Hey Guys,

Have a problem that has been posted many times and I'm still chasing the dream ride........

At 55 mph+ I get the front end wobble thing goin. I have had the tires balanced and re-balanced, All new Moog steering, Solid Steels DDS & adjustable track bar, HD control arms, springs, Monroe Gas Magnum shocks (3 years old now) and new ball joints with BFB 315's. The wobble/bounce is gradually getting worse.

Theory: Are the shocks too wimpy for the tires?

Are there better shock systems to settle down and control the tires/wheels?

Thinking about Ranchos on firm setting or dual shocks.

I welcome your feedback.............

 

Make sure your wheels aren't out of round. this will create a lot of bounce even if they are only out an 1/8".

Kurt

 

What's your tire pressure?

 

do you have a hop or shake? I ask this because I found out I might have the wrong set of carli coils in the front and I cant get rid of a hop after the wheel hits a pot hole above 50mph

 

What kind of tires are you running? I'm running 285/75/16 BFG All Terrains in a load range E which I've heard are notoriously hard to balance. They would not stay balanced with lead weights. I used some of the Innovative Balancing Dynabeads and I've finally got a smooth ride. I had also replaced control arms, Thuren trackbar, DSS, replace other worn front end components and still had a vibration. Had the tires balanced several times with lead weights (which the wheels kept throwing). It was the tires for me, now that they are dynamically balanced, much, much better.

 

Thanks for the feedback............

I am running BF Goodrich All Terrain Tires 315/75/16 tire at 45 psi. The truck would look rediculous with smaller tires on it.

this bounce/shimmy has developed over the past month and I have a hunch the shocks may be going bad. When I put the new ones on 3 years ago it wasn't a smooth ride (and I have used the dynamic bead balancers.....no change).

 

Even if those are load range D tires, 45 psi sounds a little low, at least for the fronts. With the weight of the Cummins I always air up my fronts to max sidewall pressure. The tires run much cooler.

That probably has nothing to do with your bounce/shimmy problem though.

Mike

 

What about the wheel bearings?

 

I replaced new wheel bearings within the last 12 months.

There also seems to be a fair amount of tie rod end rotation from the articulation of the steering linkage. I'm wondering if the "Lukes Linkes" will really tighten up the steering. My thought is that maybe the road undulations cause the tie rods to rotate/roll cusing a small front end change causing the wobbling effect. On a perfectly newly paved highway/road there is very little to no wobble/bounce.

It's starting to drive me nuts.............

 

I'm working on a theory,
1. does the hop happen with one wheel only?
2. with truck level is the coil spring sitting perfectly flat and even in the lower spring perch? or is the end of the coil spring holding up the rest of the coil so it cant lay flat?

 

My Geolanders wander when they have more than 65#. They're golden at 65#.

AGR steering box is poor quality & a waste of $$.

 

Check the play in the steering box. Adjust or replace if needed. I just replaced everything on the front end of my truck, and i didn't et rid of the bounce/shimmy/shake/wobble at 40mph, then anything over 60ish mph. I tried all kinds of air pressure, i rotated tires, The only thing i didn't do, ( doing right as i speek) is the steering box it self. With the truck parked, not running, i reached down and grabbed the intermittint (spelling) shaft, and i could turn it back and forth over a 1/4 turn. That means your wheels could shimmy left and right through that amount of play, and you also chase the strait road with the steering wheel while you drive. I will post later if that cured my ( same as your's issue).

 

The steering box is the only thing I haven't replaced or adjusted. With 214K miles on the truck, it could very well be a factor. I'm on the road and will check this week. O2ctd4now.......I'm all ears on your follow up post.

 

From what I have gathered , if everything else is OK , then alignment using other than stock spec.s is the solution .
There was a right up on this on another forum , and then I have talked to one of the local guys here , and have gotten several saying this is the fix .
I try to find the article , one is at Geno's garage site , then the article was from TDR .

 

Thanks John, I would be very interested in the specs as it is a cheap fix that "I" don't have to do..........Ha.