Still wobbling slightly

Hi All,
Not posted for a long time mainly cos everything has been ok apart one one thing ..... The dreaded wobble! Now it's not as bad as some on here but it's become annoying. Fitted new kingpin bearings and seals courtesy of Martin and. Now the offside driveshaft seal has started weeping again. I bought the Suzuki shims to preload the king pin bearings more and everything is as it should be with the help topic which leaves me thinking one thing left which is pan hard rod bushes and suspension arm bushes.
At 70k on the clock they're bound to be seized in and will need cutting out. What would replace them with ? Genuine Suzuki modified bushes or go down the poly bush route ? Would you do the whole suspension assembly or just the front ? Jimny is a 2006 VVT model pre facelift bumper model
Open to opinion and suggestions to what folk think best. I'd really like to bottom it once and for all

My 05' car had 75k on it at purchase and the suspension was very tired. I changed the springs and shocks and it had wobble, bearings were sorted and there was an improvement then I started chasing little bits..... Panhard bushes, control arm bushes, track rods, tracking, tyre balance, steering damper, all gave an improvement.

A year of road and off road driving and it was back, only slightly. This time I fitted the Trailgear H/D steering bars and have no wobble at all. The rod ends are massive in comparison to standard and hold the steering much better. Wish I had done it sooner......

sniper

All solid axle 4x4 vehicles are prone to "wobble", it's normally kept under control by a complex mix of components on the suspension and steering system. When new the friction of these components all combine to damp out any wobble, unfortunately as they age the friction reduces (normal wear and tear) and the ability to damp the wobble reduces.

Obviously major component failure (such as kingpin bearing) wil generally promote the wobble, but you could still have it on a vehicle with serviceable components fitted, simply as they offer less damping than when new.
This is why it's difficult to say changing component X will cure the wobble, the best you can do is check the condition of individual bearings, bushes and track rods. This may involve disconnecting items to allow you to feel for any play, whilst connected it can be difficult to feel a weak item. The shims will increase the preload on the kingpin bearings and to some extent the force required to turn them (damping), but none should actually be required if everything else is in tip top condition. Adding more and more will just cause premature failure of the bearing, so whilst a useful addition to damping it's not the total solution or the best place to apply it in my opinion.

If you are sure all items are good then an alternative solution is a steering damper, it does make the steering feel more like a "normal road car", but can mask issues and some don't like the feel. I believe Suzuki now fit a damper on the GEN 4, so maybe it should have been standard on the G3?
Bigger tyres and suspension modifications may exaggerated any wobble and a steering damper is usually required to control this, you don't say if your Jimny is standard or modified.

I would start by checking everything disconnected and replace any suspect items. You also need to see why your seal is leaking again, it is possible to easily damage the seal when you reassemble the drive shaft, so it may / may not indicate kingpin bearing issues.

Mike

Thanks for your advice Mike. It’s completely standard. Tyres are General Grabber AT2’s and that’s it. Driveshaft seals were correctly installed. Maybe have a duff seal... it happens. No marks on driveshaft to cause seal failure. Wheel bearings all good and surfaces clean before reassembly. Going to check bushes on arms next. It’s never been off road

Sounds in good condition and not too modified, it should be possible to be wobble free.
I should have added above check your tyres are ok, jack off the floor and rotate as you look at the tread pattern, make sure it has no side to side movement. I have seen this on a balanced tyre, it causes wobble on any vehicle.
Suzuki (Martin big Jimny) sell an upgraded bush kit to stop wobble, I suspect it just stiffer rubber than the stock item, but it's never a guaranteed fix if other items are worn.
www.bigjimny.com/store/suzuki-jimny-wobble-kit.html
Good luck, keep looking, you can get them wobble free.
Mike

Balance beads are worth thinking about if everything else is exhausted. I used to have horrendous issues with some cooper STT tyres until I fitted the beads. Now on some Toyos with ceramic beads and absolutely cant fault them. I also get much longer life from wheel bearings/kingpin bearings now as the tyre balance doesnt wear them down as fast.

Perfect balance at all but crawling speeds