scarry wheel hop

[purg113]

I get a very scary wheel hop in the front end at around 40 mph some times and it shakes the whole truck like a flat tire but does not pull any direction.
what could it be so I can get it fixed I am wating on a bigger jack so i can lift what should i check?

 

[rjglenn]

Worn tie rods, broken track bar mount, worn track bar bushings, worn king pins. Lots of causes of the death wobble, my list is a good place to start looking.

 

[dmaxjoe]

Dana 60 is the best there is as long as everything is tight and aligned. One other simple thing alot of people miss is bad tires. Do an online seach for "Dana 60 death wobble. "

 

[G. Mann]

Check everything in the front end to see if you have anything lose that shouldn't be.

However, what you are describing is something that happens at a certain speed. I would suspect [from experience] that you have a tread separation in a tire. When you reach the trigger speed the rotating force throws the separated portion of the tire out and makes it suddenly out of round, and out of balance.. a lot... result.. you get wheel hop and the "dance of death" feeling.

At lower speeds the tire stays relatively round and runs smooth enough that you don't notice a problem.

I'd suggest you stop by your local trusted tire shop and tell them what is happening. A good tire guy will be able to check it out and if that's the problem.

 

[Knuckledragger]

This is happening in a 2WD, correct?

Shocks and tie rods are suspect. Could be ball joints, radius arm bushings or twin I beam bushings, too. Could be tire problems, but those usually get worse as speed rises, like improperly balanced tires.

 

[fx4wannabe]

I had that happen in my f250 once and it ended up being my bearings being loose.

 

[purg113]

yes it is happening in 2wd but not all the time. everything looks and feels tight so maby I should take it to my tire guy and see what they say

 

[racin460]

Steering stabilizer!!!!!! Most don't realize how important thet are.

 

[Ataylor]

Could be a separated tire. First, I would start the truck and crawl underneth (with the wheels chocked) and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth. Look for play in ball joints, track bar bushings, oil leaking from stabilizing shock. Unless you have had front end work done recently it is probably one of these. Once you get the jack then check for play in the wheel bearings.

 

[Wyreth]

How much play is in your steering box?
Check your pivot bushings on the I-beams, shock bushings, and the shocks themselves, your rag joint, pitman arm, and tie rods.

2wd death wobble does happen, ask me how I know, and just like on a 4wd it can be caused by alot of factors. Usually alot of things bad at the same time. Take the weight off the front end, get under there and wiggle everything, some things (like the pivot bushings) will need a small prybar to wiggle. Find where you have play, and eliminate it.

A steering stablizer can be a bandaid for the problem, but if you don't fix the underlying issue, it will simply get worse until something fails catastrophically.

 

[Jbevs]

I had a severe death 'wobble', more of a tire hop. I believe the cause was a bad/seized wheel bearing. Eventually the WHEEL exploded, front end dropped to the pavement, I grinded to a stop while watching my tire bounce off in to the trees. Luckily I was only going about 20, but I had just gotten off the interstate a few mintutes before!

My wheel bearings never stay tight. It's very annoying.

 

[heff]

tires.
flat spots on tires, broken belts. uneven wear on a tire with heavy lugs.
i had 2 square steer tires. looked good, felt good when you ran your hand around the tread.
but going down the road you could see them start to hop. only did it at a certain speed.
anytime there is an issue with a shake shimmy hop or wobble always start with the tire and work
your way inward

 

[icanfixall]

I sure would check the tires for tread seperation before it throws the tred. That can whip around and ruin sheet metal badly too. Sounds like a lot of possibilitys too. Feeling the tires thread is the easy cheap thing.. I had some 16.5 thread seperate on a front right tire going over a high speed freeway over pass turning to the left. Nobody around but being about 50 ft up and the truck suddenly not going where it should was a seat cushion pincher for sure. I felt like Newman on sinefield when he ran over what cramer left in the road. Oh the humanity of it..

 

[riotwarrior]

I'm unclear

The situation is happening on what truck what front end?

If 4wd is it a king pin or ball joint style front end?



I've always found that it's best to start with steering at the steering wheel and work my way DOWN to box through box to linkages then to outter ends of axles...ball joints/king pins, wheel bearings, track bar/bushings and lastly leaf spring bushings...inspecting each component along the way.

Also Front axle u joints too. If they are binding it can create problems.

I know it's a lot of work but well worth it!

JM2CW

Al

 

[sle2115]

Just replaced the king pins on my Dana 60 front end, wasn't fun, but wasn't all that bad. Found the kits real reasonable and then located not one, but two 7/8 inch allen wrenchs and a 3/4 impact 7/8 Socket. 7/8 allen wrench and a 5 foot piece of cheater bar and they came right out! All back together and death wobble gone! My king pins were very pitted (water intrusion) and the lower bearings were all but seized up.