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Death wobble is uncontrolable now!!!

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Old Aug 29, 2007 | 07:54 PM
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Death wobble is uncontrolable now!!!

Ok, here we go, ive been fighting the dreaded death wobble now for a month. I felt a slight shimmy over a bump and decided to give the front end a once over. I found worn out ball joints so i replaced all the ball joints. Then i found one loose inner tie rod and replaced it. Also i replaced a whell bearing on the passenger side. The power stewering box is new 5k ago, and the shocks have about 7k as they went on with the leveling kit. Alignment done about 3k ago. Also a new track bar was installed less than 10 miles ago.

What else could this be???? I have checked the trailing arm bushings and they are slightly worn, but in good shape. Once i reach about 45-65 any slight bump no matter the size will set it off. I am running out of patience and money. Any help will be greatly appreciated. BTW the truck is not driveable anymore its gotten so bad...
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Old Aug 29, 2007 | 08:08 PM
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Check over your front tires and see if any belts have shifted or if any deformations exist. Either way, try rotating your back tires to the front. If it is still there, perhaps your steering stabilizer is shot. Yes the stabilizer is not the main cure for death wobble, but with everything you've replaced, you might as well see if it helps to throw a new one on there. Also, do a search on caster numbers and check them against your alignment specs. Some shops can be a little shady on their alignments, so you should double check their numbers.

Good Luck, I know how frusterating it can be!
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Old Aug 29, 2007 | 08:34 PM
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what brand and size tire are you running? Most importantly, are they "E" rated?
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Old Aug 29, 2007 | 09:50 PM
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tires are 315/70/17, they are h2's. I did noice he wear patern is a little screwy. Im supposed to be buying a seton new 315/70/17s this week or so. I plan on also replacing the tie rods that have seemed to be fine. and then ill try a stabalizer. his will all be done as the mone comes in. and then trailing arm bushings and possibly another alignment.
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Old Aug 29, 2007 | 10:10 PM
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In other posts I have seen a lot of people get the DW when the tires were shot. The new tires may fix the problem for now.
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Old Aug 29, 2007 | 11:22 PM
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Just my opinion here, but if you get the new tires and it still does it, have the alignment rechecked and get a printout of the results. Usually places will do it for free, and if you take it to the shop that did the alignment I would hope that they could take 5 minutes and check it again for customer satisfaction.
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Old Sep 1, 2007 | 08:31 PM
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alrighty. I have this thing some what figured out but not at all. LMAO, The wobble is up and down, not side to side. I unloaded the suspension and everything was tight. Re torqued the pitman arm nut... checked the wheel bearings nothing. But i put in in 4x4 and it hopped at idle. I played with the 4x4 and the hopp went away. Played, meanig i took a cover off the axle and checked the collar. I made sure it was ok, and the hopp stopped. No the wheels seem to be binding, which seems to be whats causing it. I think that might be something to do with it.' also the drivers front binds when turning right.


Now the last thing i did that really made this issue come out was i replaced the axle u joint. and axle seal on the passenger side. I checked over those and it looked good.
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Old Sep 1, 2007 | 08:55 PM
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I cant remember... is there a LSD in the front diff?
Id check your trackbar and most importantly find a good dual shock steering damper to put on there. The one I got seems to have tamed the DW I have. Large tires make DW a lot worse.
Check your trackbar. Any popping noises or thuds under your left foot?
Do a search for the magic alignment numbers. there was a post about that awhile back. You may have to throw even more caster at it before DW is gone. Some folks say as much as five degrees. 3.5 is a good starting point.
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Old Sep 1, 2007 | 09:14 PM
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i have a brand new track bar! And such.... its really annoying
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Old Sep 1, 2007 | 09:51 PM
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i had a problem somewhat like this on a 93 ford ranger turned out the shocks had a "dead spot" in them. if they travelled beyond the dead spot they were fine if they compressed past the bad spot they were fine. i also went through the whole front end before finding the problem. i contacted the shock manufacturer, remain nameless, and they told me it was impossible the problem could be the shocks. we argued back and forth about the situation and i asked them if they would buy me a new set of shocks if that indeed fixed the problem... needless to say i didn't have to pay for the new shocks...
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Old Sep 2, 2007 | 09:38 AM
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alrighty ill check those out, right now, im actually on my laptop looking at the truck.
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Old Sep 2, 2007 | 11:16 AM
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i did the same thing, good steering stabilizer fixed mine...
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Old Sep 2, 2007 | 11:38 AM
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alrighty newest update. I pulled the front shocks and they are good, pulled the stabilzer it is in perfect working order. The last job i did on the truck before the bounce began was the passenger front axle seal. So i pulled the wheel bearings and axles out. All i could find wrong was a leaking drivers seal.

Again, here are the symptoms as best i can describe them:
At the speeds between 50 and 70 i found that hitting any kind of bump on the highway my truck will start to "bounce". The movement is up and down, NOT SIDE TO SIDE. It kinda feels as if the wheels ae binding.



RECENT REPAIRS DONE TO TRUCK:
Passenger side axle u joint, passenger axle seal, passenger wheel bearing, balljoints on both sides, drivers inner tierod, track bar then alignment, shocks(8,000miles).
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Old Sep 2, 2007 | 12:11 PM
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if you are somehow locked in 4x4 you have described it(front axel binding). you said you checked the front collar and it went away. mabey you unlocked it and it slid back in. check front drive line is free to rotate with trany in gear and xcase in netural.
Clark
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Old Sep 2, 2007 | 12:59 PM
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the axles are free spining. I find that the seal ius going to be a pita. im going to wat to do it until i have more time. I dont know where to go with it, i cant find anything physically obvious wronge... argggg
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