one ton 4X4 death wobble, what have you done to cure it?

[57NAPCO]

My 87 1 ton 4X4 has very low miles on it but if I hit certain bumps in the road going about 35 or so and all hell breaks loose until I stop completely. I'm thinking new shocks and dual steering stabilizers? I presently have a single steering stabilizer but its quite old i think.

[rs74]

Might need new king pins. I think that alot that put the steering stabilizer on and say it fixes it are just putting a bandaid on an underlying cause. Sometimes it is just a steering stabilizer but sometimes its just a bandaid. Also check for loose wheel bearings and loose u bolts.

[LynnJr]

Idler arm.
Pitman arm
Tie rod ends
Steering stabilizer

['68 Newtricks]

Originally Posted by LynnJr

Idler arm.
Pitman arm
Tie rod ends
Steering stabilizer
Weak kingpin springs or broken nylon
bad leaf bushings
steering box sector shaft adjustment
wheel bearings
U-bolts
diff fluid

It's definitely not shocks. It might be a stabilizer but I've ran without one before (with crossover & 38") and never had DW. Also, check to make sure your pinon angle is correct, unless this just started happening on a stock truck.

[LynnJr]

The steering stabilizers are put on these trucks for a reason and there are millions of them factory installed.
'
That said they will mask problems until the problem becomes an issue.

You can lift both front wheels off of the ground so that they are both free to move and simply twist them up and down and back and forth without the steering stabilizer.This will let you see were the play is located.

Most vehicles have toe in so the tires are constantly pointing inwards and running over themselves.If your toe in is out of adjustment your truck will wander and upon hitting the brakes it will try and seek any play in the front end causing a wobble.Replace the defective parts and get the toe in set.

[Mr.Chevy4x4]

My experience has been that loose steering components or bad spring/shackle bushings can cause death wobble. If you have checked and that all seems tight, it's probable kingpin related. Being a low mileage truck the kingpins themselves are probably ok. The bushings might be worn and the springs are probably weak. Those springs have been under a LOT of tension for a lot of years. They do get weak. Here's a link to a possible cure:
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/D60...ng-bushing.htm

[57NAPCO]

Thanks for the good info, the truck has 16,000 original miles on it and is factory stock. Tire wear looks even.

[jhama78]

Spring bushings, kingpins, caster, tires, steering box and linkage, all contribute to DW. Have somebody rock the steering wheel back and forth while you check for loose components. Good luck, DW can be a pain to cure.

[cadillac_al]

I won't be much help. I had a truck with death wobble years ago and never could figure it out. Everything looked tight enough at the time. Looking back I think it was a tire problem, either balance or flat spots or a steering box problem. With your low mileage I can't imagine any suspension component being worn at all. It would be nice to try (borrow) a known good set of tires on it. Definitely let us know if you figure it out.

[willett]

Accelerate

[andrewmp6]

Like said king pins or a tie rod end is probably the cause of it.Does it have any kinda lift on it at all?

[57NAPCO]

Stock, no lift.

[57NAPCO]

Originally Posted by willett

Accelerate

I tried, can't accelerate out of it

[imjeff]

I had a truck that did the exact same thing. I don't have my trucks worked on by anyone, but I was so frustrated I took it in to an alignment shop. The guy came back pale and sweaty, said he's never been that scared in his life...and didn't know what was wrong. Turned out to be king pins.

[57NAPCO]

Finally got time to work on the truck. Changed the king pin bushings and springs (off road design, good stuff) even shimed em with a flat washer to make the fit super tight. Changed the steering dampner and all 4 shocks. So far no more wobble...

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog...ng-bushing.htm

[rs74]

My turn now. Drivers side king pin and bearings need replaced.

[57NAPCO]

Hope that goes well, doesn't seem to be to bad a job Left mine alone (kpins) cause I just didn't think they could of gone bad so soon.

[rs74]

Originally Posted by 57NAPCO

Hope that goes well, doesn't seem to be to bad a job Left mine alone (kpins) cause I just didn't think they could of gone bad so soon.

So you just did the top half?

[57NAPCO]

Just new springs and plastic bushings on the top, each side.

[1968vetL-71]

Unless the KP's are pitted or scaling bad I wouldn't replace them. Just the springs and bushings as stated above. I replace my KP's "just because" and wow what a process. Not bad if you have the tools but eat some serious wheaties!!

[crashz]

I read an article (can't remember the source) about DW and it linked it to castor issues. Any failing or misadjusted component that causes castor to be out of spec causes the phenomenon.

When I swapped the D60 in my 83 I had DW so bad I couldn't use the truck. The 6 inch lift springs had a shim that rotated the axle to relieve U joint angles. Removing the shim did a world of good.

I also had DW in the 87, but I attribute that to the crack in the frame!

[rs74]

Originally Posted by 57NAPCO

Just new springs and plastic bushings on the top, each side.

Well maybe I will do that and if the lower king pin still looks good then maybe put a new bearing in there.

[nonstop]

May I suggest rotating tires front to back? I have been in the spot of trying to cause down DW. I threw all sorts of parts at it. I finally rotated the tires, sure that was NOT it. It solved the problem - and was free.

[rs74]

Originally Posted by nonstop

May I suggest rotating tires front to back? I have been in the spot of trying to cause down DW. I threw all sorts of parts at it. I finally rotated the tires, sure that was NOT it. It solved the problem - and was free.

This the second set of rims and tires both. Still the same issue.

[greg64]

If you end up wanting to change the kingpins themselves, I saw a clever youtube video where the fellow did *not* use a monster 7/8" allen-key. Seemed like a clever technique that made it a lot easier (assuming you can weld).