[cisco]

the facts--just completed an hp44 swap and a long arm suspension install.
caster is 7 degrees. steering is inverted T. no hi-steer, tie-rod is stock 44 location. trackbar is in original mount on the frame side and in steering stabilizer mount on axle side. draglink and track bar ARE parrallel. 44 is from a 78 ford had the usual 2 degrees of positive camber problem. put in spindle shims to fix it. running 3 inch teraflex springs. 35 inch bfg's wirh 16 oz of bb's in them to balance. toe is set to 1/8 inch toe in. not running a steering stabilizer. what else do you need to know to help?

problem--at 45 mph i get the beginnings of death wobble. it is intermittent. sometimes i can run 50-60 mph and not have any problems other times it is very bad. if i slow down below 40 it goes away and then i can keep going. not sure what is wrong. any help is appreciated.

 

[LUVMYTJ]

We just encounterd the same thing on a friend of mines 44 swap. He took it to an alignment shop and all was well. I think his screen name here is BusterLee . PM him.

 

[cisco]

damn! i have been searching for 3 hours and no luck. everyone says check for worn components. hell all my stuff is new. this is bringing the suck!

 

[cisco]

We just encounterd the same thing on a friend of mines 44 swap. He took it to an alignment shop and all was well. I think his screen name here is BusterLee . PM him.

thanks man. i have been aligning my tj myself for 3 years. i am pretty sure it is correct. if all else fails i might have to resort to this. thanks though

 

[BrettM]

do you have a set of tires available that are balanced (not BBs)? if so, try those out, the BBs just don't like some people.

 

[cisco]

yeah this is the way i am leaning. i think it is a tire balance issue. i "think" that would explain the come and go characteristics of it.

 

[JohnnyJ]

I would try swapping tires around, because that's the easiest, but...

I know that you said you checked the alignment, and I'm guessing you mean adjust toe-in and I noticed that you said you knew your caster, but it might be worth having it put on the table of a good alignment shop and having a good thrust angle alignment done if you can't fix it with tire swapping.

If you find a good shop in your area, they might let you tweak the adjusters on your long arms to make sure the thrust angle is good. This might chase out the demons on a DD.

 

[cisco]

I would try swapping tires around, because that's the easiest, but...

I know that you said you checked the alignment, and I'm guessing you mean adjust toe-in and I noticed that you said you knew your caster, but it might be worth having it put on the table of a good alignment shop and having a good thrust angle alignment done if you can't fix it with tire swapping.

If you find a good shop in your area, they might let you tweak the adjusters on your long arms to make sure the thrust angle is good. This might chase out the demons on a DD.

thrust angle? thats a new one for me! expalin please

 

[JohnnyJ]

google thrust angle

 

[LUVMYTJ]

thanks man. i have been aligning my tj myself for 3 years. i am pretty sure it is correct. if all else fails i might have to resort to this. thanks though

HEHE ya, We thaught we were veteran tape measure alignment technicians ourselves...

 

[FlameRedTJ]

What degree shims did you get? I"ve got a 78 F250 axle in mine with pos. camber problems. havn't gotten around to getting the shims yet.

I don't don't have a wobble problem with mine. and it sounds identical. Inverted T. though my trackbar uses heims. and no stabilizer.

 

[cisco]

the biggest degree shims i could find is 1.5. but they worked out great. i got them at my local parts store. had to order them from moog

 

[jeeper101]

you might want to try a stabilizer shock. When mine went bad I would get that death wobble and it would feel like my wheels were going to fall off. I put a new shock on and it solved the problem.

 

[Tutt]

i have the same exact BS going on. just swapped in a HP 30. pretty much all new stuff. fwiw, i put the stock tj steering stabilizer back on and that took care of the death wobble. it still shimmys a bit at 45 but it doesnt go nuts.

 

[JohnnyJ]

The stabilizer will help mask the problem, but it shouldn't really be happening in the first place. If you're in a hurry, that might get you by, but my curiosity would make me want to find the source of the problem and fix it.

What if one doesn't work, is the next step to put 3 or 4 on like those sweet rigs they sell on e-bay?

 

[Tutt]

right, i just put it on there so that i could drive it outside of the neighborhood until i solve the puzzle.

 

[BlueAngel]

Try to decrease your caster and see what happens.

 

[Tutt]

any luck cisco?

 

[spinner]

balance the tires and get rid of the bb's

 

[geberhard]

I am having a similar issue with my HP D44, so interested in finding out more as well. I am planning to put a stabilizer on, at least to help for now.

I played with Toe in and out, and it did help a bit. In thebegginging I was having issues at low speeds (around 20-30), and now after adjusting toe in around higher speed. I am planning to swap in some balanced BFG 35's to see if that would help. From the side of the rig, I can see the wheels going slightly in and out, so that is not good

gui