Help, 85 K30 has death wobble

[DaveB]

Today I was driving down the road at 30 mph when I hit a chuck hole. My truck started to wobble badly in the front end and I had to pull over. The truck has never done the death wobble before. Last summer I replaced the springs, king pin plastic cone, all swaybar bushings, repacked the bearings and changed the rotors. It has been working fine. I checked the tie rod and drag link ends and found that the right tie rod end and the pitman arm drag link joint were worn. Could this be the cause or should I look for other problems ?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[Bullet]

Yep, thats death wobble... try and preload the kingpin with washers or pull the plastic cones ans see if they are cracked. When I had death wobble that was the cause.

 

[tomseviltwin]

The problem is the 502 under the hood. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif

 

[Ryan B.]

So this has stock 4wd steering in it? not crossover? /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
If you know that the draglink and tie rod ends are loose, i'd replace those first.. then check the ubolt torque, caster angle, toe in, kingpins... etc...
Hydro assist helps cancel out the vibes but in some extreme cases i have still gotten death wobble even with hydro assist which is supposed to be 'the cure' for DW.
Good luck and let us know if you find what fixes yours. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

 

[ntaj*ep]

Worn out components should be replaced before the death wobble siren is blown /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
If its still there after your worn parts are replaced then worry.

 

[DaveB]

[ QUOTE ]
So this has stock 4wd steering in it? not crossover? /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
If you know that the draglink and tie rod ends are loose, i'd replace those first.. then check the ubolt torque, caster angle, toe in, kingpins... etc...
Hydro assist helps cancel out the vibes but in some extreme cases i have still gotten death wobble even with hydro assist which is supposed to be 'the cure' for DW.
Good luck and let us know if you find what fixes yours. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes it has stock steering and new kingpin cones. It has never done this before so I'll be trying all of the suggestions and let you know how it goes.
Dave
PS Tom I hope that steering wheel worked out for you.

 

[DaveB]

Well I think I fixed it ! I replaced the two worn steering joints and put in new kingpin springs (which were about 1/4 inch longer than the old ones). I drove all over hitting holes on the road and couldn't get it to repeat. The new springs only cost $2.52 at the Dana distributor here in town (Six States) /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif.
Thanks for the suggestions,
Dave