dangerous wobble
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Senior User
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From: quincy
dangerous wobble
So I recently started to have a pretty serious wobble in my truck i just jacked it up and diddn't see anything wrong no play when moving tire side to side any ideas I have to take a big load of wood to new hampshire this weekend and this wobble is getting pretty bad.
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: Montague, NJ
as in steering wheel wobble? left to right? if so, check the toe i believe it is. the distance between the front and rear of the front wheels.
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Senior User
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From: quincy
yes steering wheel wobble the whole truck shakes and wobbles like the tires are moving back and forth I just measured the tires and i have 74 5/16 on both sides any other ideas i need to get this fixed
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Gatineau, Quebec
A shot in the dark...but I've so far in life seen two things that have shaken a vehicle really badly.
The first was a shock that was non-existant. The shock tower broke and if it hit a bump the wrong way, it would just start to go nuts. I would have to come to a stop to get it to stop. Sent that one to the wreckers..via a smashup derby.
The second thing was excessive play in the draglink and tie rods. And by excessive play, I mean the steering wheel would turn 90 deg. in either direction before the vehicle would steer. In other words, 180 degrees of play. That one I fixed.
Not sure what else could cause a wobble. Are all your wheel lug nuts tight??
Let us know what you find out.
The first was a shock that was non-existant. The shock tower broke and if it hit a bump the wrong way, it would just start to go nuts. I would have to come to a stop to get it to stop. Sent that one to the wreckers..via a smashup derby.
The second thing was excessive play in the draglink and tie rods. And by excessive play, I mean the steering wheel would turn 90 deg. in either direction before the vehicle would steer. In other words, 180 degrees of play. That one I fixed.
Not sure what else could cause a wobble. Are all your wheel lug nuts tight??
Let us know what you find out.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Cottage Grove, WI
Wierd, sounds like you have the death wobble on a stock height truck. Check EVERYTHING up front, springs, shocks, tie rods/ ends, steering shaft joints, ttb bushings, EVERYTHING. something up there is loose/broken, and needs replacement. If everything is good, id say take it in and have the alignment checked
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You have already received a lot of good advice from others, I have two things to add. A bent tie rod or drag-link can cause a serious wobble. The bend may be really subtle and hard to notice, but can cause big problems. Take a straight edge and check to make sure your tie rods are straight. Also, check your ball joints. Jack the front end of the truck up and grab the top and bottom of the tire (at 12 and 6 o'clock) and try to move the tire. If there is more than 1/8" of play the ball joints are bad.
5th Wheeling
Joined: Jan 2008
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If it is lifted, check to make sure that the drop bracket that drops the traction beams done didn't loosen up or worse crack/rip from the crossmember that it bolts to. Mine began to shake progressivly worse and I had a hell of a time finding what was causing it until I looked in this location. I ended up welding the crack and bolting in a gusset plate.
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Zombie Survivalist
Joined: Feb 2009
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From: Rock Springs, WY, USA
yeah, definatly check the bushings, and even the bolts on both ends of the drag link, tie rod, and make sure the pitman arm is tight. if its not there, id say to look at loose lug nuts, bent hub or spindle, broken wheel, and TTB mounting points and trac bars (even if its all stock).
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Junior User
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Also check tires for bubbles, really..Once I kept parking right on one when looking at what may be wrong.. finally pulled over once and a bubble on my tire the size of a baseball was in view, was what was causing a serious shake. i just replaced entire drag link assembly which was very shot and changed my shocks one was missing and had handling issuses due to those problems but no death like wobbling just a bit loose over the bumps and extra body roll on higway exits and bumps. Good luck!!
New User
Joined: Mar 2009
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After hauling some gravel, firewood, and hitting a dog my truck started doing the death wobble real bad. I ruined a good pair of underwear.
I could not figure out what the problem was so a friend that works at a tire shop looked her over. Turns out a bunch of bolts were loose and the drag link was very loose.
My truck is lifted 4" so after tightening everything up we also put on a steering stabilizer just to be safe.
That took care of it I can drive down a wash board road without crappin my pants. Now I juse need to figure out where all the screws that fell out of the dash go.
I could not figure out what the problem was so a friend that works at a tire shop looked her over. Turns out a bunch of bolts were loose and the drag link was very loose.
My truck is lifted 4" so after tightening everything up we also put on a steering stabilizer just to be safe.
That took care of it I can drive down a wash board road without crappin my pants. Now I juse need to figure out where all the screws that fell out of the dash go.
More Turbo
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 630
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From: Northeast
Couldn't "more than 1/8" of play at 12 and 6 o'clock also be due to loose/worn wheel bearings?
