Suspension Gurus, please step in here!!!

[unclehoser]

I agree. I can add some anecdotal first hand experience.
The Project Parts Truck in my sig I got with stock tires and steel rims. At high speeds death wobble happened. For ***** & giggles I swapped them out with a bigger heavier tires 305s and steel rims (wheels in Avatar pic) cuz I though it looked better. Death wobble happened at a lower speed more easily. Too scary, so I swapped them out for some light stock tires and Alcoa rims. Death wobble at a much higher speed now.

I know the ball joints & tie rod ends need replacing, probably the shocks too. And, of course, it would need an alignment. Which I intend to do, but winter is here and the garage is full.

What I'm getting at is that if the front end parts are worn, or if it is out of alignment, death wobble can happen.

That's my understanding, so I'm trying to eliminate one piece of the puzzle at a time until I get to the final solution. My particular experience is not related to speed. It seems to be triggered at any speed as long as the front wheels are in a certain position (slight right-hand turn) and engaging a depression in the road (manhole, pot hole, lousy asphalt patch, etc.).

It's a pain in the old posterior, but we're gonna get it right!

Stay warm up there...Cheers...
Dave

 

[77f2]

Mornin all,

I had a wicked vibration at certain speeds in my 02 F250 CC 4x4.

Spent tons of money and time trying to fix/find the issue.

Turned out to be my drive shaft was out of balance and then slightly bent.

Had it straightened and balanced and all was good after that.

The cause I tracked back to getting stuck in soft dirt/clay in heavy rain after hooking up my trailer.

I was just spinning my tires and making ruts... I unhooked the trailer and another guy very easily pulled me out. I figured no big deal.

But my problems started to develop after that, I can only guess my driveshaft slightly bent in the mud (but my rear diff was not dragging while being pulled out) so I figure it only bottomed out enough to affect the driveshaft.

One of the cheapest things done in finding vibration was taking the drive shaft in for inspection and balancing.

Short of it is, the rear driveshaft caused my vibration issues.

 

[79jasper]

Talking two different things. Yours was a vibration. His is death wobble.

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[unclehoser]

Talking two different things. Yours was a vibration. His is death wobble.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Might not be so much 'death' at this point! Had all 4 wheels balanced yesterday, and they were all out of balance to some degree. Spent a bit of time out and about town today running errands, actually aiming for holes and manhole covers. Can't seem to trigger it now, and I know the spots where it's happened in the past... it's a small town, and I have my normal routes! Can my luck actually be THAT good??? I may have to buy lottery tickets...

 

[79jasper]

Good.

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[BR3]

See out of balance tires cause the wobble on a daily basis. Working on lifted Jeep's all day you get to learn where to look haha, they leave the factory with it.

As all others have said though, even if the tires are the "cause", they may not be the total solution. You gotta make sure the loose parts are corrected or it will eventually come back, almost certainly harder.

And I take that "computer alignment" comment personally
Just kidding. On our trucks a tape measure is fine, but your old guy in the pit would crap his pants if he had to listen to a winey Tacoma owner complain about his steering wheel being two thousands of an inch to the left with .1 degree too much castor split hahaha

 

[unclehoser]

Update:

Had to make a trip about 60 miles South last Thursday, rotten road, hit a dip, wobble returned. Damn.

Finally found a suspension "specialist" recommended by several good mechanics in the area. Old-skool guy, builds custom front ends for street rods, customs, blahblahblah...as well as tires, wheels, alignments as part of the daily biz. Just didn't know he was there, although he's only about 5 miles from home!

I informed him of my problem, truck year, make, model, etc...he just smiled and said, "Yup. Bring 'er in, we'll fix it." My credit card already hurts, but it's something I just can't handle on my back in the driveway.

8 AM tomorrow, Monday, appointment. After-action report to follow. Wish me luck!

 

[Thewespaul]

Well?

 

[unclehoser]

Well?

Well, the truck is still there. It appears that they have a lot of work, and I wasn't the first guy in line! I got a call today from the shop manager, offering to replace the front brake pads and turn the rotors for the cost of the pads (no labor, since they already had it apart!). Quite nice of him, I guess.

If all goes well, I should have it back tomorrow (Thursday). Just waiting on the phone call. From what they told me so far, there are quite a few parts (can't remember all of what he said) that are worn out and need replacement. Quote was about $800 and change. Break out the credit card...

Thanks for the concern! Great bunch of folks on this board, and lots of help and advice!

 

[Pork_Chop50]

Hope this is the end of it. $800 seems reasonable to get it back in action with no flaws. Way cheaper than a new pickup

 

[unclehoser]

Hope this is the end of it. $800 seems reasonable to get it back in action with no flaws. Way cheaper than a new pickup

How true! I know a guy who just dropped $75K on a new Ram 1-ton Cummins with all the bells & whistles. Definitely a nut case! If I ever spend that kind of cash on a truck, I'll have to live in it. His payments are more than my mortgage on a vehicle that's worth more than my house.

I fully intend to keep this old workhorse for quite some time, so I don't mind the cost of routine repairs. It's what I'd been looking for, for about a year, and I found a great deal. I'll do what I can as far as repairs, but I leave certain things up to the experts! So...you're correct...that $800 will serve me a lot better than making ONE payment on Mr. Nutcase's new Ram!!!

 

[unclehoser]

The old b***h is back home. Lower ball joints, pivot bushings, wheel bearings, front brake pads, rotors turned, and alignment. Feels a lot better on the road...haven't been to a spot where I can test for the DEATH WOBBLE yet, but that will come with time!

With taxes, shipping (parts), labor all added up they got me for right at $975. MasterCard loves me!

Cheers...
Dave

 

[Thewespaul]

Glad you got your truck back, hopefully this fixes her up. Keep us posted Dave!

 

[unclehoser]

Glad you got your truck back, hopefully this fixes her up. Keep us posted Dave!

So...been driving it since Thursday evening, hit a few bumps & depressions, so far NO WOBBLE! Hope that's the end of it! Sure tightened up the steering...not nearly as sloppy as it was. I have to be careful now NOT to overcorrect!

Thanks to all for the good advice...and MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone if I don't get back here before then! HO HO HO...