death wobble

wooderson

Well-known member
Jul 21, 2008
512
0
i get a SEVERE shaking/wobble at 60-70 mph, especially when i hit a bump. it is intermittent.

it has a 2" OME. maybe rear driveshaft?
 

wooderson

Well-known member
Jul 21, 2008
512
0
i will tighten the steering linkae bolts tomorrow and let you know if it continues.
 

pdxrovermech

Well-known member
Jul 3, 2009
1,807
57
Portland, OR
if you just notice it in a 5-10mph range (like your 60-70). then typically its an out of balance tire. But since you say its especially when you hit a bump then i would check things like your tow-in or railco bushings too.
 

Gordo

Well-known member
More than likely its swivel preload... if you get bump steer at expansion joints etc. Adjust it using a fishing scale. Should be around 15-17lbs of resistance once you get past the initial resistance. Just remove the tire, remove the tie rod ends and pull with a scale in one of the tie rod end holes. Adjust preload until its near 15 or so. The book calls for less but that is w/o a seal and while taken apart.
The panhard rod bushings could also play a role as could a bad steering stabilizer, but the root cause is usually the preload. Been there done that. Gordo
 

MontrealRR90

Well-known member
May 21, 2004
1,582
0
62
Montreal,Canada
a bad tire not evenly worn will do that also.Swivel preload would be the last and i mean the last thing to check. Check all the other things mentioned first.
 
MontrealRR90 said:
a bad tire not evenly worn will do that also.Swivel preload would be the last and i mean the last thing to check. Check all the other things mentioned first.

Gotta disagree here. I'd check the swivel preload first. Unless it's bushings, the other things that most folks do are merely trying to mask poor swivel preload.

Folks are afraid of swivel preload becuse it looks intimidating, but once you've done it, it's not that bad.

The fish scale method is for non-ABS rigs. ABS trucks are set using a torque wrench. I set them by hand.
 

nosivad_bor

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2004
6,059
63
Pittsburgh, PA
Paul you are insane. I'm not arguing that the tightening of the bolts wont mask a preload issue, but the fact is if the bolts were loose enough that tightening them made a difference, then guess what, they needed tightening.
 

Orlando

Active member
May 23, 2004
32
0
My expereience with the death wobble was caused by the steering dampner and it would wobble as soon as i hit the brake or hit a bump at about 30 miles an hour. Happended twice on two diffrent rovers due to smashing it up on some rocks.
 
nosivad_bor said:
Paul you are insane. I'm not arguing that the tightening of the bolts wont mask a preload issue, but the fact is if the bolts were loose enough that tightening them made a difference, then guess what, they needed tightening.

I've been accused of that before.

Obviously, I'm going to assume that one has made sure that all of the fasteners are tight and bushings intact.

BUT, we all know that there are numerous threads on death wobble that disucss all of the many possibilities it could be. The owner of the vehicle starts down the trail that's mapped out for him and after trying all of the things like a new steering sabilizer, in desperation, the owner decides to do the swivel preload and voila! No more death wobbles!

I can't count the times I've been told to replace bushings, then the steering stabilizer adn then the shocks, then the air freshener, then the air in the tires and finally, the owner of the vehicle will let me do the swivel preload and it resolves the issue!

Yes, we should investigate all avenues to insure we don't foolishly overlook something silly, but in higher mileage trucks, they badly need swivel preload adjustment.
 

nosivad_bor

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2004
6,059
63
Pittsburgh, PA
agreed, you are sane again :)

If the steering damper is causing the death wobble you have serious issues. I once drove for 6months without a damper and my biggest problem was bump steer, and had no wobbles. The damper hides the wobbles.
 
nosivad_bor said:
agreed, you are sane again :)

If the steering damper is causing the death wobble you have serious issues. I once drove for 6months without a damper and my biggest problem was bump steer, and had no wobbles. The damper hides the wobbles.

Whew! I'm gonna print that and show it to my wife!

I don't know that I have steering stabilizers on any of my trucks right now-and if there is one on one of them, I'm sure it's not doing much. My '88 has the onset of the deathwobbles and in this weather, I'm not in any hurry to do it. I need to order some non-ABS swivel parts:D
 

JohnK

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2004
2,267
0
Maryland
When I didn't have a steering stabilizer on my truck, I would get a wobble when hitting a bump at higher speeds. The wobble would last a couple of seconds. It was eliminated when I installed the stabilizer.
 

MontrealRR90

Well-known member
May 21, 2004
1,582
0
62
Montreal,Canada
ptschram said:
Gotta disagree here. I'd check the swivel preload first. Unless it's bushings, the other things that most folks do are merely trying to mask poor swivel preload.

Folks are afraid of swivel preload becuse it looks intimidating, but once you've done it, it's not that bad.

The fish scale method is for non-ABS rigs. ABS trucks are set using a torque wrench. I set them by hand.

fair enough ! buy i did say check them not change them ;) If everything seems tight its on to the swivel preload ! I was one of thise guys afraid but like you said once you do it its not that bad.
 
MontrealRR90 said:
I was one of thise guys afraid but like you said once you do it its not that bad.

This has blown into another of those threads where arguments begin, continue and everybody ends up calming down-thank God! Now, if you guys would just agree with me:D

The entire reason behind the "In search of the Experience" segment was specifically intended to dispel the myth that swivel ball rebuilds are difficult and technical. It's not easy and it is technical, but it is something that almost every coiler built prior to '99 will need eventually and if you're gonna play the game, you better learn how to handle the playa!
 
B

Brian...

Guest
I had a wobble around 70 - 75 mph on my RR with a bad shudder when hitting bumps/expansion joints at bridge/road interfaces.. I replaced the worn ball joints, checked & set the top pin swivel preload which was really low on both sides, and re-tightened the steering shaft. It helped out immensely. The only symptom left is some minor bump steer which I attribute to the shot steering stabilizer and the need of an alignment after replacing the ball joints. Figured I'll do that after replacing the dampener.