Re: Need help, death wobble, can\'t drive much longer.....
There are far too meny different combinations that have the D/W, and the fact that this "could" be concidered "normal" operation of a solid-axle suspension, to nail it down to just one part and repair
I think if we tried to pin down a some kind of "repair procedure". It might be more productive. Something like this:
1- Preliminary checks.
Check the condition of all the suspension and steering components. Tie-rod ends, ball-joints, springs, shocks, steering dampner, and the wheel-bearings (make-sure the bearings are preloaded correctly). Repair or replace any parts that are worn or loose.
2- Neutralize the front suspension.
Makeing sure the suspension, and axle are not "pre-loaded". With the weight of the truck on the axle, and at ride-height. Loosen (but do-not remove) the front spring mounting bolt, the shackle bolt (possibly upper and lower) AND the U-bolts that hold the axle inplace. Then jounce the front of the truck acouple of times. Lift the front end, then compress the front end, letting it come to a rest. Retorque the axle U-bolts. Then the front eye, then the shackle. Also check and align the tie-rod ends.
3- Insure the wheel alignment is correct.
Use the following specs as a guide-line. (camber and toe, vary slighly from year to year, caster remains the same *I checked*)
Caster - 8.00 degrees. (thats ALOT of caster boys)
Camber - .25 degrees. Tops of the tires slightly out.
Toe-in - .19 inches.
Caster will help the tires "trac" straight and resists a change in direction.
Toe-in. The rolling resistance of the tires will try to pull the tires to a Toe-out condition, so to counter act the tires need to be slightly toed-in. Toeing out will result in a "darty" feel at the wheel (all RWDs are toe-in, all AWD/FWD are toe-out)
4 - Throw the Wrench at it
Now the front axle should be set to a solid foundation to start diagnosing and fixing the problem if it still exsists. This would include changeing the Steering dampner, tie-rod, swapping tires, changeing air-pressures ect. Simple fixes.
5- Carpet-bomb the front end
If D/W is still a problem, it's time to get creative with it. This would include:
Changeing the alignment specs slightly. Maybe a slight change in Toe, maybe out, maybe in. A slight change in Caster, again, increase or decrease. Who knows, it might help.
Change the Steering dampner. Get a stiffer shock, or even a lighter shock.
Because the dampner only dampens the tie-rod on a horizontal plane, it does nothing to dampen the vertical forces(bending up and down) the tie-rod may be expirencing. So, it might be help-full to relocate the mounting points of the Steering Dampner, trying to angle the shock slightly so it will have some kind of influence over the vertical forces. I think mounting the dampner to the center of the tie-rod would have the most leverage over the entire length of the tie-rod.
The cross-over steering guys might want to add or relocate the steering dampner to the cross-over link, maybe link the shock to the body (like a Ford) or to the axle.
*Keep inmind, with the shock angled it will bind-up at some point (probably on compresion of the shock)* So, carfully check and inspect the steering, lock-to-lock.
Anything that would change the "pitch" of the hermonics, I think focusing on the tire-to-tire tie-rod would have the best results.
I would think the above list should eliminate, or atleast reduse the Wobbles to a livable level.
Would you agree? Anything to add?
