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ALRIGHT!!!! DEATH WOBBLE NEEDS TO GO AWAY!

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Your Caster angle is out
when alignment shops check your alignment on a solid axle rig (specially a lifted one), they always insist that the caster is non-adjustable, and they are wrong. :

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110% correct! if nothing is worn out here's your problem, my truck did the same thing....incorrect caster.
 
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Your Caster angle is out
when alignment shops check your alignment on a solid axle rig (specially a lifted one), they always insist that the caster is non-adjustable, and they are wrong. You probaly changed the caster when you installed the front lift springs, the lift springs may have even came with a caster shim to help out on front driveshaft angle, but when you roll the pinion up to help your driveshaft angle you take away caster in your front end unless you rotate the pumpkin on the tubes and re-weld it.

you need to have a alignment shop check your caster and tell you exactly how much it is out, then go get a shim to rotate it that much, or remove a shim that you might already have
Thick part of the shim to the front of the vehicle= less caster
thick part of the shim to the rear of the vehicle= more caster which also

Don't go overboard though, the more caster you add the harder the steering will feel and the more the truck will want to track road crown and such, just add enough to get the wobble to go away. Also, the wider the wheels you have are (read the further the tires are from the ball joints) the less tendancy the wheels will have to wobble and the less caster will be required (remember, the factory spec was for stock wheels with stock tires which always requirs more caster to keep steady), that distance helps the wheels "drag" on the balljoints, therefore helping it stay in a more consistent direction

i personally have 6" pro comp springs on the front of my 74' K20 with 10" wide wheels, stock shackles, no caster shim at all and unbalanced 36" swampers, and this truck has a shake from the unbalanced tires, but absolutely NO hint of any death wobble no matter what bumps i hit ( and trust me i know what death wobble is, i've had a 79' k10 do it and i also lifted a solid axle cherokee /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif)
I plan on adding longer shackles which will increase caster angle and worsen my front shaft angle plus my trucks steering has alot of resistance to it and it tracks road crown pretty aggressivly so i plan on installing 4" caster shim's with the thick part to the front which should counteract the effects of the shackles and then some which will allow it easy steering, a decent driveshaft angle, but an increased tendency to death wobble and wander the road so as a safety cushion i also plan on installing a Skyjacker inline dual steering stabalizer as a control item
if it doesn't act quite right after all that, then i will go down to a 2" caster shim installed the same way

be carefull when installing the caster shim's, you may need center bolt extension spacers or a taller head centerbolt to make sure that you have the center bolt reaching through the shim and the entire way into the axle locator hole the way it is supposed to

Trial and error my friend /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif
I hope this has helped /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

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alright i have a report from my last alignment at 4wp.the caster on the left is 9.5, and on the right its 9.4. the specified range is 2.0 to 4.0.

i have never done any work like this and i dont know what a castor or a shim is. can yall help me out and tell me what to do and where it is.

thanks
 
What is fine? How do you know what "fine" is? The factory specs for your truck are with stock tires.
 
well i hav the summary for my alignment at 4wp that i had done, a little more then a month ago. The toe is in the specified range on both sides and the caster angle is out of the specified range by 5 and 1/2 degrees on both sides.
 
More positive caster is not going to cause death wobble. The only way you can correct this is to shim your axle up or use shorter spring shackles. I'd just leave it.

The toe might be in specified range for a stock truck, but you need some toe-in to avoid death wobble on a truck with big wide tires.
 
ok i got ya.


i guess ill just get a dual stabelizer and forget about it

thanks
 
not to hijack, but what does deathwobble feel like? i think mine does it, but it feels like the front tires are hopping after hitting a bump while on the brake. it did do it when hiting a bump kinda slow, then i changed the shocks and now it only does it when on the brake. it also doesn't do it with a load, towing or hauling stuff in the bed. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
it feels like the wheels (wich they are) jerking left and right rapidly. and the steering wheel moves with it. its kinda crazy
 
ok nevermind then, i don't have DW. what i have feels like the front wheels are jumping up and down. /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
got a ? does the rig as you guys put it "death wobble" does it do this on part time 4 wheel rigs too or just all time 4 wheel. i think i have the same two problems. one when i put on teh brakes it pulls hard to the right( i think its a sticky caliper, ill replace them and get back to ya), but not for sure on the "death wobble" mines and 82, w/hydro boost, was a diesel rig, over two yrs ive replaced EVERYTHING on the front end, takin it to 3 alinment shops, all say its good for a lifted rig. i had 35x14.5.15 boggers at the time, now have 37x12.5x15 ssr's and its still doin the same thing. bout a yr ago i adjusted the toe in/out when i replaced the ball joints, tie rod ends, and toeing it in helped but didnt get rid of the problem. i have the 208 tranfer, and ive even takin teh front driveshaft off and it still does it. had 4 wheel parts check the angle of the pinion, they said if was fine, but was just wandering if its the caster like you guys said or is it something else i might have over looked. like i said everything on the front end has been replaced. its basically a brand new 10 bolt. 4.56gears,detroit,lock outs,chrome moly axle shafts, 30 spline inners and outers, all new bearings,seals, etc. any info would be greatly appreiciated. thanx /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
is what you have actually "Death Wobble"? does the wheels shake uncontrolablly until you almost stop, or do the just have a consistent shake while your driving, but never out of control per say, cause that is a different story

with the specs you show and the things you've fixed i don't see how you can have death wobble, it sounds more like terrible head shake
and with 9.4 degrees of caster there's no way you have a good front pinion angle either in my opinion

Soooooooooo, If it were me i would try installing a 4 degree caster shim in between your front springs and axle pads on each side with the fat end facing the front of the vehicle (a 4x4 shop will help you understand this better since they can point at your vehicle in the proper places while describing the shim) that will adjust your caster down to about 5.4 degrees positive which should be fine and then i'd get my tires balanced or rebalanced (and don't let anyone tell you that is a waste of time on big tires, every little bit helps) and install the dual inline steering stabalizer
(the other posters are right, a stabalizer is just a band aid, BUT i have always run them even if i have no problems because i feel that they definitly can't hurt and plus i like to keep my thumbs and fingers while wheeling (you ever have a big tire catch a rock without some sort of control device on the steering!, OUCH )).

This is my best advice and hopefully this will give your truck much better street manners

God luck bud /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
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i think i have the same two problems. one when i put on teh brakes it pulls hard to the right( i think its a sticky caliper, ill replace them and get back to ya)

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It might be a caliper, but in my experience that is most likely related to a brake hose collapsing internally. If you replace your calipers, replace your brake hoses also.
 
Have you checked your steering box? Have someone turn the wheel back & forth while you observe the action of the box. Look closely. K5's are notorious. The plate the box bolts to may be cracked so detection might require removal.
 
hey guys thanx for replying. here's some more info i forgot to tell ya. ive got both steering box braces. the weld in one i got from 4 wheel parts and the ORD's bolt in one. did that bout 6 months ago, (frame was cracked), i've repalced the steering box with a brand new one not reman. but like i said i've replaced everything in the last year, just from wear and tear and so i know its done kind of thing. i'm very mehanicly inclined, hell i've worked on nothing but vehicles since i was 5. this truck use to be my daily driver til i had a lifter problem, now i just drive it to trails. its jsut this problem is really bugging me and id like to get it takin care of, but i have no freakin clue on what it is. so this leads me into my next ? why does moving the pinion on a part time axle, have that much affect on the tires doing the "death wobble". and one other ? will fixing the caster also tighten up the play i have in the steering. ever since i fixed teh frame crack and put the braces in, it seems that there is a little more play in the steering wheel. i had dual steering stablizers on the front but i think they were bad so ive now takin them off. id like to get this problem fixed as much as possible then maybe put those back on later. i dont want to "mask" any problems if at all possible. any help would be greatly apprieciated. thanx /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
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