What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

death wobble Dana 60

tlape4965

tlape4965

Registered Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Posts
26
Reaction score
0
Location
Mesa, AZ
I put Dana 60 under my 89 Sub with crossover steering from ODR. Everything went great, until I test drove it. When I would brake I would get the death wobble. So I ordered the spring kit from ODR and replace the springs. Now I have the death wobble when it reaches 35 mph. My Steering stabilizer is about a year old, so I don't think it is that. Anyone have any ideas??

Thanks in advance.
 
did you re-torque your u bolts? a steering stabilizer is just band aid that can cover mild cases of DW. are your u-joints nice and loose?
 
and re torqued after you drove it for a bit? u joints in the axles good, hub not staying engaged ? tires balanced?
 
What's your caster set at? I just had some DW issues with mine and I needed different shims in my spring packs to bring the caster back into spec.
 
YZEATER said:
and re torqued after you drove it for a bit? u joints in the axles good, hub not staying engaged ? tires balanced?
Click to expand...
I having driven it enough for a re-torque; however, I did check it and it was still good. u-joints are good. I'm starting to think it is a caster issue since I replaced the springs.
 
Z71paramedic said:
What's your caster set at? I just had some DW issues with mine and I needed different shims in my spring packs to bring the caster back into spec.
Click to expand...
I'm going to try the alinement next. It seems logical. Did you just take it to a shop or how did you handle it?
 
I used an angle finder on the top of the knuckle to figure out my caster was ~10* and I had 4* shims in there. Called Kert at DIY4x and ordered up a set of 8* shims and it handled it. Also make sure you're about 1/4" toe in, that will help you too.
 
Z71paramedic said:
I used an angle finder on the top of the knuckle to figure out my caster was ~10* and I had 4* shims in there. Called Kert at DIY4x and ordered up a set of 8* shims and it handled it. Also make sure you're about 1/4" toe in, that will help you too.
Click to expand...
Well, I adjusted my tie rods out because I noticed that my tires were toed in. That fixed the death wobble at 35mph; however, it's back to wobbling when I brake. I checked my caster and it appears to be at 13 degs. I also talked to a friend of mine and he stated, that the object was to get the top of the knuckle behind the bottom of the knuckle. That being said, logically I believe what is happening is when I brake hard enough, it shifts the weight of the vehicle forward and the axle is wrapping enough to to change the angle, rolling the top of the knuckle forward over the top of the bottom causing the wobble. It seems logical in theory. I have camera that I can mount underneath the truck to see if this wrap is accruing. If so, I will have to see if I can fab a sway bar to eliminate the movement. I had to remove the original bar because of interference with my crossover steering. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
if your right on the edge of having the correct caster, i can see that being the problem. i doubt your getting that much spring wrap.
 
I'd start with shims. 13* is a lot. I only had 10* and was having issues. I was told to shoot for around 6* if you can, but 4-8* should be fine. The shims took care of the problems I was having.
 
Z71paramedic said:
I'd start with shims. 13* is a lot. I only had 10* and was having issues. I was told to shoot for around 6* if you can, but 4-8* should be fine. The shims took care of the problems I was having.
Click to expand...
Right now the top knuckle is aft of the bottom knuckle. Do I want to shim it to be further back(pinion down) or shim it forward(pinion up pointing to the TC). I also think my caster is 10* positive. I forgot to factor in the tilt in my driveway. Headed to a shop today to get correct reading.
 
Last edited:
you want ~6* of + caster. That means you want the upper kingpin slightly behind (in relation to the vehicle) the lower kingpin. I have crossover/highsteer, so I set the angle meter on top of the steering arm and got my measurements. You need to rotate the pinion up ~4* it sounds like to get it right.

attachment.php
 
Z71paramedic said:
you want ~6* of + caster. That means you want the upper kingpin slightly behind (in relation to the vehicle) the lower kingpin. I have crossover/highsteer, so I set the angle meter on top of the steering arm and got my measurements. You need to rotate the pinion up ~4* it sounds like to get it right.

attachment.php
Click to expand...
Thanks for the pic. It will help.
 
Sure thing man. Hope you get it sorted out quickly and relatively painlessly:thumb:
 
Z71paramedic said:
Sure thing man. Hope you get it sorted out quickly and relatively painlessly:thumb:
Click to expand...
So back to the drawing board. I went the shop with the sub today, my caster is at 7.5* positive. Now I'm stumped again. Is it possible that the 1* will make that big of a difference?
 
I wouldn't thinks so but it is possible I guess. You said it only does it while braking now?
 
Z71paramedic said:
I wouldn't thinks so but it is possible I guess. You said it only does it while braking now?
Click to expand...
yeah, only when braking. I got under the front and started rechecking things. I found the right side tie rod for the crossover steering to be defective. I called ODR and let them know; they said they would send me a new one. I don't know if that will solve me problem.
 
It certainly can't help. Is everything else tight? Bearings, KP's, drag link, etc? That's the first and most important thing to make sure of to eliminate the DW. hopefully the TRE takes care of it for you:waytogo:
 
Have you added any fender washers to the kingpin spring? I had wobble from day one, added a washer to each side - it was gone. The kingpins were never meant to handle large, wide tires - sometimes they need a little help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom