[shep]

People need to have the ability to read a workshop manual, buy the correct tools and clean things before reassembly.
Even mad Kennys jimny with 240000km on the clock has never wobbled(80mm td lift) every wobbling jimny I have looked
at that didn't have a obvious fault ended up needing mating surfaces cleaned. Out of the 8 jimnys I knock around with none wobble. Second most common cause i have found is panhard bushes and having the panhard sitting on a diff angle then the tie rod.

It is no mystery, just a mechanical device so if there is a issue it is as easy as finding the worn component not some magic thing that can't be fixed.

[Marko_SJ]

GraphicX wrote:

there's a lot of people on big jimny with fighting the death wobbles as well with no success. every time i fiddle with something on my car i worry i might induce the wobbles (i do a lot of highway driving) but been fine so far.

As much as I get Shep's last point I think its still a real issue.

I will be the first to admit, my brother doesn't really want to work on his car because he's flat out doing other things when he's here (the car is in Darwin and he lives in Adelaide for most of the year studying) and relies on other people (workshops) to do things properly and not have to tinker on the car in his spare time considering it was a brand new 4x4 and even now has less than 30,000 kays.

Edit: Prior to writing this last post I have printed off the Big Jimny checklist and will start going through stuff on the car if I can be bothered.

[shep]

Put 60psi in the tyres and see what happens. Might be as simple as the tyres going out of round from not being driven.

[Marko_SJ]

shep wrote:

Put 60psi in the tyres and see what happens. Might be as simple as the tyres going out of round from not being driven.

I got under the car last night after I finished with the RGV250 for the night. Front end is all nice and tight, no loose bushes I can find.

Slightest bit of play in rear panhard. Jacked up front, no play in front wheel bearing / kingpin bearings. Slight bit of oil on one of the steering knuckles. Radius arms all tight

Put high pressure in tires and test drove, wobbles reduced not totally eliminated.

[Seth2013]

thats curious shep about clean mating surfaces, next time I do some major maintenance I'll check mine out.

from my experience it takes almost nothing to change the nature of the fault. rotating the tyres almost stopped my from doing it as well as a new panhard rod bush.

I gave up trying to fix it 1 month after buying it - I was told before I bought one that it would probably do this, so it was no surprise. I just think its a cute quirk of the car, and personally its not enough of a reason to go back to carburetors, no power steering or air conditioning or power in general a rusting shell etc. of an older car.

[vet 180]

Marko_SJ wrote:

I wish my brother could say the same Shep.

So far because he's not overly mechanically minded, he's payed a workshop to shim kingpins, rotate wheels, had discs machined, had wheel bearings replaced, checked all the bushes in the front end.

What a piece of crap! As if general maintenance items wear out! You have converted me, all Jimny's are unreliable pos's their brakes, bushes and even wheel bearings wear out....

[GraphicX]

he's not painting an image of 'all' jimny's having this issue, but more that when/if it occurs it can be a nightmare to rectify even if you're successful.

i know it can occur in patrols (& probably other live axle vehicles), but it seems it is pretty common in jimny's with so many faults being the cause that diagnosis is often excessively expensive.

besides, you'd think after building pretty well the same car for almost 20 years they engineers at suzuki would have ironed this issue out.

[Marko_SJ]

vet 180 wrote:

Marko_SJ wrote:

I wish my brother could say the same Shep.

So far because he's not overly mechanically minded, he's payed a workshop to shim kingpins, rotate wheels, had discs machined, had wheel bearings replaced, checked all the bushes in the front end.

What a piece of crap! As if general maintenance items wear out! You have converted me, all Jimny's are unreliable pos's their brakes, bushes and even wheel bearings wear out....

You know what, maybe if I'd insinuated that Jimnys were pieces of crap you'd have a point with your post. I just want it to be known to anyone who is considering radically modifying a jim to know MY anecdotal experience.

You might also recall I said my brother loves the car except for the wobble. Its a great rig for going shooting and playing offroad.

I think they make good daily/weekenders if kept mild, Shep says there is a problem with my brother's car and helpfully told me where to find info (unlike you, who have offered nothing to this thread but incorrect assumptions about the age of the vehicle and my motivations) , which I did and am looking into.

I have seen shep's car in action and been impressed thankyou very much, so would like the same out of my brother's car and I don't think it's an unreasonable ask.

The car has less than 30,000 KM on it, so if its worn out, maybe it is a piece of crap as you say.

Typical unhelpful, bashing answer as is expected of this site, maybe that's why few people use it anymore.

Oh and it wobbled hard enough to rip the wheel out of your hand and shake the whole car like a piece of paper flapping in the breeze, and rattle everything out of the dash so this is a real problem, not a "cute quirk"

GraphicX wrote:

he's not painting an image of 'all' jimny's having this issue, but more that when/if it occurs it can be a nightmare to rectify even if you're successful.

i know it can occur in patrols (& probably other live axle vehicles), but it seems it is pretty common in jimny's with so many faults being the cause that diagnosis is often excessively expensive.

besides, you'd think after building pretty well the same car for almost 20 years they engineers at suzuki would have ironed this issue out.

Thankyou, again, for being logical instead of defensive.

GUs get the wobbles bad from what I've heard, usually fixed by replacing either the panhard or radius arm bushes.

[nessness]

Thanks for the advice. I just love this forum. You guys rock!

I'm feeling the M series engine is going to be the better option. And thanks to the popularity of Swift for making this engine in abundance

I'm feeling a M series engine, maybe stock with low kms. Going to start with 215 MT's and go from there.... and maybe a lift (Dobinson or Tough Dog 40mm)... and a bullbar... roof racks... snorel... Sunnies hehe.

The ol' jimshim - going to have to accept this. Part of the parcel. I shall not be defeated or deferred!

[vet 180]

Marko_SJ wrote:

vet 180 wrote:

Marko_SJ wrote:

I wish my brother could say the same Shep.

So far because he's not overly mechanically minded, he's payed a workshop to shim kingpins, rotate wheels, had discs machined, had wheel bearings replaced, checked all the bushes in the front end.

What a piece of crap! As if general maintenance items wear out! You have converted me, all Jimny's are unreliable pos's their brakes, bushes and even wheel bearings wear out....

You know what, maybe if I'd insinuated that Jimnys were pieces of crap you'd have a point with your post. I just want it to be known to anyone who is considering radically modifying a jim to know MY anecdotal experience.

You might also recall I said my brother loves the car except for the wobble. Its a great rig for going shooting and playing offroad.

I think they make good daily/weekenders if kept mild, Shep says there is a problem with my brother's car and helpfully told me where to find info (unlike you, who have offered nothing to this thread but incorrect assumptions about the age of the vehicle and my motivations) , which I did and am looking into.

I have seen shep's car in action and been impressed thankyou very much, so would like the same out of my brother's car and I don't think it's an unreasonable ask.

The car has less than 30,000 KM on it, so if its worn out, maybe it is a piece of crap as you say.

Typical unhelpful, bashing answer as is expected of this site, maybe that's why few people use it anymore.

Oh and it wobbled hard enough to rip the wheel out of your hand and shake the whole car like a piece of paper flapping in the breeze, and rattle everything out of the dash so this is a real problem, not a "cute quirk"

GraphicX wrote:

he's not painting an image of 'all' jimny's having this issue, but more that when/if it occurs it can be a nightmare to rectify even if you're successful.

i know it can occur in patrols (& probably other live axle vehicles), but it seems it is pretty common in jimny's with so many faults being the cause that diagnosis is often excessively expensive.

besides, you'd think after building pretty well the same car for almost 20 years they engineers at suzuki would have ironed this issue out.

Thankyou, again, for being logical instead of defensive.

GUs get the wobbles bad from what I've heard, usually fixed by replacing either the panhard or radius arm bushes.

All good mate, just having a bit of a stir. No hard feelings intended. Just pointing out that those are maintenance items. Sounds like your brothers car is driven hard...I like that! My jim will probably deathwobble at 15,000kms with stock suspension lol. TBH I any live axle car gets the old death wobble, patrols, hiluxes and wranglers are no different. A lot of the time it's caused by unbalanced tyre/wheels and people (not you) often make it out to be like the car is screwed because brand bias. My lux and almost all my mates patrols death wobbled like a mofo. A jim you will feel it more because its skinny and tall.

[GraphicX]

what is the warranty of the jimny new ? wouldn't these be warranty issues ? even if outside of warranty, couldn't you 'reasonably expect' the car not to wobble at only 30,000kms & receive warranty work (if you haven't fiddled with it which you guys have no doubt done).

[Morcs]

GraphicX wrote:

what is the warranty of the jimny new ? wouldn't these be warranty issues ? even if outside of warranty, couldn't you 'reasonably expect' the car not to wobble at only 30,000kms & receive warranty work (if you haven't fiddled with it which you guys have no doubt done).

3 years from new, with extended 2 years for drivetrain if service schedule is followed properly.

Having worked for a suzuki dealership (bikes), they dont seem to accept warranty claims readily - so a claim on wobble is unlikely to be accepted unless 100% stock on things like wheels, tyres and suspension

[pete_79]

If your Jimny is 100% stock and develops a true wobble (not just a little shimmy) I would expect warranty to be honored.
Change 1 part (even just adding all-terrain tyre a in standard size) and I'm sure you'll be left high and dry.

Death wobbles are common on all live axle front ends.

Our Jimny has done 40,000km with 2 inch lift and 215 mud tires, it has no wobble at all.

Our new Wrangler has less then 15,000km with 2.5 inch left and 33 inch tires, it scared the pants off me yesterday morning when it did the dance from hell at 60km/hr.

After a quick inspection this morning I found some play in the ball joints.
This is basically the same issue as the king pins in the Jimny. If they can fail in less then 15,000km on our car they can go at any time on any car.

But there is already a ton of wobble threads in here, we don't need another one.

To the OP;
1 to 2 inch lift is more then enough.
215 75 R15 mud tyres will get you to loads of places.
Gearing is a must if you're doing any technical driving.
That's all you need to make it capable, stable and still reliable.

If you want to go nuts and build a skyscraper no one is going to stop you. As long as you have the cash and time available to keep chasing all the little issues that will come up every time you push the limits.

Jimnys are a great little car to daily drive during the week, then get out and have some fun on the weekends. They're cheap to run, cheap to modify and cheap fix.

They are not built to be heavily modified and wheeled really hard.
Just because they can be doesn't mean they should be.