muddfildvaynes Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 So i put my pathy in the air today because it has had the death wobble for about a week, while looking I checked the tie rods on both sides, ball joints, and wheel bearings. The only thing I found was the outer tie rod on the driver side was a little loose so I changed it thinking that would help the problem. It didn't, I can't think of what else it could be, it has a new inner tierod on the driver side and now a new outer, the ball joint on the passenger side is brand new and the outer tie rod on that side is new; both wheel bearing are new. It mainly does it when I go above 40mph and sometimes at lower speeds. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Steering rack bushings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 The death wobble on these trucks as always been because of the rear trailing arm bushings (usually the lower ones)... Check them carefully, the rubber inside is most likely thorned or cracked. The front tie-rods will most likely do a bang noise on small bumps, but not wobble as far as I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Steering rack bushings? They are brand new, put them in when I put in the SFD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 The death wobble on these trucks as always been because of the rear trailing arm bushings (usually the lower ones)... Check them carefully, the rubber inside is most likely thorned or cracked. The front tie-rods will most likely do a bang noise on small bumps, but not wobble as far as I know. No this is the front tires that have the death wobble; the rear is tight. When it happens because I got to see it when I had my brother drive my pathy and I drove behind him, the tire wobbles left to right violently and not up and down. It almost feels like a ball joint but it is brand new on the passenger side and still good on the driver side. I have no clue what it is, I will put it in the air again and try to see what else it could be but when I looked at it everything was tight other than the outer tie rod I replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Maybe tire balance? I have a slight shake due to tire imbalance but it is by no means violent. And you can destroy a balljoint, check them for play even if they are relatively new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 So there is no play in the wheel when you have it in the air and grab the tire? I had loose wheel bearings that cause the front end to act funny. I know you said they are new but hey @!*% happens right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 The wheel bearings are tight and the ball joints are good when I looked at them/ruled them out, and yes it shakes violently at 45mph but then goes away when I brake and slow down. I have a little shake because of my tires but they are A/T's and alot better than my Super Swampers.... IDK what it would do if I put them back on, I took them off because they are not the best winter tire. I will most likely check everything out all over again. Maybe the control arm bushings? I will look at them.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 could this be related to your front ujoint ?? have a small try by removing your front driveshaft and have a test drive... S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 could this be related to your front ujoint ?? have a small try by removing your front driveshaft and have a test drive... S. Couldn't be, I have manual hubs and they are unlocked at all times unless I am on the trail or going through snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adventure51 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Dude, I went through the same thing about 4 months after I installed my 2" lift. (Haven't installed the SFD yet) When I would drive I thought my friggin wheel was going to fall off. I replace the balljoint, then checked the wheel bearings and still couldn't figure it out. I kept over looking the suspension cause it was brand new. Turns out I blew a strut. If you have the dust covers on the strut, pull it up while someone else stands inside the door while holding onto the roof rack. Have them rock the truck from side to side while you look at the strut. I was pissed when I found this out because I had already replace the balljoint that had nothing wrong with it. Problem was I screwed it up removing it so I had to install the new balljoint. Oh well. Live and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 what are the symptoms of a blown strut? I will check everything over again this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adventure51 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 what are the symptoms of a blown strut? I will check everything over again this weekend. The front right wheel sounded like something broke. I was camping in Colorado offroad when it happened and I didn't think I was going to get down the mountain. If I grabbed the wheel on the top and pulled it towards me it would move in and out (this is if I'm facing the side of the tire) with a clunking sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 I know mine is tight in that movement, no clunking sound just a severe wobble left to right when going above 40mph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 bad wheel balancing ?? or bent rim ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 it is hard to balance big wheels to begin with, yet alone keep them balanced; but I know mine are balanced and rims are ok and know the normal ammount of vibrations I usually get from them and this is far greater. I am leaning towards the lower control arm bushings.... but it will be sat or sunday until I can have a look see at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 make sure to let everyone know when you find it. This one seems like tough one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerfra Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I have a 1998 with the "death Wobble" twice. First time it was the lower control arm rear bushings, both sides. replaced them and all ok for a bit, then it came back about 3 weeks later. i could not figure it out at all, I got everything from suspension to alignment checked. all good. wheel bearings tight etc. I put the from wheels on the balancer and AHA! broken belt in the left front tire. Made is all go squirmy and shake like a bugger at any speed above 25km/h. Replaced tire and all is smoooooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 ^ this happened to me with my old BFG AT's. I had 5 so I rode the spare for a bit then gave them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 hmm.... well the only other tires i have is swampers...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgallant Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Check your rotors too, of one got warped it will cause that kind of vibration, rare but I have seen a time or too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerfra Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 be worth trying your other tires to see if it is the tires, or even just switch them front to back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) Well I put my pathy on the lift today and did a full inspection of the drivetraine.... And what I found explains the death wobble and some work that I need to do to get it back into shape. As for the wobble it had nothing to do with the ball joints and tierods, it seems that the two bolts on my SFD brackets holding it to the body/subframe keep coming loose as I have had to tighten them down. They have some mud caked between the bracket and bottom of the body/subframe so I am going to have to unbolt it and clean that out. Also like I was suspecting the bushings in my lower control arm on the pass side is shot, so it will need to be replaced. As for the SFD I have some 3/8 sheet steel so I am most likely going to cut some pieces out and weld the brackets between the brackets and body/subframe and reinforce it with some sheet steel and gusset it. I am going to make sure this never happens again. Don't let this dicourage you from doing a SFD by no means because these brackets have held up to the tremendous ammounts of stress I have thrown at them until now... It is just time for me to make them stronger because of the ammount of abuse I put my pathy through. I also found out that the bushings in the upper links of my 4link are finally on there way out, they are pretty much barely there. The wheel bearing on the driver side needs to be tightened up, and my transmission needs to be flushed. I am going to order all thge bushings I need probably poly split bushings for the 4link and what should I do about my lower control arm bushings.... is 4x4parts.com the only place to get these or would anyone know anywhere else will other bushings for other vehicles that are cheaper work? Ebay? Edited March 6, 2011 by muddfildvaynes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift220 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Which bolts are coming loose on the brackets? With blue loctite and no lock washers, mine have stayed tight. The grade 8 9/16" FT bolts I supplied should be torqued to 150-160 ft-lbs. The 7/16" around 60-70 ft-lbs. Most torque wrenches won't even show 160 ft-lbs! Make sure to take some pics of the fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 the 2 upper bolts on the rear brackets, i have tightened them about 4 times and I am just going to weld the brackets now and gusset them. They stay tight until I take it wheeling and that is pretty much all I do with it nowadays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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