Suspension Gurus, please step in here!!!

[Thewespaul]

And death wobble is caused by a vibration taking slack in the steering and suspension and oscillating making the uncontrollable wobble you are experiencing. Find the vibration you will fix the problem but this also shows that you have some worn steering and suspension parts

 

[towcat]

And death wobble is caused by a vibration taking slack in the steering and suspension and oscillating making the uncontrollable wobble you are experiencing. Find the vibration you will fix the problem but this also shows that you have some worn steering and suspension parts

i've seen people throw big $$$$ into a whole suspension rebuild and are still frustrated with deathwobble. All because they didn't start from the basics. shocks and tires.

 

[theSHERPA]

I had death wobble in my ram 2500 daily driver. Expansion cracks in freeway would set it off. Replaced all bushings up front to no avail. Rotated and rebalanced tires. New shocks and steering stabilizer. Nothing helped. Got rid of the BFG AT’s, and it went away. Never came back. I will never run BFG AT’s again. What tires are you running.


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[Pork_Chop50]

This is not to start an argument when I ask this, but can tire related "death wobble" come and go as is being described? My personal experience with a tire having separations issues was the speed or conditions were irrelevant, the vibration was noticeable always. I do realize that I have experienced a mere fraction of possible scenarios which is why I ask.

And I had two other thoughts on this after reading through it again. Has the lug nuts been rechecked for torque, and are the tires missing any balancing weights? I doubt either are the culprit, but easy to check.

 

[unclehoser]

What tires are you running.


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Michelin LTX, proper size and weight rating for the truck.

 

[unclehoser]

This is not to start an argument when I ask this, but can tire related "death wobble" come and go as is being described? My personal experience with a tire having separations issues was the speed or conditions were irrelevant, the vibration was noticeable always. I do realize that I have experienced a mere fraction of possible scenarios which is why I ask.

And I had two other thoughts on this after reading through it again. Has the lug nuts been rechecked for torque, and are the tires missing any balancing weights? I doubt either are the culprit, but easy to check.

When I rotated the tires recently, I did it in my driveway without balancing equipment. I did torque the lugs to spec (155 ft/lbs...that was a *****! I only weigh 165...) and re-torqued after 500 miles as the manual recommended. As far as missing weights, there is nothing noticeable, but this week I'll have them re-balanced and rotated again to see if the problem persists, as towcat recommended. Tires were purchased at Discount Tires, and the nearest DT location to me is about 50 miles east and 5000 feet UP!!!. They're pretty good at being fair & honest, so I'll deal with them if the truck will make it up the hill!

 

[unclehoser]

do me a favor. rotate the tires again and see if the problem still exists.
please.

Did it. Had our fleet mechanic do a front-to-back rotate while at work today (cost me a $5 tip, thank you very much!). On the way home, I tried to force it into a wobble at one spot that I KNEW it would happen, and it happened. Needless to say, I did this at low speed and prepared for the worst, with no other vehicles in near proximity.

My mind (or sloppy typing) may have played a few math tricks on me in previous posts, but after looking at all the paperwork I have the following facts to present to you:

The tires were installed NEW at ~195,*** miles.
I purchased the truck with ~203,*** miles on the clock, which is in line with the previous owner's claim of 'less than 9000 on them' when I bought it.
I recently rotated the tires front-to-back at ~210,000 miles.
The tires are Michelins with a 70,000-mile warranty. Right now they have ~16,000 miles on them.

As far as I can determine, this is the first rotation of the tires since new. I do live in an extreme desert climate, probably the hottest place in the USA outside of Death Valley. The truck came from Phoenix, which runs a close second!

At this point, I believe it would be prudent to have the tires inspected for separations/defects, and have the front end thoroughly inspected for worn/defective components, probably in that order.

Do you agree? Your opinion matters...I'm hinging my actions on the expertise of the members here.

Thanks again-
Dave

 

[DaveBen]

Death wobble is usually caused by tire imbalance, in my experience. Worn steering parts, like ball joints and tie rod ends add to the death wobble. You have good brand tires that may be out of balance a bit. Add in the worn steering time rods and/or ball joints and you have the death wobble. I went to college in Tucson so I know the climate of your area. I don't see how it would contribute to your problem. Have you had the front end checked out bt a reliable shop that works on suspension? Good Luck!

Dave

 

[bbjordan]

It's a Jeep, but same principles apply:

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[unclehoser]

Death wobble is usually caused by tire imbalance, in my experience. Worn steering parts, like ball joints and tie rod ends add to the death wobble. You have good brand tires that may be out of balance a bit. Add in the worn steering time rods and/or ball joints and you have the death wobble. I went to college in Tucson so I know the climate of your area. I don't see how it would contribute to your problem. Have you had the front end checked out bt a reliable shop that works on suspension? Good Luck!

Dave

Thanks...my next step is a reliable mechanic, and back to Discount Tire (bought and warrantied there) to have 'em checked for imbalance, separations, alignment, etc.

Tucson, eh? Ever been to Bullhead City? Miserably hot 3 months, livable the rest!

 

[unclehoser]

It's a Jeep, but same principles apply:

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Jeez...the camera angles on that thing were amazing! If mine looks like that, I'll never drive again!

Every time I've heard this 'death-wobble' mentioned recently, it's been on 4x4, lifted, modified suspensions. Mine's just a stock 2WD F250, just an old workhorse. Still researching!

Thanks...
Dave

 

[Pork_Chop50]

I absolutely would have the tires inspected first. They may have an unseen issue, hard to say. What I can say is that it would be difficult to find someone to give you an unbiased opinion of the tires. However, if you have a quality shop to look at the front end I would have them also give your tires a once over and see what they come back with.

 

[bbjordan]

Every time I've heard this 'death-wobble' mentioned recently, it's been on 4x4, lifted, modified suspensions. Mine's just a stock 2WD F250, just an old workhorse. Still researching!

Thanks...
Dave

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.

 

[towcat]

well..... all the simple stuff has been eliminated. Time to break out the wallet and find a alignment/frame shop with an older mechanic who has seen a few too many suspensions in his lifetime. hint, if you don't see a computer in the alignment pit, you found your guy

 

[unclehoser]

well..... all the simple stuff has been eliminated. Time to break out the wallet and find a alignment/frame shop with an older mechanic who has seen a few too many suspensions in his lifetime. hint, if you don't see a computer in the alignment pit, you found your guy

Well, I don't think I'll find anyone matching that description around here, but I'll ask around. This is a small, rural area in a part of the country that's pretty spread out as far as population centers! I headed for Discount Tire at the crack of dawn today and had them inspect and balance all 4 tires. They were all slightly out of balance, and ride seems to have improved. Haven't gotten to a place where I know I can force the wobble yet today, maybe later.

Next step is front end inspection by my favorite all-around mechanic shop...they'll definitely point me in the right direction and won't rip me off. Tire stores are notorious for trying to sell you every front-end part in the book before they'll do an alignment, and I've been there before. I'll know what's been replaced and what doesn't require it before I try to get it aligned.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and tech advice! The saga continues...