Death wobble

[rixm37]

Hi I have just had the experience of a death wobble. I have never had this problem before. Where should I start looking ?

[skinnedknuckles]

Bias ply tires with flat spots ( especially from sitting, I have had this happen to me with one of my Willys jeeps- I went with new tires and keep it off of the ground when I am not using it for extended periods of time ), tire balance , tire damage, any looseness in your steering, king pins, tie rod ends, drag links, drag link arm bushings, steering gear box bushings.
Paul in Wis

[sturmtyger380]

The death wobble normally develops slowly over time. It happened to me in a different 4WD vehicle but the cause is the same. I would be flying down the interstate at 60mph and the front would jump up and down and the steering wheel would jerk around. I could only stop it by hitting the brakes, slowing down and it would go away for awhile.

Loose or worn King Pin bearings usually cause this. When they get worn or loose due to out of adjustment they allow the hub cover that pivots around the round inner axle hemisphere to move in a up and down motion and cause the wobble. You should be able to move the front wheel up and down and see movement where the king pin bearings are. They may be worn and need to be replaced.

Alan

[Master Yota]

Death wobble can be caused by just about anything that is suspension, steering, or tire related. All the previous points are excellent candidates for causing the problem. A good inspection of all the steering components is a must, if nothing shows itself as being oddly worn or loose, then further looking is required. Its also worth while to check all the U bolts and spring center pins. I've had death wobble on other 4x4 trucks from loose u bolts and even a broken center pin. Bent wheels, separated tires, and blown shocks, worn spring bushings, loose wheel bearings, etc. can all contribute to it as well. Your cause may not be facilitated by one factor, but a host of small issues combining to create a single problem.

[rixm37]

Thanks for the help. I will start a really close check this weekend.

[bill monahan]

Wow, I was just going to post on "The Death Wobble" Happened to me the other day. Hit a bump and the front end went ballistic. Had to slow down to a crawl before it stopped. Have the M down for the winter in shop. Going to rebuild front end anyway and convert to power steering with the kit from Snake River. I'll report back as to what I found but I do suspect King pin bushings.

[skinnedknuckles]

I just changed the front tires on my deuce and a half and now I have the dang wobble in these ones every so once and a while. It really ticks people off when I have to pull off to the side of the road and slow way down so I can hold onto the steering wheel, then its good for another 5-10 miles then do it all over again. Things were ok with old tires. I'm going to have have to grab some other tires and do it all over again

[PoW]

It has always been a sloppy tie rod, drag links, or bad shocks on M37's that do that.

Never seen the knuckle bearings (they don't have king pins...) go loose enough to make any difference.

I doesn't hurt to try and balance the tires as well.

PoW

[rixm37]

Thanks for all the help. So far rotated the tires and adjusted the mesh in the steering box slightly , but nothing really conclusive . Wobble seems less but I really didn't get much time to take a real drive. I will be checking more this week after work .

[sturmtyger380]

This wobble, does the truck move up and down or shake from side to side?

What does the steering wheel do when this happens? Is it difficult to turn and control it?

Just trying to figure out whats going on with your wabble.

Alan

[rixm37]

Hi Sturmtyger
side to side and steering wheel shakes left and right pretty hard.