Front end bouncing

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Nov 29, 2010 | 01:55 PM

'95 460ci

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Front end bouncing

Would anyone be able to help me out on this? I'm stummped. When Im driving my 95 F350, the front end of all a sudden starts bouncing uncontrollably and it feels like the front end is just going to fall apart....any advice on this would be appreciated.....

Saul

Nov 29, 2010 | 02:08 PM

bubblegum

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From: in the shadows

4x4 truck? I think I may know the answer - it is called "death wobble" it has something to do with a link-bar-thing that keeps the axle from moving sideways. It is a scary experience for certain, especially if you have lift and larger tires on the truck. It was not my truck that did this to me, but I was behind the wheel, had to slow down quite a bit and only then did the silly thing stop acting up. The person who owns the truck eventually replaced all rubber parts on the front axle, and that solved the problem.

Nov 29, 2010 | 02:09 PM

jim henderson

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From: So Cal

Sounds kind of like the Death Wobble. Do a search for that.

Many Ford trucks get this wobble. I think stabilizers are one solution, good shocks and a solid front end are another.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

Nov 29, 2010 | 03:43 PM

94BigRed

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I have the same thing in my 250 with a dana 60. Balancing your tires will fix it pretty well. I put a steering stabilizer on mine and that helped a ton. the best fix would be to put a horizontal link with one mount on the cross-member under the engine and the other on the passenger's side axle tube. This will prevent the axle from moving side to side, a common problem with just leafspring suspensions.

Nov 29, 2010 | 07:02 PM

bubblegum

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From: in the shadows

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94BigRed

This link you mentioned is exactly the one I was talking about - I called my friend and he explained that it has some rubber sleeves or something that go bad and get loose and then the axle is allowed to move side-to-side some and this causes the "death wobble". He also said I never felt this in my blazer even though it has a one-piece axle like an F350 but no side-to-side link because Ford switched the leaf springs around on their trucks, and something that normally sits in the rear of the Chevy spring on Fords is placed on the front - when he was rebuilding his truck after my ride from hell in it he switch the springs back around, so whatever was in the front is now in the rear, and with this he does not really need the side-to-side link anymore (but he has it anyways). I appologize for the lack of correct part names in this, I simply cannot remember them for much longer than 3 minutes.

Nov 29, 2010 | 07:06 PM

L. Ward

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From: Graniteville

Too much Sushi and Cocktails??

I believe your friend was talking about the Shackle Reversal Kit, and yeah, bad trac-bar bushings will make for a helluva bad ride, and only gets worse with big tires, lift kits, etc.

Nov 29, 2010 | 07:29 PM

bubblegum

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From: in the shadows

You can never have too much sushi! And I do not drink the cocktails, I just prepare them. But no, I simply have a pretty short attention span, and even worse long-term memory - honestly, when I was borrowing my neighbor's Freightliner some weeks ago to go to work while he was repairing my little dually, I was utterly amazed at myself for still remembering how to drive a truck like that, as the last time I was behind the wheel of something that big was several years ago when my grandpa was still with me and we were touring around the US. But I digress, and thank you for the proper part names - trac-bar is the side-to-side link, and the shackle is thing that Ford mislocated, correct?