cure for death wobble on stock m1028

[hokie8358]

was wondering were to start looking first on this issue. i ve always heard of it and people have asked me have i encountered this before, no until now! was traveling down road bout 45mph and it hit. thought the front end was coming out from undernreath it. about 5 miles down road going into a turn at about 35-40mph it hit again. can anyone help me with this problem and whats the quick fix if any? thanks

 

[319]

Do a search on Death Wobble. Then check the obvious, tires, lug nuts, bearings, and so on. Seems most common issue is worn king pin bushings and or king pin springs.

 

[USAWEAPON777]

Most all say its the kingpin bushings and spring. I have the same issue. I replaced my steering stabilizer and the old one was definately shot. I have new kingpin springs and bushings coming in the mail. You can purchase them from offroad design.

 

[hokie8358]

yeah i have not gotten in depth with it alot yet. i got it from GL bout 3 months ago and it has only 37,000 orig miles. i figured with as good as shape as it was in there wouldn't be to many problems. boy was i wrong! i ve driven it several times b 4 with no issues. thanks for reply

 

[scrambled]

I has 33000 on my 1008 when I started to notice the death wobble. The previous owner had replaced the weel bearings and steering stabilizer. The kingpin bushings were shot and the springs were a little sagged, and the steel kingpins were worn enough that new bushings would not seat on them. It is worth it to replace the kingpins and the lower bearing when doing the bushings and springs.

Travis

 

[USAWEAPON777]

Yeah miles on these trucks don't really mean much. Yeah that death wobble gets your attention pretty good lol. I remember the first time it happened to me i was doing 55 on the freeway. Definate pucker factor on that one.

 

[hokie8358]

oh no doubt i could only imagine at 55-60mph! i d probably be in the E R OR cleaning my jeans out one! lol . i ll start bright and early fri on taking look at the king pins. any idea whats the best quality and best price for these parts? and sum where i dont have to order and wait. thanks again for all replys! you guys are the guru s

 

[USAWEAPON777]

hmmm idk where to purchase them otherwise beside ORD. I'm sure somoene can chime in who does. There pretty cheap though, the springs and bushings were 20 some dollars from ORD.
p.s: Is that your truck in the sig? If so it looks great. what lift and tires do you have?

 

[rnd-motorsports]

I would buy this kit i needed Dana 60 Kingpin Springs and Bushings Kits from Offroad Design 4x4 Parts will find it hard to beat price! replace And check the bushings in the front springs stock are rubber bet they are wore out mainly the rear of front spring and the shackle are the worst for about $40 bucks get a energy suspension bushing kit part number 3-2105R for red or 3-2105G for black check steering dampener if stock its most likely bad also check tie rods replace as necessary! the lower king pin bearings Unless mud bogged and left in water/mud should be fine. in my 20+ years I have not seen any bad on a norm truck. not bad to check but I would bet they are fine. My last truck had 15867 miles on it and the king pin top springs were bad bushings in springs were worst then bad and steering dampener was just for looks and at about 35 40 mph if you hit a bump or hit brakes a bit hard hold on to your a@@ ! these should fix you up

 

[Bighurt]

Bias ply tires will enhance a worn front ends wobble. Service the front end like suggested and balance the tires with Equal. It is awesome even in radials.

 

[Djfreema]

My M1028 had death wobble at 35 mph. I did a bunch of reading and started with the cheapest possible fix first which was king pin bushings. Replaced them and it didn't change anything. Then I came across some 80% tread bfg all terrain tires on aluminum rims. Swapping out the tires and wheels fixed the problem. I think the heavy steel wheels and old tires have alot to do with it. This is the 3rd vehicle I have had a death wobble problem with and changing the old tires out has fixed the problem every time. I'm sure worn front end components are contributing factors as well but old out of round, unbalanced rotted tires are probably the main culprit.

 

[DokWatson]

Could be:
Shackle bushings
Leaf spring bushings
Sway bar bushings
Tie rod ends
Draglink
Pitman arm
Loose steering box
Loose steering arm
Unbalanced tires
Improper castor
Improper toe in/out
Steering stabilizer
Kingpin spring/bushing
Improper wheel bearing pre-load

 

[Iceman3005]

Could be:
Shackle bushings
Leaf spring bushings
Sway bar bushings
Tie rod ends
Draglink
Pitman arm
Loose steering box
Loose steering arm
Unbalanced tires
Improper castor
Improper toe in/out
Steering stabilizer
Kingpin spring/bushing
Improper wheel bearing pre-load

both my m1008 developed the death wobble within 6 months after I got them, replaced all the tierod ends in steering, problem fixed.

 

[hokie8358]

the answer to your question from last night on my truck, the tires are 39.5 swampers tsl, 6in skyjacker lift, and 2in body lift. thanks for the reply and info on wobble.

 

[SETOYOTA]

new steering stabilizer fixed mine.

 

[MakersTeleMark]

kingpin springs/cups (ORD) and steering stabilizer fixed mine.

 

[ralbelt]

replaced the stabilizer and rotated the tires cured mine.

 

[tatra813]

first with those big tires you should convert to overhead steering setup. This will change out a lot of those worn parts in question anyway and make a WAY better steering setup for your truck.

Warped rotors will really set off the wobble also.
My truck had it and it will scare the crap out of you at 55mph very violent!!

 

[WARWAG]

After the last few days of shooting video for our show with the Stock M1028 I noticed a slight begining of a wobble in the front end. Ive been putting quite a few miles on rough rocky trails at SLOW speeds but never the less allot of weight has been going back and forth on each wheel. No death wobble yet and I only take her up to about 50 mph on the highway. I do have the O.R.D. kit and will be swapping them in Sunday. It sounds like I dont want to experience the "Death Wobble!" Let us know what it was!

 

[hokie8358]

absolutely i will be getting back in next couple of days with the results of my findings. thanks for all the input. very resourceful