Author Topic: Wicked death wobble after con (Read 7432 times)

crazykooter · « **on:** Sep 14, 2009, 12:00:47 PM »

I am still in Truckee tryin to fix my truck. If I go over 35 and hit a small bump the wobble gets insane bad. I have pretty much taken my front end apart and put it back together with no luck. My toe is off a bit on drivers wheel but it was fine on the trip up. The threads are jacked on the tie rod so I cant adjust it. Not sure if that could be a the cause or not. Heres a list of what ive done so far.

1-Tightened ever bolt and nut on the front and rear suspension
2-Readjusted my front wheel bearing
3-Rotated the tires
4-Removed the drag links and adjusted everyone of them besides the messed up one. All ball joints are still firm.
5-Aired my tires up to max psi of 50
6-Jerked the heck out the front wheels while they were off the ground to see if anything was lose. All very tight.

Maybe it could be a have a whacked trunnion bearing but I am sure I would have felt it when I checking for slack. Running out of ideas atm. I am gonna see if I can find a place that can retap the tie rod for me.

Thomas P · « **Reply #1 on:** Sep 14, 2009, 12:40:18 PM »

check bushings, try your rear tires up front

edit## i guess you already rotated tires, i should have read first

Joey88RUNR · « **Reply #2 on:** Sep 14, 2009, 12:50:14 PM »

50 psi

put those tires at 30 and try it!

crazykooter · « **Reply #3 on:** Sep 14, 2009, 01:10:03 PM »

Ive tried all diff air pressures. Its the tie rod. I am sure of it. It must have got tweaked with the million rocks I bounced over. No one here in truckee that I can find could retap my tie rod end for me. Ill keep looking but ive worn out and ready to call it a day.

:sleepy

BrotherGrim · « **Reply #4 on:** Sep 14, 2009, 01:16:03 PM »

Tow the thing home and check the tunnion bearings. Also check to see if you stripped any wheel weights. Good luck.

hilux-1983 · « **Reply #5 on:** Sep 14, 2009, 05:52:25 PM »

Hope you figure it out.

crazykooter · « **Reply #6 on:** Sep 14, 2009, 08:11:50 PM »

I did manage to figure it out. tho it took some time. I ended up removing my u bolts and reseating them and that did the trick. I guess one got loose and off enough to cause it to move. Tho I tightend them it didnt help because it was bound up I guess. I am just glad to be home. The trip home was no fun.

My drive shaft vibration managed to loosen the rest of the nuts and bolts. It also fractured my exhaust right after the cat and my muffler fell and drug under my rear axle while I was on the freeway. One of my rear shocks came loose but I just removed it. Then when I got to the 80 680 interchange my exhaust broke where the 2 pipes on the down pipe come into one. My truck sounded like a crash derby car. Anyhow I parked it at my dads shop and drove a work truck home. I have a bunch of work to do on it just to make it drivable again.

hilux-1983 · « **Reply #7 on:** Sep 15, 2009, 09:03:17 AM »

Sounds like you had a lotta fun

fordh8r · « **Reply #8 on:** Sep 15, 2009, 09:14:51 AM »

Glad you made it home in one piece....wish I could say the same for your rig.

86turboyota · « **Reply #9 on:** Sep 16, 2009, 01:27:42 PM »

Quote from: crazykooter on Sep 14, 2009, 08:11:50 PM

Then when I got to the 80 680 interchange my exhaust broke where the 2 pipes on the down pipe come into one. My truck sounded like a crash derby car.

check your motor mounts, my exhaust broke in the same way and i didnt think to check the mounts for some time afterward, they were definetly broken and cause the break of the pipe on my rig.

BigMike · « **Reply #10 on:** Sep 17, 2009, 01:32:52 PM »

Tighten your front shackles.

crazykooter · « **Reply #11 on:** Sep 17, 2009, 11:13:52 PM »

Just a little update. the death wobble was gone so I thought but it came back hard again yesterday. I corrected the toe angle today but its still doing it. Im thinking the front leaf bushings are completely trashed after con. Gonna look into it tomorrow.

4-lo · « **Reply #12 on:** Sep 18, 2009, 04:46:46 PM »

mine did it too!! check the frame around the steering box. it could be a truss nuckle bearing gone bad.

crazykooter · « **Reply #13 on:** Sep 18, 2009, 07:57:25 PM »

I have check almost every part I can think of at this point. I was driving home tonight and it happened bad. So I pulled over to look and see if I could notice anything. Not a thing , since I was so tired I just said screw it and set my 9000s to 5 which is max on these old suckers and then cont home. Tried to make it wobble again but it didnt do it. I am starting to wonder if I didnt smoke a shock up there. I am heading in tomorrow to fix my exhaust and tear down my front end to check the trunions closer. Maybe the top on is toast. I just redid the birfs and what not and they looked good to me. No signs of wear. Man this trip to the con is becoming very brutal on me.
I replaced my rear drive line with a one that has a CV on it. Was another nightmare since the the mounting part of CV was made to fit a Tacoma so I couldnt mount it without getting a new flange. So I ended up removing my front drive shaft and using it to make the rear cv mount up. Breaking apart cvs in NO fun lol.

82juguete · « **Reply #14 on:** Sep 19, 2009, 01:48:22 AM »

my death wobble was a result of unevenly worn tires, and loose shackles/front hanger bolts. I'm sure you've already tried it, but tighten the crap outta your front shackles... you may even need to throw another bolt or weld some square tubing from plate to plate in the middle of each shackle to prevent any lateral movement. I guess bad bushings could be at fault too maybe

My wobble was ridiculous...made a 20 minute drive to school take 45 mins from having to constantly pull over. i tried the trunions, adjusting preload, toe in, etc... when it was really the simplest solution... Good luck man, ive been there and it sucks.

jimbo74 · « **Reply #15 on:** Sep 19, 2009, 01:50:07 AM »

hey josh, thinking about that, get some 18mm bolts

crazykooter · « **Reply #16 on:** Sep 19, 2009, 08:17:09 AM »

I am heading to the shop here in a few and gonna fab a hi steer steering stabilizer. I know it will help. Also need to figure out if I can get this new drive shaft not to vibrate. dang list never ends.

fordh8r · « **Reply #17 on:** Sep 19, 2009, 08:39:09 AM »

Quote from: crazykooter on Sep 19, 2009, 08:17:09 AM

..... dang list never ends.

to the world of modified offroad rigs, buddy!

Hope you find the problem.

jimbo74 · « **Reply #18 on:** Sep 19, 2009, 08:48:43 AM »

jack some of the bolts from my truck, i think my front shackle bolts are 18mm, also i think i have some good bushings too

crazykooter · « **Reply #19 on:** Sep 19, 2009, 08:49:59 AM »

I have more nuts and bolts then I know what to do with LOL. It isnt the bolt size thats the issue. Well see after I look into it more today.

bigaaron · « **Reply #20 on:** Sep 20, 2009, 12:51:02 AM »

My SAS Sidekick had terrible death wobble when I first put it together. It just ended up needing more caster. I added about 2 deg of caster and it went away completely. With leafs maybe you could try those thin caster shims? Mine is a 4-link so it was easier to adjust. Maybe your springs bent or flattened out when you were wheeling.

crazykooter · « **Reply #21 on:** Sep 20, 2009, 09:22:07 AM »

Quote from: bigaaron on Sep 20, 2009, 12:51:02 AM

My SAS Sidekick had terrible death wobble when I first put it together. It just ended up needing more caster. I added about 2 deg of caster and it went away completely. With leafs maybe you could try those thin caster shims? Mine is a 4-link so it was easier to adjust. Maybe your springs bent or flattened out when you were wheeling.

Ya I did some work on it yesterday and my front springs are toast. They are sitting over an inch lower then before con. I redid the shackles and greased it all up well. My bushing were completely toasted on the upper shackle.
What sucks is my rear seal is gone on tcase so I cant even drive the truck till I get a new one. Whats even worse is I dont even have the money to buy a stinkin 5 dollar seal.

88_Pathy · « **Reply #22 on:** Sep 20, 2009, 11:20:26 AM »

pics of the springs?

crazykooter · « **Reply #23 on:** Sep 20, 2009, 10:11:12 PM »

I dont have a camera I can use atm so the only pics I have are with my phone which sucks. When I get the time I am just gonna do a ruf and fab all the stuff I can since I dont have a dime to my name right now. My truck is still sitting at the yard with no rear flange since the main seal is gone. As soon as I can get some money I will replace it and see if all the work I did on the front end fixed it. Who knows at this point.
I have a ton of parts I am tryin to sell but no one wants any of it.

Next time I hit the con I am gonna have a spare of everything I can. Not gonna go thru this again. Isnt worth the heartache.

crazykooter · « **Reply #24 on:** Sep 22, 2009, 07:39:46 AM »

Well I think I finally fixed it. I rebuilt my front shackles of sorts and the upper bushing were hammered. So I replaced them and changed the way the shackles were put together. Havent driven it enough to say for sure its fixed but its got the firm steering feel again and ive hit a lot of bumps just to see if I could make it do it. Thank god it wasnt the trunnion bearings.

fordh8r · « **Reply #25 on:** Sep 22, 2009, 08:11:55 AM »

Good that you fixed it.

Kinda makes you think that maybe they just bad enough to not have a death wobble issue, then wheeling them old bushings at the Con just finished them off to where they became a problem.

Well, now you know.

crazykooter · « **Reply #26 on:** Sep 22, 2009, 08:24:10 PM »

Ya lol I ended up using the best older bushing I had to fix it and yesterday I got a set of brand new bushing for the front so as soon as I figure out how to fix my drive shaft I will install them. Mixing parts from diff CV's isnt the best idea so ive learned. I am getting a pretty bad clunking noise at low rpm. I am gonna pull my rear shaft tomorrow morning and see if I can figure out whats going on. I dont get much vibration so what ever is making the noise isnt off balancing my shaft. I am pretty sure its where the male part of cv slides into the ball in the middle. The metal dish ring on my front drive cv was bent some. I straightened it, but I think its hitting some where.

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