First time buyer. Concerned about death wobble. Need advice.

ILIV wrote:

Lambert wrote: I'm a farmer and I use my Jimny off road every day and I look at a service life on the kingpin bearings of about 2 years. My other Jimny is essentially a road car and I expect to get around 4 years to a set of the bearings. This is based on me being particularly sensitive to steering wobble and changing components at the slightest hint of wear. What I'm trying to say is that death wobble isn't a massive problem and once fixed tends to stay fixed for a goodly amount of time. Also don't forget that forum's are a focal point of any little thing that can affect any car and they also attract people looking for solutions not necessarily the vast majority of owners who are having a fault free ownership.

Hey Lambert! Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate the service life figures. Gave me a good idea of what to expect. I find this information highly valuable. BTW, is your Jimny that you use for off-road is modded at all? I mean, does the DW problem affect both cars no matter if they are in stock configuration or not?

I agree, people tend to complain more about problems and we often see a skewed picture as a result. I'm well aware of this phenomenon. That is why I said that I was confused somewhat because I actually had read numerous owner reviews and while people mentioned various problems that one might run into with Jimny I haven't seen a single report of a DW.

Both mine are essentially standard cars with the exception of the farm one having had it's deteriorated suspension replaced with much more robust but still standard dimension components. As in Ermintrude is not an off road monster she is just a bit tougher to withstand the work she does every day basically anything that has died through the constant heavy use has been replaced if possible with a better quality version but things like the tyres are still a road bias all seasons pattern and as much as I need to there isn't anywhere on my hill farm I can't get within 10 metres of.

ILIV wrote:
Thanks for the reply, Busta. As I said, I don't really know all that much about cars. Let alone pecularities of 4x4's.

So, are you saying I should not expect an ideal, vibrationless steering from a Jimny, or a Jeep for that matter? Whereas in FWD/RWD road cars it should be quite ideal just because those cars are different by design?

Yes, precisely that. I certainly wouldn't let death wobble put me off buying one, and there's simple steps you can take to minimise the lesser steering wobbles if that does bother you. But if you want a completely refined, pillow smooth ride then don't get a 4x4 with solid axles.

ILIV wrote: It appears that in principle the problem is very similar across all these brands: loosened/weared parts of suspension and wheel imbalance in general.

Exactly; prevention is better than cure, so proper maintenance is the order of the day and releatively inexpensive on the Jimny.
I really think you may have focussed on this particular trait of 4x4s and become uneccessarily worried by it.
I'm confident you will be fine.

Having looked at the condition of that Jimny in your picture, it looks very well maintained.
I doubt there would be any steering wobble, and it's not the end of the world if there is.

Jimx5 wrote: Having looked at the condition of that Jimny in your picture, it looks very well maintained.
I doubt there would be any steering wobble, and it's not the end of the world if there is.

Yes - I completely agree with all of that [Smiley Thumbs-up Needed Here]

Hi, fairly new to Jimnys myself - had mine just over a year. Bought mine with 57k on it, and had DW at 40mph. Dealer replaced kingpins and this seemed to cure. After 6mths, got it again! Having replaced bushes on the front (inc panhard rod) this seems to have rectified. Cheers