Death wobble

K-rover

K-rover

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
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63
Raleigh, NC
Ive had some steering wheel wobble between 50-58mph for a while now. All good below and above those speeds. When I went to the 35's and new wheels I was hoping that would solve my issue, but still there. Next I replaced all 4 TRE's and got a new adjustable panhard bar with new bushings since my old adjustable one was seized and wouldt adjust. Wobble is still there!!! I replaced the ball joints last year. Radius arm bushings are in perfect condition.

What else could cause the wobble? Could it be the steering box? The wheel does have a lot play in it and always feels "light"
 
J

Jeff Blake

Well-known member
May 6, 2016
429
16
Pacific Beach, San Diego
Having the same issue after putting in beadlocked 315/75's, but I wouldn't call it deathly wobble, but definitely noticeable @ 60mph+

Couple ideas I plan to debug:

- use a dial indicator on each wheel to make sure there isn't runout (beadlocks mounted perfectly center)
- wheel balancing (I used 8oz of Equal Flexx in each tire, removed all wheel weights, but maybe it's not enough)
- toe alignment. I used string and did a 1/16" toe in, but it might not be totally accurate
- make sure axle is perfectly center
- follow procedure in RAVE to make sure steering wheel is center, mine is about 5-10 degrees too far right. Challenge is that my new Adwest steering box doesn't have the hole in it to fit the centering bolt...
 
K-rover

K-rover

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
2,170
63
Raleigh, NC
SGaynor said:
Every time I had wobble in that range 40-65 mph (Disco or my Tacoma) it was a wheel balancing issue.
Click to expand...
Yeah I may take it to another tire shop and have them rebalance the tires.

Im still leaning towards the steering box. I can move the wheel a lot before the tires actually move. I just have no idea what to check or adjust.
 
ERover82

ERover82

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Nov 26, 2011
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Darien Gap
It's worth adjusting to get the steering slack reduced, but if you sense resistance steering over center, it's adjusted too tight.
 
K-rover

K-rover

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Jan 15, 2010
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Raleigh, NC
p m said:
Oh... missed that in your sig line.
The tires can be balanced yet be out of round. I had a severe case of that with the last 2 sets of BFG mud-terrains.
Click to expand...
Would that cause the wheel to only shake between certain speeds?
Its not a vibration as much as its the steering wheel shaking side to side. I think I will try to adjust the box first and go from there. It makes sense judging by how much steering play I have before the tires actually turn.
 
p m

p m

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Apr 19, 2004
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Jeff Blake said:
Hmm.. I just put on BFG KM3's. That could be it. How did you fix it?
Click to expand...
With Michelin XZLs :)
But I just may have to fold - the only source of new XZLs I found is in the UK, at a clip of about $354 a tire, delivered. KM3 in the 7.50R16 size is $176, so the math is not in XZLs' favor.

But - who knows... The shitty mud-terrains I had were KM2 - the first generation were just fine, maybe they did something better with the third gen. I trust they must be a lot quieter than KM2.
 
p m

p m

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K-rover said:
Would that cause the wheel to only shake between certain speeds?
Its not a vibration as much as its the steering wheel shaking side to side. I think I will try to adjust the box first and go from there. It makes sense judging by how much steering play I have before the tires actually turn.
Click to expand...
It was in my case.
It is very easy to check - put the axle on stands, put a brick near the tire almost touching it, and spin the tire.
 
J

Jeff Blake

Well-known member
May 6, 2016
429
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Pacific Beach, San Diego
Yeah the KM3's sidewall is much stronger. Heck, aired down to 15 psi does not look much different than 40 psi, whereas my KO2's looked dead-flat

I ran my KO2's @ 45 psi, and currently have the KM3's at 40. I may have to experiment with lower highway pressures. The brick trick is a good idea, I was going to use a dial indicator but that level of precision is probably wasted
 
p m

p m

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FWIW, the KM2s were out of round as much as 3/8". I don't know if/to what extent they can be recentered on the rim, but my guess is not much - definitely not that much.

Ever see the truck with mud tires driving by at 30-40 mph and hear that woow-woow-woow sound? That's out of round tires.
 
J

Jeff Blake

Well-known member
May 6, 2016
429
16
Pacific Beach, San Diego
p m said:
FWIW, the KM2s were out of round as much as 3/8". I don't know if/to what extent they can be recentered on the rim, but my guess is not much - definitely not that much.

Ever see the truck with mud tires driving by at 30-40 mph and hear that woow-woow-woow sound? That's out of round tires.
Click to expand...

Seems pretty unacceptable for a major tire manufacturer

I have another variable, being the beadlock, so it'll be hard to tell whether it's the tires fault or mine.. if they are out of round. The ring looks about as centered as it can be
 
K-rover

K-rover

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Jan 15, 2010
2,170
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Raleigh, NC
Finally got around to messing with the steering box. What a difference!!! Not only is the wobble gone, but now overall the truck feels way more solid. I wish I had adjusted it a while ago!
 
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