"Death Wobble"
07-14-2010, 12:25 PM
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"Death Wobble"
Ive looked and i cant find a way to fix it. Ill be driving down the road at 40 or less and hit a bump in the road and the whole truck starts to shake, me and my dad put a big steering stabilzer on it but it still does it. Is it a way to fix this and if so what is the best way to fix it. And thanks in Advance for any help,
Last edited by 93f1508inlift; 07-14-2010 at 12:49 PM.
07-14-2010, 01:10 PM
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Worn tierod bushings. If you slowly turn the wheel changing direction left to right to left, ect. (while stopped), standing in front of the vehicle, you will notice one wheel will change direction first, then the other will begin to follow.
The lag between the other wheel changing direction is what allows the tires to loose directional synchronicity. The symptom will continue to occur w/ greater intensity & with less provocation. Catastrophic failure will result if allowed to continue. It would be very ugly for the truck, as well as the occupants.
The tierod is replaced as a unit, as the bushing is pressed on. I bought mine at the dealer for $110. Took about an hour to replace w/ the help of a Haynes manual. Read up on the procedure in the manual & see if it's something you feel comfortable doing. Seemed to me it required use of one "loaner tool" supplied by Autozone.
Incorrect adjustment will result in accelerated tire wear, so you may want to take it to a reputable shop. It's not rocket science, but needs to be done correctly for maximum tire wear. A dealer however, will bend you over on the labor!
"Death Wobble" is a good description. Deal w/ it while it's descriptive only to tire wear & tear!
The lag between the other wheel changing direction is what allows the tires to loose directional synchronicity. The symptom will continue to occur w/ greater intensity & with less provocation. Catastrophic failure will result if allowed to continue. It would be very ugly for the truck, as well as the occupants.
The tierod is replaced as a unit, as the bushing is pressed on. I bought mine at the dealer for $110. Took about an hour to replace w/ the help of a Haynes manual. Read up on the procedure in the manual & see if it's something you feel comfortable doing. Seemed to me it required use of one "loaner tool" supplied by Autozone.
Incorrect adjustment will result in accelerated tire wear, so you may want to take it to a reputable shop. It's not rocket science, but needs to be done correctly for maximum tire wear. A dealer however, will bend you over on the labor!
"Death Wobble" is a good description. Deal w/ it while it's descriptive only to tire wear & tear!
Last edited by ymeski56; 07-14-2010 at 01:18 PM.
07-14-2010, 11:06 PM
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ok i hope the above fixes your problem , i had this in the past with a 1977 f150 4x4 , problem started after i changed out front axle for a duel shock 78 bronco...i could be driving 15 to 35 and steering wheel would almost shake out my hands truck would be bouncing pulling right ...it was scary to drive cause i never knew when it would do it .. i rasied front end on jacks checked joints ..upper lower ball joints and steering..i solded the truck i hated it but i tolded the guy its got a bad steering problem..he still wanted it.. it took him 6 months and whole steering assmbly to find out ball joints were bad he showed it to me ... the joint was tight left and right but looose as a goose front and back.... so it would drive fine til bump and start going back and forward ....
07-15-2010, 02:07 PM
#6
yes that i definitely the problem. I just put a 4 in lift on and damaged the old bushings when taking the tie rod apart to get at the pitman arm, and put it back together with the old tierods and had the exact same problem, replaced all four tie rods inners and outters spent about $105 dollars from autoparts store and the problem is fixed, just make sure you mark where the old tierods were screwed into the clamps so its close in alignment and bring it to alignment shop asap. I went to tires plus and got the lifetime alignment.
