Deathwobble sucks. Fender washers rock.

[Ryan B.]

Well i finally did it. Installed 2 fender washers under the kingpin cap (histeer arms) on both sides.
I started getting deathwobble again last weekend on a good 100 mile drive. Right when it started happening, i inspected everything real close and i was convinced it was the Tie Rod End.
So the next day i replaced it, same thing. I played around with toeing it in more little by little, then going back to slightly toed out, with no real drastic change in the Death wobble.
So I finally tried the fender washer under the kingpin cap trick and it fixed it! only I shimmed it a bit too tight. So I tried taking one of the 2 washer out, WOAH! DW came back! Found some other washers that were about half as thick.. put one of those back in each side, Deathwobble is gone.
I always thought of this as a band aid fix, but since this is my daily driver, i had to try something when i couldn't find anything else wrong!
I suppose i should try installing all new bushings and springs again and see if that cures it.

I'm ready to get some of those WFO arms that eliminate the springs and use a solid spacer and shims. My friend got some of those and his truck has no deathwobble since installing em. My deathwobble always seems to come back every 4 or 6 months for one reason or another. WTF!?

 

[tRustyK5]

The spring needs a certain amount of pre-load to keep the nylon cones seated on the king pins. Stock tires don't often exceed the preload, but the uber heavy swampers we run often do. New springs and bushings should help for a little while, but eventually the spring will lose some of it's height and consequently some of it's pre-load and DW will come back. The washers aren't a true band-aid, they don't mask the problem they fix it by adding a little more pre-load.

Rene

 

[spincast375]

any pics?

We've got DW. I do not understand where you installed these washers. Can you provide pics or more details?

 

[Greg72]

The spring needs a certain amount of pre-load to keep the nylon cones seated on the king pins. Stock tires don't often exceed the preload, but the uber heavy swampers we run often do. New springs and bushings should help for a little while, but eventually the spring will lose some of it's height and consequently some of it's pre-load and DW will come back. The washers aren't a true band-aid, they don't mask the problem they fix it by adding a little more pre-load.

Rene

Maybe someone has located a kingpin spring replacement that has the same overall height but more spring pressure (lbs/in)???

Valve springs would be nowhere near large enough (but that's the along the lines of what I'm thinking)...there must be something in a McMaster-Carr or Grainger catalog that would work????



I wonder if Mogs get deathwobble?

 

[Hossbaby50]

Your profile says you are running a D44 not a D60. Only D60 death wobble can be cured by the washer trick. D44's you basically need to figure out what the real problem is. It is usually one or more of these

Frame broken behind steering box
Worn tierod ends
Worn balljoints
Worn steering gear

Do you have crossover steering? If so that can also help cause it if your steering arm is shorter then your pitman arm. Or if the nut under your pitman arm is coming loose.

Warped brakes can also cause death wobble like symptoms under braking.

Harley

 

[BigCountryx]

Anybody ever have problems with wandering steering after the fender washer trick? My truck tends to begin DW every couple thousand miles, so I add a fender washer and the DW goes away, but the wandering comes back. I've got 3 washers per kingpin right now, and each time I add a washer, my truck starts to wander until the spring relaxes a little, then there are miles of smooth sailing. Next time DW comes back, I'll just change out the springs and start the cycle over again.

 

[DieselDan]

Been there, Done that!

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139510&highlight=death+wobble+wandering