Good morning all,

New to forum and admittedly technologically impaired. Please forgive me if this issue was addressed but a cursory search did not pull up anything related to my question. If there is already a thread on this please direct me to it and accept my apologies. I have a 97 F-350 CC 4WD diesel that I have a love affair with. So far had the entire body repaired/replaced, frame hot dip galvanized and epoxy coated, etc., etc. Now dealing with all the stuff the shop missed when the truck was apart. I have a HORRIBLE death wobble. Took it to the local dealer, and the tech was awesome (Thanks Neil, wherever you are!). Noticed things several other shops missed. The tie rod from the pitman arm to the drag link?? (not sure, it's been called multiple names) was shot so I replaced it. He also found the track bar bracket is loose and moves around on the cross member even though the bolts are tight. There are three bolts holding the bracket to the cross member. But it looks like there is not enough room between the cross member and the oil pan to get the bolts out. If I can get the bolts out I was going to drill the holes oversize and get bigger grade 8 or better bolts to get the bracket secure again. Anyone experience this or have any suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. P.S. The truck is stock as far as suspension, but I would like to pick the front end up a few inches to level it out. Any recommendations to accomplish this while working on the front end would be helpful. Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

loosen motor mounts and then lift engine some to gain clearance

if nuts are tight, it shouldnt move

Also check your front shackle bushings, they take a beating on these and make for loose steering after a while.

 

Appreciate your feedback! Will take a look at that. Thanks again!

 

Appreciate the response! I will take a look at that and see how big a deal it is to jack up the motor some. Will let you know how I make out. Working on replacing the lift pump today.

 

BTW, saw your description. You list a 92 v-max. Sled or bike? If bike, I have one too! 85. I will post pics of truck and bike when I get a chance.

 

Much of what you are looking at will come with a full RSK- Reverse Shackle Kit- upgrade. Basically relocates the swinging link in the front springs from the leading (front) end of the spring to the trailing (rear) end of the spring. The kits add close to 2" of height in the "stock" / minimum lift configuration. Get the kit to use Super Duty springs, which ride better, and replace the stock springs with those. I forget the spring code for "stock" stiffness, which is the best ride, but that should be available with the kit literature. The springs and RSK should come with all new bushings. Since RSK adds almost 2" of front end lift, you also want the drop pitman arm and drop track bar mount to keep the drag link and track bar at the same angle and roughly parallel to the ground to avoid bump steer. I did the full RSK on my 97 CC 4wd, and it greatly improved ride and handling. Not a sports car, but it's no longer a white-knuckle ride wallowing down the interstate with constant vague steering corrections. For all the items you are looking at, I would simply bite the bullet and go with the RSK.

Your death wobble could be any- or all- of several issues. Total amount of looseness or slop in any of the front suspension bushings (shackles, springs, track bar, sway bar), tie rod ends, steering box, sway bar end links, ball joints, can add up. Full RSK will address much of that with new parts. Another thing to look at is loose wheel bearings. My death wobble was loose bearings on one side. Properly adjust bearings (did not replace), no more wobble.

When I did my RSK, I noticed that the bolts for the track bar bracket on the frame crossmember only go in from one side, and were a bit fussy on assembly order. They do need to be TIGHT. If the holes in the crossmember are wallowed out, you may need some sort of bushing to get them back to stock diameter with no slop, or ream to a larger size. If the holes are still tight to stock diameter, I don't see any reason to go with larger bolts. You just want no slop. I forget which brands of RSK and springs I used, but it was one of the common, recognized brands for our trucks. Hopefully others with better memory than mine can chime in.

Hope this helps.

 

I have the bike and only mod is a fork brace.


RSK is nice if you got the money for it and then add in SD springs