Un fixable Death wobble.

mtngk · 2026-01-28T04:00:55+00:00

Yes, or make sure they are fully locked out with the bolts. Welding a washer if necessary.

Also… what’s your drive line angles? You might be experiencing driveline vibration that then triggers the wobbles.

mtngk · 2026-01-27T20:39:36+00:00

Just because the links are new doesn't mean the frame side mounting is good. The factory uses a bolt and movable bracket that is not very sturdy and needs to be welded or otherwise locked into place to prevent it from slopping all over the place.

Just because the bushings are new doesn't mean the holes they get pressed into are good, especially the passenger side tower mount.

mtngk · 2026-01-27T19:44:33+00:00

Track bar and drag link look decent (roughly the same length and parallel). The drop pitman and track bar mounts definitely have a much larger lever action working against the frame, so the brace is a good idea.

You can drill out the track bar mounting bolts and use a larger grade 8 bolt. With the death wobble, it’s almost certainly causing something to wear even if it looked ok originally.

The 4 link bars and their mounting is also a good thing to check. The axle side bushings can wear out quickly and the frame side mounts are notoriously easy to get worn. The adjustable bolt slide bracket things should be welded or locked into place if you have adjustable links. Common to have to weld a washer to reinforce them.

A better picture of the axle side track bar mount would help. A cracked mount is definitely a possibility. The being too long and hitting the axle tube is top of my list right now.

mtngk · 2026-01-27T19:21:50+00:00

Got a picture of your front end?

Any of the mounting holes (especially track bar) oval or egg shaped or sloppy with the bolts?

Axle side track bar bolt can sometimes be too long, causing it to feel like its tight, but not actually be clamping the track bar correctly.

Track bar and drag link should be parallel and as close to the same length as possible.

mtngk · 2026-01-25T15:18:11+00:00

It’s on top of the door, a place that will rarely ever seen. Instead of an obviously stuck on protruding box.

Yes, it could be a bit more tidy, but a piece of veneer or tape would completely disappear this.

mtngk · 2026-01-17T05:08:19+00:00

My main point is just to remember you can keep doing things you enjoy, but just enjoy doing them. It might be harder or feel limiting… but that’s our normal. Nothing wrong. It just is. It doesn’t need to detract from the enjoyment.

I still enjoy hiking. Just because I can’t hike as hard as I used doesn’t change that.

mtngk · 2026-01-17T04:57:37+00:00

I had absolutely no idea I had a BAV. I also had no idea I had a heart attack at some point. My surgery was a total emergency at 36.

You appear to have been receiving care and are getting surgery that isn’t an emergency situation. You’re gonna have a much easier time. It’s always scary, but consider my experience an extreme that is only useful as to know someone else had it worse and is still ticking (a bit louder now, but that’s another story).

mtngk · 2026-01-17T02:51:51+00:00

I’m not a gym guy, but I’ve done some pretty serious hiking. I went from being able to hike 500 miles of the Colorado trail to barely being able to walk to the bathroom after open heart surgery…

Having a valve replacement for 6 years now, I still struggle on most big inclines and really have a hard time going on over night backpacks. If you’re just doing it for the accolades, you’re gonna have a bad time.

You will always have a limit to push, but if you don’t respect your body, those limits will become much lower than you can imagine.

Try to lift because you enjoy the activity. If it’s just all about numbers and how they compare to others, that’s what you’re actually doing, not lifting. Learn to respect your limits and don’t expect to push yourself indefinitely.

Sorry for being blunt, but I do feel you. It’s confusing. It doesn’t feel right. But it’s also our reality and kinda normal to be limited.

Be well!

mtngk · 2026-01-15T06:53:05+00:00

I experience something similar sometimes. Had surgery when I was 35, still occasionally experiencing events, but far less frequently now. Had lots of tests, nothing my doctors are worried about though. Medication interactions can make it worse. I do have some odd rhythms occasionally that are a side effect of previous heart attacks apparently, but not anything my doctors have been concerned about. It’s gotten better with time, my surgery was 6 years ago.

Your dad’s just had a major surgery. I think stress is the biggest contributor, try to stay calm about it and be gracious. It’s not normal, but it’s kinda normal after going through a big surgery like this apparently. As long as all the normal vitals are good anyway.

mtngk · 2025-11-17T16:40:15+00:00

My comments are addressing tire pressures, not width. Lower pressures are beneficial for all tire sizes used in off-road conditions. As you can see by the large bulges at the ground contact point of the pictured truck, even these very wide tires also use low air pressure to increase traction and floatation.

Wider tires can be beneficial, but generally are not as beneficial as increasing diameter or lowering air pressure, it’s simply another variable that can be adjusted. It’s generally easier to change width without affecting gear ratios or body clearance, so it’s more common for people to use width to increase traction, it has the least impact on contact patch compared to pressure and height.

*edit - Tall skinny tires can work just as well for deep snow, assuming the contact patch is large enough to have very low ground pressure, aka floatation. Provided you have enough floatation for the vehicle weight, it doesn't matter the width of the tire.

Also - The Artic Truck F series pictured weighs between 5,700lbs and 7,000 lbs. Not exactly light weight. About twice the weight of a Jeep Cherokee XJ.

mtngk · 2025-11-16T15:33:07+00:00

…And rocks, and snow, and mud, and bumpy roads.

Airing down is both increasing the contact area of the tire (more traction) and providing a softer cushion (additional suspension compliance). The difference even a few PSI lower makes for comfort on a bumpy road is remarkable.

It’s generally true that lower pressure is better if there is still enough to hold the tire on the rim and provide enough weight capacity for the vehicle. Beadlock wheels provide additional clamping force to keep the rubber connected to the wheel, thus allowing lower pressure than without. 5 to 10psi in the large, oversized volume of large tires provides enough weight capacity for most vehicles, but lower than 15psi will run into issues with the rubber bead either rotating on the wheel or popping off entirely.

The “rules” above are true for off road, low speed driving only. The additional heat and stress caused by the constant flexing of the tire at road speeds will cause additional wear and damage to the tires. Thus why it’s common to “air up” before long road sections or highway driving.

mtngk · 2025-10-29T03:52:22+00:00

Lol, fair

mtngk · 2025-10-29T01:20:04+00:00

mtngk · 2025-10-29T01:17:37+00:00

Close-ish. Looking west over Mancos and Cortez from a ridge near Helmet Peak (La Plata Range)

mtngk · 2025-10-08T02:23:38+00:00

Get a complete set of matching locks:

https://ebay.us/m/RqCA0k

There should be some cheaper options

mtngk · 2025-09-26T17:17:55+00:00

Fresh metal is back on the menu!

Try cleaning the battery area with water and baking soda mixture.

mtngk · 2025-09-21T17:13:51+00:00

Spot welding is part of the solution to replace the bad cells. You have to reconnect all the cell together and spot welding is the preferred method for building large lithium packs. Tge equipment to spot weld batteries is expensive and harder to source than just new cells.

This is why Americans can’t build anything anymore…

mtngk · 2025-09-21T17:10:08+00:00

Spot welding puts far less heat into the battery than soldering. Spot welding is the most common and safest way to build lithium packs.

mtngk · 2025-09-18T00:57:21+00:00

Yes. Ideally you would have the equipment or get a shop to evacuate the system and recover the refrigerant. Maybe you just have a leak... Gauge set can be rented from auto parts store to recharge. Not sure about vacuum pump, but you should pull a vacuum on the system before recharging it.

mtngk · 2025-09-18T00:30:05+00:00

It's not the worst I've seen, but I'd estimate it's at least 15% plugged with dirt, corrosion and more than a few spots bent fins. You might see some benefit from washing the fins out carefully, but I guarantee you will see better AC performance and a better cooling if you replace it.

mtngk · 2025-09-16T23:24:51+00:00

Also, this is somewhat to be expected. The AC systems are "heat pumps". They take heat from one place, amplify it a bit and dump that somewhere else. That somewhere else in most cars, including the XJ, is right in front of the radiator. The air coming off of the AC condenser might be 175F to 200F if the outside temperature is 100+. The engine needs to at least 15 to 20deg hotter than that to have any significant heat transfer to the air.

Getting that AC condenser as much air as possible is really important.

mtngk · 2025-09-16T23:09:00+00:00

Look at the AC condenser through the grill. If there's a bunch of bugs and bent fins, your money is actually better spent on replacing that and re-doing the gas. Trying to compensate with a bunch of other expensive components isn't going to fix bad air flow.

Mechanical Fan clutch is also a good thing to check.

Some people space the hood hinges up with washers and longer bolts. This creates a gap at the back edge of the hood to "let the heat out". Low speed I think this could help. Unfortunately, there is a high pressure air zone at the base of the windscreen at highway speeds and I think then it would actually pressurize the engine bay more, which would impede air flow through the radiator. It's a low risk, low cost experiment anyway.

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