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HELP?? low speed death wobble dana 60

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1TUNK5

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i completed my 52 and 56 spring and 1 ton axle swap.

everything is new on the 60 and im running 37" boggers, my question is what can i do to get rid of the 15 to 25 mph death wobble..........ive tried bb's in the tires and golf balls? fine above 30 mph but when going slow its terrible?

ive heard something about washers on top of the kingpin spring to preload more pressure onto the kingpin....havent tried this but wanted more input from you guys!!

ani ideas to fix this would be appreciated! thanks mark
 
the washers in the top of the kingpin cap helped on mine, but shortly there after i did the West texas hydro assist.

While im sure if i took the hydro off, id have the DW again, so it is just a band aid fix. But its just a trailered trail rig so its no big deal.
 
toe is good and castor is good....

hydro assist is in my list of things to do just cant afford it rite now?

i read something about tieing the shackles together but dont see that being the problem....

i know its due to the tires but there has to be a way of calming it down? i had swapped the front shocks back to normal position (tube down) and it seemed to ease it some then i removed the bb's and installed golf balls and back at it again?
 
you could always throw a shock on there for a steering stabilizer, until you get the hydro assist.


When my truck was on the road, I never used BB's, golf balls, etc. It didnt seem to be that big of a deal.

Try the washer trick and see if it helps. if not, then just put a shock on there, until you get the dough to get hydro assist. They are all bandaid fixes, but it should help nontheless.
 
1TUNK5 said:
toe is good and castor is good....

hydro assist is in my list of things to do just cant afford it rite now?

i read something about tieing the shackles together but dont see that being the problem....

i know its due to the tires but there has to be a way of calming it down? i had swapped the front shocks back to normal position (tube down) and it seemed to ease it some then i removed the bb's and installed golf balls and back at it again?
Click to expand...

If you think its because of the tires then the only thing I could see it being is the toe needing to be set to new size tires.
 
Did you try rotating the tires front to back? This could rule out a possible defective tire.
 
496truck said:
Did you try rotating the tires front to back? This could rule out a possible defective tire.
Click to expand...


I still dont think an out of balance tire would cause death wobble. Shaking and vibration sure, but wheel jerking back and forth doesnt sound right to me.
 
Stomis said:
I still dont think an out of balance tire would cause death wobble. Shaking and vibration sure, but wheel jerking back and forth doesnt sound right to me.
Click to expand...

Death wobble is a harmonic thing, tire balance has been known to cause it (usually only with big, horribly out of balance bias ply tires mind you :deal: )
 
I had death wobble on my current truck coming home after i bought it. It was so bad at one point I thought about parking it and having it towed. Took the 38.5" dry rotted bald Ground Hawgs off, put on my 38" TSL's and it drove fine.

So out of balance/out of round tires can cause it.
 
Lets not confuse "death wobble" with tire balance or out of round tire issues.

Death wobble is a violent shaking of the front tires, so bad it will shake the steering wheel right out of your hand. The front tires oscilate in unison to create this shaking. Good vid of it happening here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwiv23dLhMY

Tire balance problems are less severe, usually found at high speeds above 40 mph depending on tire size. I just went through lots of tire balance issues recently. Alot of good info at the Innovative Balance website. http://www.innovativebalancing.com/ Turns out my tires had lateral imbalance in which they had to be balanced with wheel weights before any type of balance bead will work properly.

Tires out of round are usually felt at low speeds, under 25 mph, as the original post described. This will cause the steering wheel to wobble back and forth for a bit untill speed increases and the tire heats up and smooths out (typical with bias ply tires that have been sitting) or if the tire is really bad it'll just get worse. Out of round is usually caused by a defect in the tire, broken belt/bubble in sidewall/damaged sidewall/etc, and can only be fixed by replacing the tire. A bent wheel can also cause tire out of round symptoms.
 
well i shimmed the kingpin springs with 2 thick fender washers and its now gone! i also checked the toe, set to 0 still.
i can live with the low speed vibe from the tires now nut the death wobble was just ridiculous when you running through town at 20 and have to pull over to stop it every 100 yards??

thank you guys for your tips....
 
one tonk five :D
glad its gone duder..
i gotta try the "washer" deal on mine too, as i just bought ny 1tons up in yer neck of the woods this past winter for a KILLER deal.
 
You need to get a couple king pin rebuild kits and go to to town. The washers are another band-aid. Get the king pin kits, and a set of the bronze king pin bushings from CM Performance Machine and you'll be set.

If you really want to do it right, add a set of spring-less steering arms from Ballistic Fab. Death wobble be gone with that set-up.

Steering arms-
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/D60-Springless-Cap-Conversion-Kit_p_1693.html
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/D60-high-steer-kit-for-kingpin-axles_p_1246.html\

Bronze king pin bushings-
http://www.cmperformancemachine.com/store/product.php?productid=16133&cat=249&page=1

King pin rebuild kits-
http://www.wfoconcepts.com/pr/Dana-60-Kingpin-Rebuild-Kit/3164/3172/3435
 
1TUNK5 said:
i also checked the toe, set to 0 still.
Click to expand...

Isnt the toe suppose to be in a little bit?

I think when i set mine up i toe'd it in like a 1/2" or something... its been awhile.

EDIT*
upon further investigation it looks like i did it at 1/8" toe in.
 
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