Dang death wobble

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Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:10 am

Hey, it's not dangerously bad (most times) but super unpleasant. Tires are cupping. The outsides of tires are noticeably more worn than the insides (I think too much camber). Had them balanced again (only had 15k on them) and the best tire was 3 oz out :shock: Maybe shook off some wheel weights? Wobble is still there, it's worst between 38 and 42 mph, while going straight. Hit the right bump at the right speed while going around a corner, and I almost can't keep it out of the ditch.

Questions being,

1. Who's had front end issues and what caused them
2. Anyone have bad experiences with cooper AT3's
(Truck didnt have any issues until 5k after these tires were put on)
3. Is there a way to adjust camber at all?
4. Have I done damage from driving it like this for a few weeks?
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
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Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby CumminsPower59 » Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:34 am

Have you checked the king pins, springs and bushings? The lower bearings rarely go out, but if anything is not in fair shape, the wobble can occur. Camber/caster are fixed on these truck with stock parts. There are aftermarket adjustable king pin bushings and the like if need be, but having good kingpins and correct toe in/out can help out a lot.
Ike

91 W350 SRW, 3.07's, NV4500, 370's, THD LPPP, Super HX40, 2nd gen IC swap, BHAF, Isspro's, 2" lift, 285's on 3rd gen 17"'s.
04 VW Jetta Wagon TDI 5speed
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby RumbleFish » Thu Nov 19, 2015 1:44 pm

Ill 2nd what Ike said and add that the cause of death wobble on my truck was a bad draglink.
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby matthewh » Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:35 pm

3oz is alot of weight for one tire. Possible you have a bent rim, or the tire shop didn't give two huh? when they installed the tire. Alot of times you can dismount the tire and move it around the rim to help offset alot of weight in one spot.
My last set of steers I had issues with cupping , ended up being crappy tires, plus, if you do alot of tight turns, especially on asphalt I've noticed it wears the edges down faster.
Other issue I had was bad/stuck axle u joints. It made the truck hard to steer, and real darty in the curves,like a bad king pin. U joints were bad, and they naturally rotate, even with the hubs unlocked. Just the right spot and it got real interesting
'93 W350 5spd Getrag, 4.10 gears, 83k miles and counting, Mods: LPPP AKA Ma Dually
'54 Dodge M37 6.2/700R4/205, 5.89 gears, WC rear axle
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:46 am

Really great info guys thanks. I'm also wondering about maybe a broken belt in a tire or something.

I haven't checked the kingpin bushings, I'm really uneducated when it comes to front end stuff :( Im going to learn more about them though and I will check them.

The worst tire was 6.5 oz out
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:48 am

I can check the drag link though :lol:
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby Jamesdeere24 » Fri Nov 20, 2015 4:38 pm

I recently fixed my death wobble two months ago. Mine also began around the same speed you were explaining.
If you aren't comfortable with front end work, you may want to go ahead and get yourself a shop manual for these trucks.
The CD version of the shop manual is pretty fair... around 35 bucks.
Anyway as far as my fix went.
I replaced a lot of worn front end parts to stiffen up the steering and fix the wobble:
Parts:
-New Upper KingPin bushings on both sides
-new seals
-new gaskets
-new tie rod ends
-new drag link
-borgeson steering shaft

All of these new joints... especially the bushings, tie rod ends, and drag link really fixed the problem.
The new rubber and grease made the front end much tighter and is wayyyyy better than the rotted out old original stuff that was worn.

If I were you, spend the money to do it right, because having tight steering is a lovely thing and well worth it.
Right behind good brakes hahah!
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Fri Nov 20, 2015 6:23 pm

O I'm feeling motivated now. Thanks for sharing yall's issues/fixes, I've got ideas to tackle now and the smoke starts rolling.
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:26 pm

Been looking at kingpin rebuild kits and how to's and I think Im going to try and do it. Any other tips before I attempt this?
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby matthewh » Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:28 pm

IIRC, the FSM calls for the kingpin nut to be torqued to 600ft pounds, so keep that in mind, you may need to rent a hefty torque wrench, or figure out the redneck way of doing it, with leverage and such
'93 W350 5spd Getrag, 4.10 gears, 83k miles and counting, Mods: LPPP AKA Ma Dually
'54 Dodge M37 6.2/700R4/205, 5.89 gears, WC rear axle
matthewh
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:31 pm

:shock: I guess I need to take advantage of my heavy equipment/diesel shop class then :bounce:
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby jmos4 » Wed Feb 03, 2016 3:33 am

Hi,

Worn out parts can be the issue, also tire psi can add to it, I know I've gotten vibrations from running low tire psi on several trucks.

You don't list your tire size, but if larger tire you might want to try tire beads instead of wheel weights, also if really large tire and wheels there is a trick to increasing the king pin spring rate basically adding shims behind the spring in the king pins, I saw it on a mudder site long ago but something like .010 is supposed to stiffen up the front end, maybe Google death wobble Dana 60 someone else might know more

Regards,
Jim
1992 Dodge 250 4 x 4
currently 360 TBI
NV4500, NP241
Dana 60's 4.10 gears
soon to be Cummins powered

1989 D250
Cummins NV4500 (Donor)
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Wed Feb 03, 2016 11:15 am

Thanks jmos, pizza cuttin 235/85r16. I have read a little on shimming the kingpin springs but did not know about the .010 thickness. I've got new springs, bushings, and gaskets that ill be putting on soon.

While back, the wobble got so bad that I tried swapping my spare on the left front to see if there were tire issues. Is smoothed out A LOT. However, 2 weeks ago that spare blew the sidewall and I had to swap the "problem" tire back on. I braced myself for teeth chattering, but it was smooth as could be. I have no clue why but I haven't had any wobbling in the past 2 weeks.
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby jmos4 » Thu Feb 04, 2016 5:41 am

Hi again,

That does sound weird, could you have had loose lug nuts or maybe something that got between the rim and rotor?

I had a Chevy years age with 30's that would wobble so bad the front tires would come off the ground at 55, talk about scary, I did later find a busted leaf spring bolt.

Good luck with it.

Regards,
Jim
1992 Dodge 250 4 x 4
currently 360 TBI
NV4500, NP241
Dana 60's 4.10 gears
soon to be Cummins powered

1989 D250
Cummins NV4500 (Donor)
jmos4
fuel pin?
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 4:50 pm
Location: Imlay City, MI
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Re: Dang death wobble

Postby spencerdiesel » Thu Feb 04, 2016 5:54 am

I do believe that the torque stick had something to do with it. Because that's how they were put on before hand
1992 W250, 5 speed, 4.10, Ext. cab Ext. bed, 12.5k winch, 75 gal. fuel tank

H1C/18

Fuel: THD 6x10 VCO sticks, THD 12 psi piston pump, THD fuel pin, 366 spring, fuel screw 2 turns in, timing to the head/ >1/4”
Muffler delete

Minimum 60% WMO full time since Sep. 2018
spencerdiesel
14mm rotor
 
Posts: 1106
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:02 pm
Location: Brevard, NC
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