Deathwobble fixed and back again, help!

[HardCorps79]

AJM- thanks for your consistent advice on the nefarious death-wobble. My wife's mini-van actually had this problem. She was worried we were going to have to fork over a bunch of money for alignment, wheel bearing, steering gears, etc. I took one look at the front tires and the problem was obvious. She hadn't been checking the air and they had seriously uneven wear. Bought a new set and amazingly the problem disappeared. Also bought her a new tire guage to keep in her purse . I've learned to always look for the simplest, most obvious issue first. Thanks again.

 

[Mudstone]

i think i need new shocks... any reccomendations? for my 1009? Are they civilian equivilent with another 85 blazer?

 

[Cucvnut]

yes civi shocks will work u can get stockers or after market, you can get ranchos or edelbrocks for a stock lift if its lifted i would go with bilstein


also people with death wobble and it happens only on breaking you might have a warped rotor

 

[AJMBLAZER]

NAPA's truck shocks are excellent for a stocker.

 

[BEASTMASTER]

the FIRST thing to do is check the pressure in the tires. then look for a bad tire. my 5 ton did that when i first got it.one tire was 40 lds and the other was 55 lds. put both up to 65 lds and that cured the wobble. good luck

 

[dieselpony]

Since this thread comes to life again and because i can't find it already mentioned, i want to say that old/bad king pin bushings and springs could cause dw as well. If worn or when mounting oversized tires the original setup isn't enough and you should give more preload by adding a washer (start with 0,5" thickness) on top of each king pin spring.
With my 37" tires, new springs last about a year then i need to shim them. Bushings are looking quite well after that time.

Walter

 

[4bogginchevys]

well, rather than start a new thread I figure i'll piggy back this one......

Today my 1008 started the wobble from some very minoot* bumps on the road, speed limit about 35....slowed down and it went away
A little later driving about 50 I hit the brakes for a stop light and it wobbled worse that ever, but you cant let off the brakes of course, I barely made it home it was doing it so bad!
I checked tire pressures...50 psi all around
The only thing different is I greased the whole front end a couple days ago.....i'll check tie-rod/drag link, all the obvious stuff, and then i'll let you all know what I find........

 

[4bogginchevys]

drag link is really bad....with a little shake of the wheel it seems fine, but when I had the wife really work it(no pun intended) it would move side to side/ up and down in it's socket, both front and rear of the drag link....the drivers side of the tie-rod is just starting to show movement but I think it'll be fine for a while....

 

[markinnh]

with both wheels off the ground and on stands (safety first) crouch facing the pass side front wheel, grab the tire with both hands at three o clock and push and pull (not knocking the truck off the stands) if there is much play, follow the procedure for adjusting the box in the manuals...or unlock the nut and screw in the allen head screw until the play goes away, lock the nut back down, and then try the turning the wheels back and forth a few times (to check for box lock) Note if this is over adjusted the box may lock and also may not come back to center. But after many days of scary death wobles, I adjusted the box and its like a different truck...good luck

 

[SmokeyDod]

How can you use different size tires (rims) on front and back and not have a problem when you put it in 4WD. ??? Front and back should be same size. This won't affect the death wobble but will give your drive train _____ especially if on aspalt road.

 

[linx310]

My M38a1 also had a death wobble...I replaced every thing...steering box, tie rods, ball joints, drag links, etc. Could not get it to go away...

Turns out my tires were out of balance...took them to a tire shop had them balanced and the problem went away.

 

[1stSarge]

with both wheels off the ground and on stands (safety first) crouch facing the pass side front wheel, grab the tire with both hands at three o clock and push and pull (not knocking the truck off the stands) if there is much play, follow the procedure for adjusting the box in the manuals...or unlock the nut and screw in the allen head screw until the play goes away, lock the nut back down, and then try the turning the wheels back and forth a few times (to check for box lock) Note if this is over adjusted the box may lock and also may not come back to center. But after many days of scary death wobles, I adjusted the box and its like a different truck...good luck

Or at 3:00 O’clock and 9:00 O’clock
This will also reveal bad tie rod ends…
12:00 and 6:00 O’clock will reveal bad ball joints...

 

[Dabba]

Got it fixed awhile ago guys, old thread. Thanks for the extra tips though, sure itll help someone else.

 

[mistaken1]

Got it fixed awhile ago guys, old thread. Thanks for the extra tips though, sure itll help someone else.

Tires?

 

[Dabba]

Think it was between them and the steering stabilizer.