death wobble

[nuclearlemon]

60 has horrible death wobble. occurs about 35+ mph. sometimes a bump starts it, sometimes it just happens. 83 fj60 wtih 33" bfg mt's, all pro hi steer, fj80 ends in custom tubes (been on approx 6 months) with 4x4labs adapters for the drag link side, i do have an aftermarket steering stabilizer that was off and i put back on, 5" alcan lift sua.

this is a new symptom from the last time it was wheeled (a friend wheeled it, but i drove it home about 40 minutes at highway speeds with no issues). since then, i've adjusted the drag link, changed one front axle seal and rotated the tires, now it's got d.w.

it's not a stabilizer issue because while it did have one, it fell off months ago and i've never put it back on...had no issues. put it on today, still have d.w. bot with and without it.

i put the tires back to their original locations...still d.w.

checked alignment, appears good.

tie rod ends are fine, drag link ends have the barely noticeable play in the threads (barely enough that you question if there is play, so i put new ends on, still the faintest of play...could this be it?)

i pulled the side that i'd done the seal on even though spinning the tire showed nothing abnormal, reassembled it and i still have no indication of problems except death wobble.

spring bushings look good, shackles look good, springs look good...wtf?

 

[treerootCO]

Sorry, just got up.

You said you were in the wheels....are the bearings loose? My crazy shackles cause death wobble when they are loose but a loose wheel bearing seems to start everything in motion.

What about a bent axlehousing? Could be why the inner seal needed to be replaced.

 

[nuclearlemon]

bearings were good and i actually used a torque wrench putting it back together just in case.

axle seal was leaking long before even the ghost town trip. i haven't done the seal in well over two years, so i'm guessing just aged.

 

[treerootCO]

I don't trust the torque wrench anymore for wheel bearings. You were the one that told me to torque them on really tight, squish out all the grease, back them off, and then tighten them down tighter than you would think.

What about air in the PS lines. That pump had issues at one point. It sounds like a long shot but when I added ps to the 40 I couldn't get it to bleed. I couldn't turn full lock left and it would vibrate at speed. You could really feel it if you were turning into the crown of the road. Jack up both front tires, fire it up and turn lock to lock until the pump sprays all over the underside of the hood and you.

Did the pringels can fall out?

 

[farnhamstj]

Is is possible you have a bent rim you're not aware of? maybe try a different set of wheels and see if it's still there

 

[gcmandrake]

Silly question, since I don't know if you have front leaf springs on your 60. But how are the bushings? You can get a nasty woble if they are worn.

the Other Matt

 

[wesintl]

I'm with farnham. If it just started after the wheelin, I'd say some weights got knocked off or a tweaked rim??

 

[nuclearlemon]

didn't start right after wheeling though. steve drove it to matt's place, i drove it home and i drove it to work a few times...no problems. then i resealed right side, rotated tires and adjusted drag link

bushings all look good.

 

[farnhamstj]

Maybe you should replace the front end with a nice IFS set up. You could have the only IFS 60. Solid front axle will go the way of the carburator. Oh.. you got one of those too. Could the Hi steer be loose at the knuckles? PS plate weld broken? Chunk of some crap stuck to the inside of one of the rims so at not to sit flat on hub, would expain why still there after rerotating tires. Did you rotate in spare that hadn't been used in a while?

 

[bustanutley]

have you checked knuckle preload? I preload my knuckle~ double the spec. Did you lose wheel weights? Normally it is somewhere in the leaf spring system.

Hydro assist is the cure-all

 

[Convert]

Maybe CruiserDan has sicked the dogs on you?????

 

[nakman]

You said the wobble was still there after you rotated the tires back to where they were before.. and still death wobble so you're certain that tires aren't the issue? You're welcome to borrow the 33's off my 40 if you want to make sure.

I would check for a piece of crap or rusty dust or burr or something on the surface of the rotor that mounts with the rim (between the studs), and also check the insides of the rims for the same, make sure they're totally clean so the wheel mounts as flush as possible. The 62 I had was very finicky with wobble but after I scotch-brited those surfaces it went away... it had real loose tie rods though, and probably bearings too. hth.

 

[Rezarf]

I would check the tire for sure, my wobble was 100% my tires were out of balance, knocked off some wheel weights.

I would check your tires first.

Drew

 

[Hulk]

Here's a remote possibility: a somewhat twisted axle. My Cruiser shuddered at higher speeds after I hammered it on Spring Creek in June 04. The axle finally broke at Moab in May 05. When I replaced it, I was amazed at how smooth my 40 rode again.