Dreaded death wobble has returned... AAARRRGGGHHH!

[putz]

Isn't it nice when it is an easy fix without spending money?Tools don't count you can use them on other projects.

 

[Fire-T]

Lee, try a steering damper, worked for me

 

[Lee_in_KC]

YAY!! Wobble is gone!!

I re-set the toe-in to a smidge under 1/8", probably 3/32". It was almost 1/2"! This was from driving around yesterday and pulling over and cranking in another turn of toe-in every time it wobbled until I ran out of thread.

I also re-set the wheel bearing pre-load. I had not touched them since I built the car. The nuts were only finger tight when I pulled the caps off. So I re-set them to the standard I was taught early on... make sure the brake calipers aren't dragging, spin the wheel and tighten the nut 'til the wheel will only go around 1 to 1-1/2 turns per pull.

I drove it about two miles under the same conditions that were causing violent wobble yesterday, and there was nary a wiggle. Woohoo!!

Thanks for all the ideas, fellars!

 

[jbisme]

Glad to see it is under control. Wow that must have been a frightening ride! I'm also happy you kept it safe.

We had a triker who put a fresh set of aluminum wheels on the back of his trike. My friend that was helping him out with the rebuild reminded him to check the torque of everthing in that first 1000 miles. He failed to do it and off came the wheel, ruining his freshly custom painted fender. This fender had gorgeous lifelike flames painted on it. They looked so good, you could swear you could feel heat come off of them.

The moral of the story is check, recheck and check it out some more.

 

[Nas T]

railroad, you may have a point on tire wear. My tires were wearing on the inside more than the outside. I assume this is because I had been running about 1/8" toe out for the last year or so. This cured a previous bout of wobble I had, although it was not nearly as bad as it is now. I assume that I would need a lot of toe in to correct the uneven wear issue?

terrymac, my steering box is pretty tight. Only about 1/2" play at the steering wheel.

Jerry (Ma-n-pa-T) Cook suggested I check the pre-load on the front bearings. I'll do that this morning. If that doesn't work I'm going to start taking out caster one clevis turn at a time. I'm currently at about 5 degrees. I guess I should get an inclinometer and be more accurate. Hmmm, what time does Home Depot open on Sundays?

lee send me or put on a picture of a dead on picture of your front end, I had the same problem with Nas T 1 and it was fine for about 3000 miles and then all of a sudden it scared the livin you know what out of me and i hit the brakes and it still did it all the way till i stopped.

Oh and by the way did you see the pictures that I posted of the clevis pins i got from stroker T??? Im here to tell you that man is a unbelievable machinist absolutely awesome.

Nas T

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Hey Ron, I'll get you a pic in a few minutes. Yes, I saw your post about the clevis pins, but you said they were by SST, so I was confused. SST is Win Scott, with the all-stainless steel T (get it... SST?). So those were by StrokerT? I love George's idea about the smooth clevises, but I agree the safety wire is valuable. This comes from years of working on airplanes, where everything is safety wired. I even have two sets of safety wire pliers.

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Here are some pix. The car is leaning to the right (left in the pix) because of the shape of my driveway.

 

[putz]

That is really nice looking . You should get a chrome perch cover that would be a nice addition.JMO

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Good observation there, putzer. I actually have a stainless cover that I haven't gotten around to polishing yet... well, actually, I haven't even gotten around to fitting it. Still need to drill and tap some holes from some challenging angles. Probably will require dropping the whole front end. Maybe a winter project.

 

[putz]

I missed you in Albert lea talked with Youngster for a while. Would have been nice.

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Man, I really wanted to make Albert Lea, but I just misunderestimated the time to get my T back together. I'll be there next year fer sure. You need to build a fire under the rest of the upper midwest bucketheads. I understand there were only two or three non-Cowtown Ts there.

 

[Lee_in_KC]

...misunderestimated...

...anybody get that one?

 

[rooster57]

Isnt that a Bushism.

 

[Francis Blake]

Yep I picked up on that Lee. Hey when I get mine ready I have you line it up.

 

[donsrods]

The worst thing about DW is that it takes your confidence in your car away. You keep wondering when it will return. It's really a very frightening thing to have happen and can range from minor shaking to very violent/ almost taking the wheel out of your hands. I really hate interstates any more because that is when I have had it happen before.

Don

 

[Nas T]

Hey Ron, I'll get you a pic in a few minutes. Yes, I saw your post about the clevis pins, but you said they were by SST, so I was confused. SST is Win Scott, with the all-stainless steel T (get it... SST?). So those were by StrokerT? I love George's idea about the smooth clevises, but I agree the safety wire is valuable. This comes from years of working on airplanes, where everything is safety wired. I even have two sets of safety wire pliers.

ya i got way to many SSSSSSSS in there Kevin made them Stroker T. sorry about that.

 

[Nas T]

Here are some pix. The car is leaning to the right (left in the pix) because of the shape of my driveway.

Boy Lee that is just hard to believe with the pan hard bar and shocks and everything looks new that you would have a wobble. Now if your toe in is off on one or the other that would cause a little bit but man buy looking at it I just can see a problem there. Now I am not sure if you have seen Tim the Toolmans front end alignment post or I think it is on the tech page now, you go by that step by step that is what I did and never had a problem after that but the funny thing is I really didnt change that much but apparently just a turn made a big difference.

Oh ya by the way NICE LOOKING BUCKET.

 

[bucketkids]

Just FYI, after reading all through the thread, thinking to post a reply about how when the exact same thing happened to me in my RV and fresh tires and a steering dampener was the cure I seen the pic"s............ now the only feeling I have is envy!

 

[blownt]

my opinion is a steering dampner is just that - a dampner, not a cure. Fix the problem then you prolly will not need a steering dampner.

 

[Ted Brown]

Yes a dampner is a bandage, needs the Dr's touch first and foremost, a bit too much toe causes that problem, and sloppy connections, anywhere... Ride safe...