on a built rig with 40”+ tires.

And yes I feel dirty having the FOX stabilizer and the King shocks, but hey it is what it is at the moment. I do like the ease of adjustment on the FOX though and the new Fox option for the Grenadier looks nice. But man the huge Kings really take a beating without a sweat.

Yeah I like the Kings a lot. they look way over built and I like that.

 

[Knoe]

I own a 3 months old Grenadier with 3300 KM absolved. Fitted from day One with the OME Taubenreuther damper which makes the steering behavior much better for me.
Until today there was not the slightest problem with wobble.
Today at a german highway with good tarmac suddenly a very hard wobble appeared at a speed of 110 Km. I am an experienced driver using cars like an old Defender or different Classic Cars so I am not very fast scared, but this was a really bad experience.
The steering wheel shaked for about 10 seconds very hard and I needet strong arms to hold the car on the road. After this 10 seconds the wobble stopped and the car drove absolute normal. At the moment the wobble started It felt like loosing a wheel. Think I better change back to the standard damper…( which in my opinion feels really bad)

 

[Tazzieman]

I own a 3 months old Grenadier with 3300 KM absolved. Fitted from day One with the OME Taubenreuther damper which makes the steering behavior much better for me.
Until today there was not the slightest problem with wobble.
Today at a german highway with good tarmac suddenly a very hard wobble appeared at a speed of 110 Km. I am an experienced driver using cars like an old Defender or different Classic Cars so I am not very fast scared, but this was a really bad experience.
The steering wheel shaked for about 10 seconds very hard and I needet strong arms to hold the car on the road. After this 10 seconds the wobble stopped and the car drove absolute normal. At the moment the wobble started It felt like loosing a wheel. Think I better change back to the standart damper…( which in my opinion feels really bad)

Use the standard damper for 3,300km and you will find it loosens up , and all will be good.
As a Defender owner you will be used to some steering effort and large turning circle that is a hallmark of the Grenadier.

 

[Max]

Tazzieman ​

Think I better change back to the standart damper…( which in my opinion feels really bad)

Tazzieman is right, I have 36k klms on my girl and it has freed up nicely and of course you will become even more familiar with as he said, this hallmark of the Grenadier

 

[[ Adam ]]

I own a 3 months old Grenadier with 3300 KM absolved. Fitted from day One with the OME Taubenreuther damper which makes the steering behavior much better for me.
Until today there was not the slightest problem with wobble.
Today at a german highway with good tarmac suddenly a very hard wobble appeared at a speed of 110 Km. I am an experienced driver using cars like an old Defender or different Classic Cars so I am not very fast scared, but this was a really bad experience.
The steering wheel shaked for about 10 seconds very hard and I needet strong arms to hold the car on the road. After this 10 seconds the wobble stopped and the car drove absolute normal. At the moment the wobble started It felt like loosing a wheel. Think I better change back to the standart damper…( which in my opinion feels really bad)

Too many mentions of death wobble with the aftermarket stabilizers.

No thanks, I'll stay OEM (30k km/19k miles)

 

[Tazzieman]

In the early days there was an infamous much discussed video of a prototype showing apparent wobble on an offroad course.
The response may have been to spec the beefy Bilstein in the stock vehicle...

 

[Nevada Grenadier]

In the early days there was an infamous much discussed video of a prototype showing apparent wobble on an offroad course.
The response may have been to spec the beefy Bilstein in the stock vehicle...

Yeah I remember that video, I have had death wobble on my Dodge 2500, at this point I do not plan to get an aftermarket dampener. I really feel like the steering not returning to center is noticeable but I feel has been overblown. Not worth inducing Death wobble.

 

[Knoe]

After this first deathwobble my dealer changed the dampener against a new one of the same OME type and did. a correct axle setting with maximum possible caster.
400 Kilometers later I had the next very hard deathwobble.
My dealer tells me that he has a lot of customers with the OME damper and that I‘am the only one with this problem. Not a big help for me…..
Now I have a date for changing the damper to the original one.
In my opinion the OME damper is very dangerous, because you don’t feel the slightest problem before the deathwobble happens.
I wish all of you a good new year (without deathwobble)

 

[ADVAW8S]

After this first deathwobble my dealer changed the dampener against a new one of the same OME type and did. a correct axle setting with maximum possible caster.
400 Kilometers later I had the next very hard deathwobble.
My dealer tells me that he has a lot of customers with the OME damper and that I‘am the only one with this problem. Not a big help for me…..
Now I have a date for changing the damper to the original one.
In my opinion the OME damper is very dangerous, because you don’t feel the slightest problem before the deathwobble happens.
I wish all of you a good new year (without deathwobble)

Got a question, what if the issue is not the OEM damper? What is the caster? Have you changed the wheels? What speed did you get the death wobble? What upgrades have you done to vehicle? Lift? Okay a couple questions.

 

[Quartermaster]

I have the Old man emu installed for about 10.000 km without death wobble. So i don't think it is right to say the dampener is dangerous. Something must be wrong with your car.

 

[Dokatd]

To be clear, a steering damper is not the correct fix for Death Wobble. Normally the correct fix is to replace worn components. In the case of the IG it appears to be a geometry issue that is compensated for by over valving the steering damper.

Death Wobble is very difficult to diagnose and can be unbelievably violent under the right situations.

My IG has a Death Wobble without a stabilizer but it's mitigated with either the stock damper or in my case the better solution is the Fox ATS adjustable damper. I no longer suffer from Death Wobble with my Fox stabilizer.

 

[C-Mack]

Any number of variables can contribute to a death wobble that is for certain. On my vehicle, I experienced the initial tight steering sensation and constant need for corrections in order to hold a straight line for about the first 1,500 miles. New ball joints, steering knuckles, steering stabilizer, steering box and suspension all need time settle in.

As the miles accumulate the steering is becoming much smoother and I don’t expect the slow return-to-center issue to go away entirely as it has more to do with caster angles and overall suspension geometry. My experience thus far has been pretty consistent with other solid front axle vehicles I’ve owned. That said, the IG’s steering stabilizer is probably the stiffest OEM fitment I’ve encountered so I can sympathize with folks trying different options and switching it out.

I certainly don’t expect the steering to behave or feel like a rack and pinion system in other vehicles and feel it is appropriate to the type of vehicle it as and what it was built for. I would however, recommend after the few thousand miles to have the alignment checked. Based on reports of steering wheels being off center on earlier builds alignments out of the factory was probably spotty for a while. I’d certainly make sure the toe and caster settings are exactly at the preferred “nominal” factory settings before messing around with stabilizers or making other changes so you have a solid base to work from.

For folks putting lifts on and wheels with small offsets (more poke and increased scrub radius… that sounded kind of dirty) an alignment is an absolute must after you make modifications.

 

[Shopkeep]

I don’t expect the slow return-to-center issue to go away entirely as it has more to do with caster angles and overall suspension geometry.

The slow return to centre is caused by the factory stabilizer, other factors in the setup may be contributing but the stabilizer is the primary cause. I swapped out my stabilizer early on for an Ironman 4x4 unit (that is used primarily on landcruisers) and it returns to centre like any other vehicle I have ever driven, live axle or independent suspension. I daily drive in a heavily urban area, one hand on the wheel all the way wax-on wax-off style, many tight turns, over six sets of tram tracks and a 180 degree P turn with no issues. On the 180 degree turn I essentially let go of the wheel half way and slow down the return to centre using my thumb and index finger and it returns fully the whole way by itself with no assistance. No experience of death wobble, also have had wheel alignment done three times (twice at dealer during software update then first service and once when getting new tyres fitted). I will probably get a wheel alignment done every time it is serviced.

 

[Dokatd]

The slow return to centre is caused by the factory stabilizer, other factors in the setup may be contributing but the stabilizer is the primary cause. I swapped out my stabilizer early on for an Ironman 4x4 unit (that is used primarily on landcruisers) and it returns to centre like any other vehicle I have ever driven, live axle or independent suspension. I daily drive in a heavily urban area, one hand on the wheel all the way wax-on wax-off style, many tight turns, over six sets of tram tracks and a 180 degree P turn with no issues. On the 180 degree turn I essentially let go of the wheel half way and slow down the return to centre using my thumb and index finger and it returns fully the whole way by itself with no assistance. No experience of death wobble, also have had wheel alignment done three times (twice at dealer during software update then first service and once when getting new tyres fitted). I will probably get a wheel alignment done every time it is serviced.

100% correct! The factory Steering stabilizer is to blame for the lack of self centering and to some degree the wandering.

On another note, who's comparing the IG's steering to a rack and pinion? It's unfortunate that some here continue to presume that's the problem, that everyone thinks it should feel like a Subaru or something.

To be clear there are two distinct complaints outside of an off center steering wheel. The two actual issues are the lack of return to center and the wandering. Most of these complaints are from the USA where road speeds are generally higher unless your from one of those North East states that have 55mph interstates. Aside from that, yeah we all get it that it drives like any other solid axle truck. Nobody is complaining that's the steering is heavy or less than sports car like. Hell the IG's steering is way easier than my G wagon.

There is no reasonably modern Dodge, Ford or Chevy truck that has the return to center issues or that wanders unless something is definitively wrong with it. I've driven versions of all of these made in the last 3-4 decades. There is not one that drives like the IG regardless of any delusions anyone here is having.

Stop insinuating anyone complaining about the IG's steering is comparing it to a Rack and Pinion vehicle.

 

[TCMColorado]

100% correct! The factory Steering stabilizer is to blame for the lack of self centering and to some degree the wandering.

On another note, who's comparing the IG's steering to a rack and pinion? It's unfortunate that some here continue to presume that's the problem, that everyone thinks it should feel like a Subaru or something.

To be clear there are two distinct complaints outside of an off center steering wheel. The two actual issues are the lack of return to center and the wandering. Most of these complaints are from the USA where road speeds are generally higher unless your from one of those North East states that have 55mph interstates. Aside from that, yeah we all get it that it drives like any other solid axle truck. Nobody is complaining that's the steering is heavy or less than sports car like. Hell the IG's steering is way easier than my G wagon.

There is no reasonably modern Dodge, Ford or Chevy truck that has the return to center issues or that wanders unless something is definitively wrong with it. I've driven versions of all of these made in the last 3-4 decades. There is not one that drives like the IG regardless of any delusions anyone here is having.

Stop insinuating anyone complaining about the IG's steering is comparing it to a Rack and Pinion vehicle.

While most members of this forum are not comparing the steering to a rack and pinon vehicle, the greater automotive market most certainly is.