I just had my first ecounter with death wobble. This is the first time this truck has ever done this since I have bought it in February. What would or could cause this to onset all of a sudden? Recentlty the only thing I have done to the truck is air up the passenger front tire because it was low but that's it. It almost feels as though the truck is fighting itself when the wheel is in center position which would indicate alignement. But how could the alignment be that far off that quickly? Any help would be great.

 

You might want to check your axle pivot bushings and the bracket to the frame, especially if it has a lift.

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention the truck is a 78'. There is no lift but I do have 33" tires though.

 

Track bar... either adjustment or bushings. Its the most likely culprit and about the only thing to let the front end shimmy that badly.

 

Blown belts in a tire can do the same thing me and a buddy thought it was the front end of his truck but could not find anything till we looked over the tires

 

balljoints.

 

ball joints were replaced about a year ago, but that doesn't mean they are good. They looked fine but.... All the bushing on the track bar are still the old rubber ones and they do look a little nasty and corroded. I do know that the PO never got the truck aligned after the ball joint replacement but why would it just now be an issue after 6 mos of driving? I took the tires off and they looked to be ok from the outside. So, should I start with an alignment or start with the bushings, or someother 3rd option?

 

If you can get weight off the front axle (support the frame) you can get down there and try moving things around to see what components are the loosest. If you have no reason to believe any of the front end bushings are worn, then go straight to the alignment shop but if you even suspect you may have some parts that are "going" its best to get them replaced BEFORE you have an alignment done. Otherwise you will have to go get another one done after you replace worn parts.

 

I suspect that the bushings could be bad because they do look like original rubber. But can the bushings just go bad like that. I am just trying to understand why it just all of a sudden starting doing this or is this normal with death wobble?

 

what is death wobble?

 

It is a violent shaking of the front end where the front tires are usually fighting each other over traction/direction that is almost uncontrolable.

 

Well if the bushings are dry rotted and falling apart its possible that one or more of them lost enough material to allow things to move around that much. You could have lost a big enough chunk of bushing going over a decent bump.

"Death wobble" is a Heep owner's term for front end wiggle that makes controlling the vehicle nearly impossible. You won't find it in a leaf sprung front axle because the leaf springs do enough to keep the front axle in place even if other components fail. Vehicles with coil sprung solid front axles have only the track bar and in the case of the Bronco the radius arms to hold it to the frame of the truck. (Heeps don't even have the radius arms as I recall.) The radius arms do nothing to prevent side-to-side movement as the OEM versions use a bayonet style mount and bushing which does little to restrict range of motion. This works well for getting good suspension articulation but sucks for holding the axle in place under the truck. Therefore the track bar is used between the axle assembly and the frame to keep the axle centered at all times. So, in short, lose a solid connection between track bar and axle and wait for the wild ride to commence.

 

Well...I had my son get in the truck and turn the wheel slightly back and forth as I watch all the joints. I found a VERY bad track bar bushing that mounts to the frame and a slightly bad drivers side tie rod end. does that sound like enough to cause death wobble???

Next question: Can I just replace the one tie rod end or should I replace it all. We are talking about an $80 upgrade so wasn;t sure if it was worth it at this time?

 

a bad bushing is enough to cause mayhem in the steering. you may want to fix the tie rod ends then the bushing on the arm thing then when your all done, make sure you get it aligned.

 

Fordbroncodave has it right. Replace anything that is showing signs of wear. Track bar bushings that allow the bar to shift left-to-right under the truck will allow the entire axle to do the same. The steering components are unable to compensate for this shifting which in essence makes steering down right dangerous. $80 and an alignment is worth keeping you, the truck, your passengers and everyone on the road around you safely moving down the road.