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Death Wobble!!! (yes, I searched)

xCaliK5x

xCaliK5x

1/2 ton status
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Well, If I haven't had enough problems with this truck, now I can add the infamous "Death Wobble" to the mix.............. Yes I searched, but all the threads an post were too confusing and riddled with more questions and opinions then answers. Here is what I know.

I had ZERO DW until I replaced the front pads and calipers. Noting ALL of the caliper bolts were loose, one backed out, one broken, and all missing those little steel sleeve inserts. ( I will beat the fcuk out of the previous owner if I see him again :mad: ) so maybe whatever is causing it was there, but the messed up calipers were acting as an insulator? The swamper on the right has more tread then the left, and is cupped. So I swapped them left to right, and corrected the air pressure to about 32 PSI from about 20ish IIRC. Now at about 30 I get DW. It doesn't stop until I almost come to a complete stop. Mind you it won't happen all the time. Seems after I have been on the gas, then coast down. I think I can make it happen if I try. I'm going to throw it on the rack Sat and balance the tires, check the alignment, (what do I want it set at? 1/8" toe in?) move them back Left to Right and see if it goes away.

Seriously, this truck is about to take a one way drive out to the desert and be used as target practice for my AK and AR. I was harrased by friends and the spousal unit to lie my ass off and trade it in under cash for clunkers. I said hell no. I couldn't send it off to its death. This is how it repays me. I'm seriously over it.
 
first of all what axle are you running? i would guess a d60 because they are notorious for this. try buying a dual steering stabilizer. that fixed my buddys DW problem. PS post pics of your rig, that will bring more viewers and more advise
 
looks like you're running a D44. you didn't state your tire size, but i'd bet your caster angle isn't correct. (assuming that your tire/wheels are balanced by now).
 
D44 according to your sig line..but what size tires??

Generally DW comes from worn king pins/ball joints. How many miles are on your ball joints, TREs, DLEs?? Even though is a band-aid, check your steering stabilizer. Cross-over steering?

It may be a coincidence that it began after you changed the calipers/pads, but I would check to ensure one of the calipers isn’t sticking.

-JC
 
D44, 36" Radial Swampers. TRE's? DLE's? HA! They are likely the same ones that were on the axle when it left the factory. They have zerk fittings and blown out boots. They feel pretty tight. The ball joints, eh, they are likely the same. It all feels tight. I have someone move the wheel, no real play (my FJ60 would move 1/4" before I rebuilt it). No stabilizer or X-over steering. I'm sure all the ends could use replacing.

I say it showed up after the work and think its something I did, I mean, I literally dropped it off the rack and drove it about 5 miles and it happened. I had never experienced it before, I thought something was about to fall off and I was in the middle lane of a major street with cars on both sides! EEKK!

I do have a dampener on its way from ORD anyway I ordered before this happened but really hate band aids.
 
To check your ball joints you need to get the wheel/tire off the ground and check for movement at 6 o'clock/12 o'clock. I always use a pry bar under the tire but you can just as easily push the top of the tire as you pull the bottom upwards/towards you. If you have any movement then look at the ball joints to see which joint is moving. If neither joint is moving I would check to see if the spindle nut is loose.


If everything is OEM D44 then I would definitely say there should be some play in everything steering related..:haha:
 
90'K5 said:
To check your ball joints you need to get the wheel/tire off the ground and check for movement at 6 o'clock/12 o'clock. I always use a pry bar under the tire but you can just as easily push the top of the tire as you pull the bottom upwards/towards you. If you have any movement then look at the ball joints to see which joint is moving. If neither joint is moving I would check to see if the spindle nut is loose.


If everything is OEM D44 then I would definitely say there should be some play in everything steering related..:haha:
Click to expand...

Finally an excuse to use my 3 foot Snap-on "screw driver"! I will look it over. Spindle nut? Is that the nuts on the ball joints that hold the knuckle to the spindle/axle tube?
 
How bad are your tires cupped? In my experience Sawmpers ride better with less air pressure around 20 - 25. Mine were bias though.
 
Apparently this is different than death wobble, but something I experienced right after replacing my ball joints.

Steering dampener died. My theory as to whats going on (as its still there with the new dampener, but not nearly as bad) is that the rotors are warped, and a good/working dampener helps to mask the problem.

In your case, since everything was screwed up, maybe you are experiencing the same?

I literally pulled off the road and stopped after thinking the truck was going to go veering off in one direction when I lost the wheel/tire when the dampener was dead, before I figured it out. That was easily the scariest automotive experience I've had that wasn't caused by myself or anothers driving.
 
Any updates on this? My truck has the wobble too. Now I know why they call it death wobble. It had the truck rocking up and down, side to side until the truck came to a stop :eek1:. Everything is tight on the front end except for a minute amount of play on one TRE. The brake rotors may be warped. They spin about half the way and catch hard on the other half when the truck is air and the tires are spun by hand.
 
well, I put the air at 25PSI, put the wheels back side to side (they didn't fit on my wheel balancer at work so I have to take it somewhere) I put 1/2 turn back in the tierods and IIRC about dead even toe wise, added a dampener and its gone.
 
LOTS of things can cause it - worn steering components, out-of-balance tires & wheels, steering box loose, frame broken near the frame, loose/missing suspension components, or a nasty combination of all of the above.

Steering stabilizers are a band-aid, not a fix. If you're gonna band-aid it, at least use something like hydro assist. That's what I did and it keeps it at bay. I'm sure my DW from tires being out of balance and/or worn kingpins and just haven't taken the time to fix it because I plan on putting new tires on it and pulling the whole front end all the way down and rebuild it from the diff out.

I've had it come back pretty bad despite the hydro-assist several times recently, once was the steering box bolts had loosened up.... (locktited them this time) and the other was one of my front spring shackle bolts had sheared.
 
I need to do drag link ends and tie rod ends. No real noticeable play but I can't see .10, they seem to be inexpensive. I have some work to do.
 
When I went to buy my Blazer 12 years ago it had the DW during the test drive. I couldnt pull over fast enough. I got out and so did the then current owner. He was bout' 19. He said, Wow thats never happend before!" *Yeah ok buddy*. Anyways I didnt know much about 4x's but I saw the problem right away. I kept my mouth shut, got back into the Blazer and drove us back to his house ASAP(as safe as possible). He was asking $3800, I offered him $1800 using the DW as my star witness. He reluctantly countered at $2000....sold. We signed the paper work and it was then I got out my cresent wrench and tighted up the U-bolts. He was pissed.... but I was happy, funny how that works. So long story short check your u-bolts.
 
Not trying to Hijack, just giving feedback. I tightened the ubolts and tried the 2 fender washers in the kingpin cap and the deathwobble has subsided. It feel like it is still lurking though. I am going to mount a steering box brace and put in some poly bushings on the springs for good measure.
 
CUCV2 said:
Not trying to Hijack, just giving feedback. I tightened the ubolts and tried the 2 fender washers in the kingpin cap and the deathwobble has subsided. It feel like it is still lurking though. I am going to mount a steering box brace and put in some poly bushings on the springs for good measure.
Click to expand...

Feedback is the best part!

when I got this POS, I got 10 (yes TEN) turns on all the ubolt nuts before they held torque. I put torque seal on the nuts so I can see at a glance if any of them have loosened.
 
well I have read and read all of the problems people have and an awful lot of fixes. I myself have been lucky. even though my tires, which arent that great and and a little out of balance, I have no death wobble. but My front end components are tight and I do not have huge azz tires that stick out which puts alot of pressure on front end parts. So what I am trying to say is if your front end is wornout, if your alignment is shot, or if you have tires with an offset that shoots them out 5" past the fenders,
expect the death wobble.
 
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