Topic: DEATH WOBBLE

[E-9]

I would like to hear everyone wisdom on this subject, especially what you did to remedy the problem.

[derek]

lots of stuff can cause it.
loose or bad wheel bearings
tires out of balance
bad trunion bearings (knuckle steering bearings)
bad alignment
bad shocks
bad tie rod ends
bad spring bushings

derek

[WHITE_TRASH]

Look in the general truck dicussion section.  I had a BAD case of wobble but I got rid if it.  I brought that thread back to the top for you.

[OFFRODN]

my old 84 had the "death woble"it turned out to be a wore out drag link . you can by rebuild kits at napa or just about any other parts store

[mr4x42u]

if toe in don't work try toe out..It fixed my buddy's truck,,mine had it also with toe in and out,,I balanced the tires and its gone..

[crazymoritz97]

hey e-9
does it do it at what speed    .on my truck it does it at 30 to 35 m.p.h
but whole at that speed
from moritz97

[FATB0Y]

  had it with my 82 turned out to be worn out leaf springs and shocks

[Hyena]

Could also be worn out u-joints.  But most of the time it is the tires not balanced.

[BigMike]

Tires are way outta balance (like 8+) or your Kunckle preload is to low. Needs to be 14 - 15 ft-lbs I believe..

[dirtyskivies]

my tires arent balanced(beadlocks), my leaf spring bushings are wasted, i have a tierod end thats loose in the taper on the highsteer arm, my truniion bearings probably have like 5pounds of tension on them if that, i have 2.5'' BS wheels, 2'' wheel spacers....

i turned my caster from 6* to 3* and went from nearly undriveable DEATH wobble, to smooth as glass, not even a shimmy at any speed, even with all the issues listed above....

[WHITE_TRASH]

I truely believe castor plays a major part in the death wobble.  My old 84 never had an ounce of wobble no matter how screwed up my suspension got.  I wated both lower trunion bearings oneday and it still had no wobble. (it drove a bit odd though)  On the 90 I had a sick case of wobble from the get go.  I had no issues with wobble on the 81 which I drove and it had no wobble either.  I put the axle under the 90 and it was there in spades.  When I changed the front axle again a couple weeks ago I pulled the 2.5 degree castor shims out and now it drives perfect, go figure.

[ezthere]

I had some wobble on my 85 4runner, and some nasty right PULL    when I hit the brakes.I then spent $400 rebuilding the front end knuckle kit tie rods the works.What I did notice was the upper steering knuckle bushing.Pitted, the damn thing was spent..I bought the NWOR master knuckle rebuild fit...Other then poor service and the the main axle seal leaking after 5k miles...It really tightened up the front end.I think one of the most over look items is the knuckle bushings..

[lowgeared]

Here is my    on death wobble.  The first time I experienced this, was after I removed the sway bar, steering stabilizer, and the front anti wrap bar all at once.  This thing shook like a sleeper.  Put the stabilizer back on, death wobble gone.  Did the Marlin crossover/histeer conversion-removed all stock steering and the stabilizer-death wobble back.  I get it around 35 and then it goes away.  I measured rotor to rotor before I tore it all apart and put it back exactly when I was done.  Still have death wobble.  I am now thinking either 1) need a steering stabilizer, or 2) need to crank on the tie rod a bit and toe the tires in to see if that helps.  Any ideas on this you guys?

[Northern Runner]

Guys , I am having the same issue.
I have a Landcruiser front diff (from a HJ75). All brand new parts into it. And I have a death wobble as well at 30-35 mph. once I get past that point it goes away. It's startin to piss me off. can't seem to find it..
what is the caster angle supposed to be set at anyways on these diffs. ( I would think the LC would be the same pitch as the mini truck).

[nevr2hi]

my    I think that your caster setting should be around 1-3deg negative caster. got to be careful when you start changing springs/shackles/adding shims for proper pinion angle/or making a perch for a SAS set up. etc. also, ck and see if you have one of the front brakes dragging a bit.

[WileEToyote]

I used to get it so bad between 47-50 that I had to stop and try again; other times I could drive through it.  The biggest culprit - out of round, out of balance Swampers on beadlocks.  I got an alignment which helped a great deal in the first place, added a stabilizer which helped more.  Then on a trailride I decided to jam a 6" piece of balancing tape into my rear drum and just throw away 4" off the front.  That didn't help any , but betwen the alignment and the stabilizer it maintained enough that it didn't get spooky.  What's helped most is running radials again (DD, I use studded Coopers in winter).  Of course summer's coming again...sometime...so whatever I run next summer - whether I keep the 36s or go 38 - I'll likely balance them with Equal so I'm not having to have lead tape replaced every other week.  Hopefully that will keep everything skookum for the season.

As nevr2hi said, though (I think), caster is the most incorrectable part of this post-setup, so get that dialed in first if it's going to be a DD.

[MidgetMike]

mine was shot suspesion bushings and incorrect toe