death wabble

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Jan 29, 2005 | 09:19 AM

95f150

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From: Alberta

death wabble

i thought i would post this on this forums aswell considering i think you die hard offroaders would have some good say.

well my truck has been parked for months now cause i bought a stang awhile ago. I put my truck up on the hoist to check my front end out. (it used to have really bad control driving) i grabbed my tire and it shook really easily. in both directions, up, down and sideways.

now i thought if you could move it up and down, then its tie rods, and side to side it would be ball joints. i dont see any play in either of them when i move it. it almost seemed like the lug nuts were really loose, but that wasnt it. i switched my 2 front tires and wheels around and still happens on the one side, so its definetly not the wheel.

could it be an axle u-joint? any other ideas?

Jan 29, 2005 | 09:29 AM

Chris_ce

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From: Indiana

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=331176

Jan 29, 2005 | 09:55 AM

SwOkcOffRoader

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From: okc

Quote:

Originally Posted by 95f150

.now i thought if you could move it up and down, then its tie rods, and side to side it would be ball joints.

thats actualy the other way around, up and down is balljoints and side to side is tie rods, since the tie rods are the pivots of your steering they wear out from all the side to side motion of turning everyday....

as far as the stated problem......my first thought is wheel bearings, if the axle ujoint is bad i dont believe the wheel would be loose from that, but i could very well be wrong....

Jan 29, 2005 | 11:11 AM

74 F100 351m

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From: Okla.

Dad had the same problem with his 78 F150 shotbed. He had a real heviy bumper on the front, the truck got solded twice the last guy took the bumper off and no more problems.

Jan 29, 2005 | 03:24 PM

Georgia boy '88

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my 97 f-150 had the same problem and it turned out that the front hubs were going bad.

Jan 29, 2005 | 04:06 PM

rustyoldford

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From: michigan

I agree with the wheel bearing suggetion, open the thing up!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 29, 2005 | 05:54 PM

95f150

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From: Alberta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Georgia boy '88

my 97 f-150 had the same problem and it turned out that the front hubs were going bad.

i got manual warn hubs, and yesterday when i started my truck up, first time since october, there was a grinding noise like the hub wasnt catching. i had it in 4x4 cause i had to drive through a foot of snow. i was stuck and no front tire was spinning, just the peg leg in the back. so i was unlocking the hubs and relocking them, it took a few times until it would work. i also have to use pliers to lock/unlock them (they need a grease job) but my shakyness has always been on there for at least 6 months.

i did all new ball joints and tie rods about a year ago but i guess they dont last that long when you bag the snot out of it.

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Feb 6, 2005 | 08:44 PM

78f3504x4

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From: Whately, Ma

I had bad death wobble, turned out to be an unbalanced tire.

Feb 13, 2005 | 11:30 PM

#10

wolfe1104

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From: Bonney Lake, WA

while pushing side to side on the tire put a hand on the tie rod end. if you feel any movement that could be part of the problem. to check the ball joints have the tires about 1inch off the ground and put a pry bar underneth. and pull up. if the tire is able to move up and down that could also be part of the problem. if none of these it would probable be the hub or the wheel bearings.

Feb 14, 2005 | 02:13 AM

#11

jughead2

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 95f150

i did all new ball joints and tie rods about a year ago but i guess they dont last that long when you bag the snot out of it.

Did this start after you replaced these or has it always been this way? From the info so far it sounds like maybe you didn't get the wheel bearings tight enough, or possibly put the first nut on backwards (the one with the pin sticking out of it) which would allow it to back off over time.

Feb 14, 2005 | 11:53 AM

#12

95f150

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From: Alberta

everything was good, no tire movement until i bagged it. i will not be offroading the crap out of it anymore cause i cant afford to replace everything over and over.

its probably a mixture of things, ball joints, tie rods, and wheel bearings. i will look into it next time i guess.