Just got a '94 f150 with a 6" superlift on it ttb with the d44. Ever since I got it is has vibrated after 75mph. The guy I got it from just got it aligned (have the receipt) but he said it wasnt perfect or something along those lines. After about two months it suddenly got death wobble between 20-35 mph. It does not happen that often and bumps do not seem to set it off. Only when driving in a straight line. Tires turn rapidly from left to right. I'm pretty unfamiliar with the whole twin traction beam setup (I've always been a chevy guy :flipoff2: ).

Now, I;'ve done some research and still havent found quite the answer I'm looking for. The truck has a lot of miles on it (318,xxx) so I would expect some things to be worn out (ball joints, wheel bearings, etc) but nothing seems particualry obvious. It seems like getting an alignment would be a waste since it was just done. I'm thinking of just getting a steering stabilzer but I dont want to do a band-aid fix and suffer for it later on down the road. No swaybar BTW

Anything obivous to look for or anything known with the 6" superlift without throwing parts/money at it?

Jack it up and figure out whats loose... Ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, etc... Check it all.

with 300k i bet there is all kinds of shit worn out. id check the ball joints and the center pivot bushings - what size tires ? and dose it have a steering stabilizer ?

Check everything as stated above. I thought the same thing... what size tires does it have? At 318k its probably time to replace most of the front end anyways.

37" muds

It always seems to be a combination of things. With that many miles....wow, do it all. New poly bushings, (all of 'em), tre's, shocks, repack/snug wheel bearings, ball joints, tire balance, adjust/replace steering box, etc.

Its pretty obvious at 300K+ you're gonna be needing some repairs, but for now, try adding some extra toe-in to keep everything taught. If it takes excessive toe-in to tighten it up while driving, you should go ahead and do the repairs.

I would say check all the bushings (pivots and radius arms).

Is the steering linkage in alignment with the axle beams? Or is it pulled up at an angle from horizontal? Very good chance you might need a longer drop pitman arm for it as well, having a 6" lift.

I had the same prob with my ford (leaf sprung), I fixed it with a straight axle and pan hard bar. It still wobbled after the straight axle, but the pan hard stoped it. Try making sure all the bolts are tight on the pivot bushing brackets.

I would say check all the bushings (pivots and radius arms).

Is the steering linkage in alignment with the axle beams? Or is it pulled up at an angle from horizontal? Very good chance you might need a longer drop pitman arm for it as well, having a 6" lift.

From all the other lifted ttb setups i've seen (not many) it seems about the same angle, not horizontal tho. It has a dropped pitman arm already. Just about every single grease boot on all the ball joints is broken so I'm gonna start by replacing all those ball joints and check everything out as I do

Death wobble I've experienced and seen on TIB's / TTB's are either related to some nasty toe out (Which is one thing the alignment shop most likely got right) and Failing balljoints and wheelbearings.

When my balljoints starting really going on the 96 Mazda, I'd get the death wobble between 30-45mph, straight line. Very random, rarely would bumps, braking or turning actually set it off.

Jack it up and start checking what moves that shouldnt...

Check the radius arm brackets.. sometimes they crack, especially with poly bushings and a lift...

But yeah, like everyone said, replace every wear item in the front end.

it could very easily just be the fact that the tires are slightly cupped and unbalanced. Throw a small set of non "mudders" on that you know for sure are not cupped and see what happens.

Ok, so it ended up being something pretty obvious and simple. It got a lot worse, and shook really bad from 25 mph +. So after taking a better look underneath I noticed when the wheel was turned this bracket (sorry dont know my correct ttb terms) thats connected to the crossmember right in the center would move and was loose. The bolts on it were handtight and boltholes slightly enlarged from the wear. After checking more bolts I found almost every bolt that had to do with the lift was loose (although not as bad as the first ones). So I took every bolt out loctited them all and tightened everything down. This even reduced the shaking at 75+ mph to almost nothing. That's what I get for getting a truck from an 18 yr old who lifted it himself. Now I;'m gonna go thru the whole front end, balljoints, wheel bearings etc. Maybe ill find some more stuff

EDIT:
And I hear people call it twin traction beam and twin I beam, I assume different name same thing?

Glad you found it.

And I hear people call it twin traction beam and twin I beam, I assume different name same thing?


TTB= 4X4
TIB=2X4
.
.

Before spending a pile of cash rebuilding the front end you should spend some time researching replacing the ttb with a solid axle, depending on your skills and what parts you can find a deal on it may not cost that much more, I don't think you will find many people that will say they regret swapping out a ttb front end.


Brewchief:D

From all the other lifted ttb setups i've seen (not many) it seems about the same angle, not horizontal tho. It has a dropped pitman arm already. Just about every single grease boot on all the ball joints is broken so I'm gonna start by replacing all those ball joints and check everything out as I do

That's the problem with TTB lifts (and is why people gripe about it so often). The drop pitman arms provided with virtually all kits are the wrong length, they don't match up with the lift's height.

That linkage needs to be down horizontal (or inline with the TTB beams), otherwise you end up with toe-in/out bumpsteer which wreaks havoc on your truck's handling (not to mention your tires).

Get a Skyjacker pt# FA600 (http://www.skyjacker.com/products/products_search/detail/?id=69760) drop pitman arm for it. Although this obviously isn't your entire problem (sounds like you've found some even bigger issues), it will make a tremendous difference in your truck's handling.

. This even reduced the shaking at 75+ mph to almost nothing. EDIT:
And I hear people call it twin traction beam and twin I beam, I assume different name same thing?


Racing the imports again?:rolleyes:



The twin I beam is found on the 2wd trucks and TTB on the 4wd.

Racing the imports again?:rolleyes:

You betcha! :D
Well it's what I assume is around 70-75, speedo is way off so it says 60 at about that speed. Tested it with one of those handheld gps things but not at that speed

One other thing to keep an eye out for on ttb trucks is the rivet that is right behind the steering box that connects the crossmember to the frame can come loose and waller out out.