Pirate 4x4 banner

Dana 60 "Death Wobble!" HELP

10K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  BAD4WD 
#1 · (Edited)
Huge death wobble problems. Not the common bump-steer, but that all out, mean-ass whoopin', teeth chattering, wobble that makes it feel like the front end is breaking. What the hell is up with all the Dana 60 equiped vehicles my buddies and I own?? Why does it only happen at 35-55 mph?

I have a 1980 Chevy Crewcab dually 4x4 with 235/85R-16's, 2" suspension lift, a NEW complete King Pin repair kit done on it within 3 mo's, new tie rod & ends, new balanced tires/wheels, hubs, bearings, shocks.

His: 1986 Chevy Suburban 4x4 1 ton w/ 8inch springs, 37's, and a
Dana 60.

And several projects
I know what's wrong with his, but my dually has brand new everything in the front $1000 worth and at 35mph it scares the crap outta me everytime it's driven.

I have Dana 60's on all my project vehicles, and I'm wondering if I want to revert back to a 44 just for drivability sake?? From this site previously, I was told NOT to shim a Dana 60, well then, how do you put a big lift on, and keep the pinion outta the dirt?? Do I have to cut the ends and reweld them on?

Please Help.

(and no I won't sell my pile of dana 60's for $500)(yes, I said pile>)
 
See less See more
#2 ·
What do ya mean the axles "shoots out"? How do the springs look (even though they are brand new)? Perhaps pictures would help as well, as pictures can tell a thousand words vs. trying to understand what someone types.
 
#3 ·
cpydrman said:
(and no I won't sell my pile of dana 60's for $500)(yes, I said pile>)
Well you can keep your pile but I will take one for $50 (Yes I said $50) :flipoff2:
 
#4 ·
For starters, begin by playing with your toe in / out on your alignment... Just keep changing it and eventually, you will find a place where the wobble is almst gone.
If that doesn't work, then just add a hydro assist ram and it will all dissapear for about $250 bucks from Rocklogic or Rockstomper...(or cheaper if you wanna do a home brew setup)
 
#5 ·
cpydrman said:
Huge death wobble problems. Not the common bump-steer, but that all out, mean-ass whoopin', teeth chattering, wobble that makes it feel like the front end is breaking. What the hell is up with all the Dana 60 equiped vehicles my buddies and I own?? Why does it only happen at 35-55 mph?

I have a 1980 Chevy Crewcab dually 4x4 with 235/85R-16's, 2" suspension lift, a NEW complete King Pin repair kit done on it within 3 mo's, new tie rod & ends, new balanced tires/wheels, hubs, bearings, shocks.

His: 1986 Chevy Suburban 4x4 1 ton w/ 8inch springs, 37's, and a
Dana 60.

And several projects
I know what's wrong with his, but my dually has brand new everything in the front $1000 worth and at 35mph it scares the crap outta me everytime it's driven.

I have Dana 60's on all my project vehicles, and I'm wondering if I want to revert back to a 44 just for drivability sake?? From this site previously, I was told NOT to shim a Dana 60, well then, how do you put a big lift on, and keep the pinion outta the dirt?? Do I have to cut the ends and reweld them on?

Please Help.

(and no I won't sell my pile of dana 60's for $500)(yes, I said pile>)
hello i had to put 2 steering dampers on mine iwas told it was do to pinon angle. i have 12in springs in front plus big tires.crossover steering and all new parts in the d60
 
#6 ·
Tires, I know you said they were balanced, but try somebody elses that you know doesn't have a problem, I've been there, my Dodge did the same thing and I replaced all the draglinks and put dual stab , but you can still feel it try to start shaking so the problem is still there I just covered it up. Just swap the front tires and wheels with somebodys to see if it changes.
 
#7 ·
swap the front to rear tires. also i have found on smaller vehicles that shock placement is a big factor in death wobble.

and maybe you have a pile of d60's because they are all death traps LOL j/k man


but on a serious note. what rebuild kit did you buy and was it a complete kit.

and maybe you do need to cut and turn your knuckles if this is the case.
 
#9 ·
...then just add a hydro assist ram and it will all dissapear...
Hydro assist is not the cure all the time.I have it and it does nothing for it.I either go under the speed that it happens,or haul ass to get above where its gonna happen.What I have heard working for alot of people besides playing with caster and toe is new kingpin preload springs.Or new springs and a couple fender washers on top of the springs to raise the preload a bit.
 
#10 ·
If you just did your kingpins I assume that isn't the problem. If you took the axle out and reinstalled it or swapped it in to begin with what is your caster like?
caster is only adjustable by putting in the proper shims. You should play with your alignment try different caster/pinion angles and mess with your toe. After we 4 linked my buddies front he had the same problem and it was a caster problem.
 
#13 ·
^^ same as above. im running 39.5's and i had death wobble put a steering stabilizer on and i also found a couple loose bolts in the shackles that might have just added to the problem
 
#16 ·
I don't know if you were planning on going to crossover but that might be an easy way to eliminate kingpin spring deflection. I've heard of alot of guys that run big tires with small amounts of backspacing on their wheels having problems with spring deflection. It just provides too much give. Check out this site http://www.wickedfabrication.com/images/heavydoublearm.jpg these guys are wicked fabrication and their dana 60 high steer arms eliminate the spring with shims pretty sweet.
 
#18 · (Edited)
nothing sucks like a nasty deathwobble. i watched my brothers truck from my rearview mirror have one on the freeway years ago. he crossed three lanes of traffic and finally stopped it in the grass. i could actually see the tierod bowing up and down like it was a wet noodle. scared the hell out of me. not to mention him.

a pic would be nice. so would some more info.

-how much pinion angle are you running? consider rotating them.
-do you have a stablizer on it? how many , how old?
-are you running stock steering components?

i got pissed a while back with a friends. we rebuilt the kingpins, cut and rotated the knuckles, then went full hydro. with a 1 1/2 inch solid steel tierod on 3/4 inch heims. that cured the shit out of it.
 
#19 ·
I tried all the tricks with mine, playing with the toe in or out, extra washers on the springs, tightining the piss out of every bolt on the front end and none of it made much difference until i put the ram assist on. It cured all of my problems.
 
#20 ·
Couple of years ago i replaced the frt. stock steering stablizer on my v-30
because i was buying new shocks for the truck & decided to get a new matching stab. A week later the frt. end started to have a mean DW. I put the stock one back on & fix the problem The pro comp brand stab. was defected I return it & they replaced it with a new one. They told me they have had some problems. Laters
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top