Death Wooble
 

Last month I got around to replacing some steering connections,...drag link ball seats , spring , plugs, rubber shield connecting rod ends. The balls on the spindle arm and steering arm were flawless. Actually everything but the rubber shields looked good. It was pretty scary to drive over 50 mph which was the motivation to try and tighten things up. It is a whole lot better at high speeds. I had it up to almost 70 mph and it felt great......however... yesterday I hit a single set of RR tracks at 30 MPR and we went into the death wooble. It came out of it OK as I slowed down but what a pain in the ass. Today it started to go into it again as I hit a pot hole but I was braking for a red light as I hit the hole so, it calmed down as i slowed. I took a quick look at the links and arms later and no missing parts,..:-missingt It never did it prior top replacing the parts.:-banghead I even tried to induce the wooble in the past/prior to the re-build, after reading other threads that mentioned the problem, but I couldn't make it wooble.
I have not tightened up the steering gear adjustment yet because I got leaking gaskets on the steering box. It has some play in it for sure. I now have the gaskets in hand but no time. From what I have read this adjustment can make a big difference.
Any thing else that should be considering ?
I replaced the front springs , bushings , pins and castor wedges ect 2 years ago for what its worth.
Thanks
John

How old are your shocks?

Bob

Shocks won't help "death wobble" much, but steering freeplay, alignment and tires will. You didn't say if you replaced the tie rod ends, or kingpins.

If you sit next to the front tire on each side, grab at 3 and 9 o'clock, and pull and push the wheel, and do it again at 6 and 12 o'clock, are there any differences in movement?

New tires and shocks 15000 miles ago. No extaordinary wear. Havi, I got the new king pins but passed on putting them in last round of upgrades since things are real tight with the 3/9 and 6/12 movement. I did put on the new tie rod ends. No alignments........yet

John,in almost any area,there is a "go to" shop for front end work and alignments,one that's been in business for many years.And,more often than not,there will be some old grey-beard who knows your particular vehicle,and what the problem areas are.The one in my area will even do an inspection for free.Steve.

I found that with each set of parts you replace, the front end becomes better. I also found that as you replace one, the bad characteristics of the other worn parts not replaced becomes more apparent.

So, as a result, my kingpin effort turned into an "A to Z" front end rebuild - but what a difference - incredible.

As AX mentioned, Tires made a big difference with mine, but also replacing the spring eye bushings and bolts all the way around made a BIG difference. I would also check the wheel bearings and king pin play as Havi mentioned.

As Steve mentioned, taking the truck to an experienced suspension and front end guy for an opinion is invaluable.

Good luck

biggest problem tires are bias ply.

Yes, all of th eworn parts can be an issue and exaggerate the problem. Its been my experience that the the toe settings had a lot to do with the "death wobble.
Recheck the "toe-in", if its close to the specs give it a bit more. Don't be bashful these old trucks can handle quite a bit of "toe-in".

Bobby

I am watching this thread with interest. I went into a death wobble just once and when I hit the brakes hard it came out of it. I found that I was running my bias ply tires at too low pressure.

i'd go with toe in also . just had this happen to my beater 95 bird , and was looking at everything under the sun on it . then i broke out the tape measure , got the wife out to help and measured the distance on the front and rear of the front tires on the ground with the full weight of the car on it , and went from the center of the tire to center . discovered it was toed out a bit and when i put it up and loosened it all up pulled it in till the measurements were the same front and rear , walla , no more death wobble . this is not however a replacement for a correct align ment or replacing what needs to be fixed , just a quick fix to get you bye to get it there to be done !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i also used this method to do the 53 while i was driving it . took car of it's issues too along with taking some slack outta the steering box .:-X20

The beam axle wants some toe-IN (narrower measurement at front of tire than at rear) Since Toe does not change when the beam axle is weighted you can easily check toe by jacking and placing a jack stand under each axle spring perch to support the tires just off the ground. Center the steering wheel so the pitman arm points straight down and lock in this position with a C clamp placed on the frame on each side of the arm. Place a long (6-8') straight edge horizontally against the wheel as close to center as possible so it extends past the tire front and rear. Mark the straightedge where it rests against the rim. Have a helper measure the distance from the front end and rear end of the straight edge to the frame. If you have a 1953- 60 truck this distance should be equal. If not move the pitman arm slightly until it is and reclamp. Now check the other side placing the straight edge in the same location on the wheel. If both sides are parallel to the frame with the pitman arm straight down, you have the steering centered and zero toe.
If not, move the pitman arm until vertical and adjust tie rod length until both wheels are parallel. Now with pitman arm lock vertical, turn each tire while holding a pencil, fine sharpie or pointed scratch awl against the center of the tire tread to draw a line around the center of each tire. With your helper measure the distance between the lines at the front and rear at the 3 and 9:00 position. If you did everything up until this point correctly the measurements should be equal. Adjust the tierod length in the lengthening direction until the front measurement is now 1/8- 1/4" narrower in the front than the rear. Lock the tie rod adjustment. Congratulations you have set your total toe-in to 1/8 -1/4"! Remove the clamps locking the pitman arm and take it for a test drive. If the death wobble has disappeared, have a frosty and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. If it's better but not quite gone add another 1/8" of toe-in. If still not gone with 3/8" of toe-in, look for worn/bent parts, not enough caster (axle lean back from vertical) especially if you have lowered the front, and/or borrow someone else's tires and see if that's the problem.

Play in the steering gear can also allow the rest of the steering parts to move uncontrollably, as well, leading to a death wobble condition. Your biggest problem, if aligning as mentioned above doesn't help, could be the need for a rebuild in the steering box.

you can get shims from mid fifties and others too put caster back in when you drop 'em .................... got a set sitting here waiting for me to get my arse in ludicrous speed and get at least something completed .........................:-X24 oh yeah look around and find a pos for an extra box to rebuild while yers is moving . got two extra's here for just such a reason if it was too arrive . ax thanx for the tip . i got mine equal front too rear , but it hasnot given me any issues period , but when i get it dropped and back together running i'll put a lil' toe in into it .

Toe in will reduce the tramlining, the tendency to follow seams or cracks in the road, and reduce the need to make small steering corrections.