I'm voting toe in as well. Years ago before I wrestled my 51 away from my dad, he tried adjusting the toe because the tires were wearing funny. After doing so we went for a spin, and if I had fillings at the time I would have had them shaken out of my head. It would start suddenly after the slightest bump, and it wouldn't stop until the truck came to a stop. He kept adjusting it until he got it right and it never did it again.

Scott

 

I think it might be the toe in also.

This is indeed the dreaded DW (Death Wobble).

I have been doing some searching and it is very common on lots of trucks.

Here are a few links that address it. It is considered "Shimmy" as mentioned.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41043

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/print...9&page=1&pp=25

http://www.woodalls.com/forums/Index...d/14102555.cfm

http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/deathwobble/

http://www.geocities.com/b1pig/dw.html

http://seamusmcpoop.blogspot.com/200...th-wobble.html

I am going to check the toe in. Also I have inner tube tires, and I am going to have them checked/re-balanced.

I just can't see a problem underneath. Everything looks fine. That's why I am thinking it is balance, toe in, or something like that. It could also be the steering box needing some adjustment.

Anyway.... I am going to spend a little time on it, and then scour my area for a good front end shop to go over everything.

I was hoping someone else here had experienced this. I found it happens to various trucks not any particular make/yr..

Anyway, I will post my findings in hopes someone else in the future will find it helpful.

 

Sounds like you have some new parts under the truck...but have you done any work on the leafs or shackle bolts? Leafs can break in the stack and bolts can wear on have a little slop in them.
Spend some time and check all out...even take a few raps with a rubber hammer to see if you can hear some unusual metal-to-metal sounds where there shoud'nt be any.

My wife hit a good pot hole in a 2002 Jeep liberty (5 days out of warranty) and it caused a steering rack failure.....$1,100.00 pot hole!

Good luck, Ed

 

I was in an old VW that did this after we went across some railroad tracks. It did not stop until he pulled over, then it was fine for the rest of the trip. We attributed the shimmy to a worn out front end. You said that you looked underneth and everything looked fine. In past posts, somebody has suggested putting the front end up on jack stands with the wheels in the air. Then, by pulling the wheels left and right the problem in the steering linkage should be apparent. Good luck, Jag

 

I've been for the last several months trying to resolve the death wobble issue with my 92 Cherokee. It's appraching 200K mi and was developing a bit of shimmy. I knew this wasn't death wobble, but having read descriptions of death wobble on the Jeep forum I knew I best do something about it. I replaced all four ball joints. One was worn a bit the others were a waste of time. Right after I finished that job I took it out on the highway, hit a rough stretch of road and it happenned - the dreaded death wobble. I've driven a number of vehicles over the years with loose front ends but this was a totally different experience. It wasn't just the steering wheel shaking, the whole car was shaking violently. I don't much cuss but I know of no other words to describe it. Sorta feel like all your lug nuts just came loose.

From what I have read I figured I could probably resolve the problem with a new set of tires, balance and alignment, but I thought something else had to be wrong. Something must be loose. A vehicle shouldn't be able to do that. I replaced everything that seemed just a little loose, control arm bushings, stabilizer links and bushings, even the steering gear. The tighter I got it the worse the death wobble became. It got so bad I was afraid to go over 50. I'm beginning to think that some vehicles will do that if they just have balance and alignment problems. I cut a stick the appropriate length and checked my toe. I was about a quarter inch out. I set it an eighth in and no more death wobble.

I find it interesting that old pickups might also exibit this behavior. I've found some mention of it with 4X4 Fords at this site. From one of the above links I see that Toyota 4X4s do it. I'm thinking that it might have to do with the straight axles. The solid connection between the wheels allows them to start fighting each other. Probably requires the right combination of speed and vehicle weight and a resonant thing starts. I read one guy says it goes away if you speed up but I'll just take his word for it.

So my advise is to find a stick that just fits between the wheels and check the toe. That could be all that's wrong.

Craig

 

I've been reading this post with interest. I've experienced the death wobble before, it was in a 1982 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I have not had it in other vehicles but I've heard of it. For some uknown reason you are getting a negative (or is it positive?-I can never get it right) feedback thing happening and it gets progressively worse. The feeling is hard to describe and scarier than all get out when you are flying down the highway.

It seems like Blue has pretty much ruled out any loose parts in his front end. Perhaps it is the tow being way out to start the wobble? but there must be something else (loose or worn) that takes the initial wobble and amplifies it.

Blue, keep us posted on what the front end guys tell you

Bobby

 

there is a problem very common to beam axles called ''tramping'' It can be traced to a combination of caster and toe and is common on street rods because of their relatively light weight. It doesn't occur on IFS because of the differences in geometry/linkages etc. Did you recently put a larger diameter tire on the rear? That little bit of extra rake can take the caster out of the front. Hope this helps.

 

Shimmy can also be caused by worn kingpins, tierod ends, or draglink. My guess would be tho too little caster. Your friend need to get that truck to an alignment shop immediately, that's a very dangerous condition!

 

on my 79 ford 4x4 it was the drag link, but it was in pretty rough shape, i grabed ahold of it and it had more slop then anything id ever seen.