Eek!

Ok my wobble has made it a pain in the ass to drive to the trail. Yes I have a trailer but I don't want to always have to trailer to the trail.

I've had the Amigo at Mike's shop and they could not find the problem per se. Bob R thinks it's the 38.5"x14.5"x15" tires. Ok I can live with that. Mike thinks it may be a residual feedback from the 1" ram. Either way at least after Shaffer ran through everything I know the wheel and tire isn't going to come flying off.

But I've still got the wobble from hell, actually the wobble is less violent since Mike replaced some bushings but it is still there.

I've had several people suggest steering stablizers. Yeah I know if you need a stabilizer it's only masking a problem. Any rate I'm looking around and does anyone have any preference on stabilizers? I'm thinking dual shock for the 38's but is there anything else I should be looking at?

Note: the wobble only happens on bumps or rough roads. Making a sharp turn while the wobble is happening makes the wobble stop. I can drive just fine with the tires wobbleing. The wobble is not transmitted to the steering wheel and this could be because of the 1" Howe ram assist.

I think you need to just junk that thing and start over. Did I mention I am starting a junkyard at my house?? I'll take it from ya, and not even charge for the pick up fee. :flipoff2:

Originally posted by GloNDark
I think you need to just junk that thing and start over. :flipoff2: Remind me to use your Cruiser as a ramp next time you get your shit running. :flipoff2:


Bastard.

Originally posted by Belly Dragger
Remind me to use your Cruiser as a ramp next time you get your shit running. :flipoff2:


Bastard.

Hey did I put the trailer back far enough??

:D:D BRING IT!!! Mine won't wobble, so even if you can put a tire on my roof, i can still out run ya! ;)

I still think something is wearing out somewhere. Just because of the fact that it didn't do it at first and now it does. Steering stabilizer helped on my bronco when it had the dredded death wobble. And I know it helped with Brians TJ. Yeah it masks the problem but at the same time, if it stops if from wobbling off the road, what's wrong with that?

bushings would have been my first check...

now check u-bolts, rod eyes, steering ends, knuckle bolts/joints, wheel bearings, kingpin stuff, etc...pretty much retorque everything you can find that's connected to the front axle. One of those has to be loose or worn out. I do this regularly (every trip) with mine and have no wobble issues, even with golf-ball-balanced 38.5's running 11 psi at 60 mph.

Originally posted by Scout Dude
A steering stablizer won't help more than your Ram already does...


The ram wont help with the wobble, when it is hooked up to the lines, it assists the steering, not dampen it. Sure death wobble can be causes from some worn out parts, but generally it is created from the setup. Tires play a big role too. Sometimes I have the DW, and sometimes it dont. Bumps also kick it off. It helped to run my 9000's on 5 and run a stabilizer. New bushings also helped, as well as adding a panhard rod. Caster and Toe adjustments may help also. What really makes mine go away is a set of radials. It was like magic. Oh yeah, make sure the box is mounted solid, and the adjustment is set right.

Ok first off let me say this. NO I do not want to have to run a stablizer. The bushings are all new. We've changed toe and caster to no avail.

However and consider this an open challenge. If anyone thinks they are quite the wizard and they can find and solve the problem, I will gladly pony up. I'd much rather have this solved than to mask the problem.

And yes, the day I drove it out of Mike's shop it didn't wobble. It has progressively got worse so yes it is most likely a wearing problem. But where is the wear, I have no idea.

I've been told that from the front (looking at it head on) when it wobbles it looks like the tires/wheels are going to come off and that they wobble independantly of the axle. I've checked, rechecked the bearing tightness. Although I have yet to expose the full spindle to check races. I can rock the tires violently enough to "feel" a thumping from stop forward to stop back. Others have "felt" it while others have not. Yet that information has yet to reveal a solution.

I'm all ears.....

Let's tear that axle down to the knuckles and check it out. Have you checked the heim joints for slop yet? HHMMM What else is there......hhmmm

When you got them from Boyce, were they 100% rebuilt? Give them a call, they outta know those axles inside and out.

I am with bob on the tires. I know my 38 sx's can cause it. With radials, it goes away. I am not too sure on the feedback from the ram. If the track bar is set up right, I cant picture how hitting a bump would cause the feedback, because the axle would move at the same arc as the drag link. As long as the pitman arm does not move, there should not be any input to the ram. Here is something you might try. TonyK, was putting together some ram kits with some quick disconnects in the lines. When you drive on the street, he would loop the ram in/out fittings together, as well as the box. Now the ram is out of the steering loop, but is full of fluid, and acts as steeing stab.

Belly, Its your tires man! Trust me I have exactly the same problem in my 4Runner. I replaced my Rod ends and the Drag ends, this helped but I still have a DW at certain speeds and its really brought on by bumps. I havent tried a Steering Stab. yet but I am sure it would help. Tires, Tires, Tires.

I know this would be masking a problem too, but have you tried playing with your tire pressure. I had one hell of a wobble for a while and it would come and go, but i noticed that if i dropped about 4-5 psi it would go away. i was running about 30 psi on the street and now i've lowered it to about 26 I think, and now it drives smoother than ever. I know its not a real solution, but it keeps me driving straight.

Dallas

What axle do you run? Dana 60? I'll give you my toe in measurement if that's the case. I ran 39.5" swampers last year and consistently dealt with death wobble. Traced to loose bearings or TRE's... Once I got those fixed I still had death wobble at about 20-35 MPH until I went around a turn or turned the steering wheel back and forth rapidly...

I made a new tie rod one day, and inadvertantly installed it at the wrong length... The toe-in is about 1/2" more than it should be at "stock", but now there's no wobble at all, even with my 44" boggers. If there's too much toe-out, then the truck'll try and pull itself apart... It has to do with caster and the contact patch of the tire as the vehicle speeds up. Perhaps try running a higher pressure too.

As an aside, I ran Explorer Procomp dual steering stabilizer last year, and now that everything seems to be running within reason, I've since taken it off. All the lower shock really did was smash into rocks anyways.

Originally posted by UGET IT
Belly, Its your tires man! Trust me I have exactly the same problem in my 4Runner. I replaced my Rod ends and the Drag ends, this helped but I still have a DW at certain speeds and its really brought on by bumps. I havent tried a Steering Stab. yet but I am sure it would help. Tires, Tires, Tires.

I second that!!! I was running bias ply tires and would get everything described. I am not running a stabalizer. When I put my MTR's on it the problem went away. However, now that my tires are getting some wear on them they have been trying to wobble. I am thinking about putting the steering stabalizer on it to smooth out the tires. I don't look at this as a band-aid, rather more a device to help control the massive amount of weight I am asking the tie rod to control. Besides, have you looked at a lot of new cars. they have steering stabalizers from the factory, with small tires. You're telling me that the factory puts on band-aids to fix steering problems?

Joe

auto manufacturers put stabilizers on to make the steering feel more cushy. if you take off the stabilizer on a stock vehicle, they will not wobble or anything, the steering will feel different tho. They dont use it as a band aid, more as a damper. in this case it would be a band aid, to mask a wobble.

Dallas

EXCELLENT question on tire pressure...

what pressure are you at????

IIRC, 38.5's on a 15" rim handle like 3450# per tire at 30psi max. My truck is 4400#. 3450 x 4 = 13,300 / 4400 = 3

1/3 x 30psi = 10psi...which is about what I run mine at on the street...NO wobble at any speed.

jump that to 12-15 and I can't stay on the road either.

What do I win for solving the problem???

and just so I've got something to back it up...

http://www.4x4now.com/sfjun96.htm

HAHAHA tire pressure?? I ain't never seen a swamper aired up so high! :D He's been there tried that. Still wobbles. :(

I run my 44" boggers at 25 psi. Running a tire at too low of a pressure will cause it to heat up and wear rapidly. It's too hard on the vehicle. Mileage goes down (as if that's a concern of mine I get 4 MPG tops) tire wear goes up exponentially and your handling goes out the door. I can't keep my truck on the road at 10 PSI, but it sure does ride smoother. Air em up till the tire sits flat on the bottom so you wear evenly. That's another mask of a problem. Being able to run your tires at maximum recommended pressure is a nice trick man. I'm still of the idea that having proper steering geometry is better than running a stabilizer or airing down to mask a problem.

this topic is both depressing and comforting, in a wierd kinda way.

it seems no matter what junk you drive, big tires, little tires, custom steering and $$$ axles, or close to stock stuff- the dreaded "Death Wobble" can be found....

i'm at a loss with my death wobble:(
when i had swapped in my power steering, i was unable to just bolt back on my (stock) steering damper because of a pitman arm change. because the death wobble had been quite severe without a damper, i was very cautious to see what it would be like with no damper, but a changed steering system.
:) 'twas beautiful! no wobble whatsoever! not even a HINT of a shimmy/vibration/wobble nothing!

for about a month and a half.:( :mad: then out of the blue, it returned, worse than ever!

-i have swapped wheels front to back, no change.
-i have replaced all the tre's, no change.
-swapped wheels with a buddy, no change.
-tried air pressures ranging from 10 psi up to 45 psi in 5# increments, no change.
-removed all the fasteners that are associated with the entire steering linkage, replaced and torqued to *exactly* the correct specs, castelated nuts with cotter pins, no change.
-the castor/toe in/camber, preload on the bearings are all perfect and *exactly* to spec.
-tried settings wildly OUT of spec, no change.
-replaced all of the bearings*, seals, felts, grease, oil, anyway just to eliminate them, no change.

* EXCEPT the king pin bearings/bushings so far.
(more people had recomended air pressure or steering alignment being the culprit than those that mentioned king pin bearings, and i can find no discernable play in the bearings at all, so until my wallet recuperates from the other useless crap i bought, they'll have to wait...)

to tell the truth, i almost don't want to change them, because when they, too, turn out to be a false lead, i'll have nothing else left to try and will go completely Postal....:D

Are the tires balanced ? I've had death wobble from having mud in my tires, worn ball joints have caused it also.

I'ts the stabilizer. I had the same wobble problem untill I used one. I run 44 Tsl's.

ARE YOU GUYS RUNNING HISTEER? i ran it for a long time and had the death wobble. put my tierod under the springs and it went away! steering stabalizers make a big difference.

Another solution is to build an engine with enough HP to blast right through the speed at which the wobble happens. Stop tailgating people and give yourself enough room to VAROOOOOOOOM.