The dreaded "death wobble"...
- Thread starter Mark23T
- Start date
Hackerbilt
Active Member
Keep in mind that its the box that has to be centered.
The location of the steering wheel comes after that and can only be adjusted by moving the steering wheel at the column if possible or by reclocking any column shaft joints etc.
Never adjust the steering wheel clocking by adjusting the drag link...not even a tiny bit.
MovingViolation
Member
Although I've never experienced the death wobble, I have had a condition I call basketballing or wheel tramp. It was so severe at 42mph that I could actually see daylight under the front tires. I had initially run about 12 lbs. pressure in the front and rear tires in an effort to use the soft tires as a device to create a softer ride. Sort of like using the side walls for their spring rate. The ride was pretty good but the wheel tramp was terrifying. After trying all other quick fixes, toe in/out, wheel bearings castor, I tried bumping my front tire pressure up to 22 psi with positive results. It runs all the way up to 65mph without any issues. The rear have been raise up to 22psi as well but the ride has become a lot more harsh, although the addition of a passenger improves it significantly. FYI, I use old Ford lever shocks at full rebound damping (their adjustable) and filled them them with CV joint grease.
JetMech727
Active Member
Has the tire balance been rechecked recently as well as for flat spots? Road force balancing can fix several front end issues. If adding air helped then that might indicate a tire that has a flat spot.
JetMech727
Active Member
MovingViolation
Member
Yes, you are correct. It looks like the front end is pivoting on the spring perch. I do have front shod as noted in my original replay. Thanks for the inquiry.
Driver50x
Member
Just a word of warning about adjusting steering gear boxes. Make small adjustments (an 1/8th of a turn makes a difference). Be careful not to ever tighten it. An over tight gear box drives worse than a loose one. If you get it too tight the car will really “wander” when going down the road. If you get that feeling, loosen it back up a little.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
I have had death wobble on a bike (kz1000) at 140 mph... very scary. Almost impossible to hold the bars and control it. You need room to bring it back down. Bias ply tire and uneven fork oil levels were the culprit... at least addressing them corrected it. Many factors on a car, several combinations could create it.
Death Wobble SOLVED!
Rebuilding the steering box slowed it down from "turn on the flashers and pull over", to a simple (but frequent) shake that would go away by simply hitting the brakes. Chased that little shimmy down to the alignment shop, hoping that maybe it was a toe in issue or something else simple and everything was spot on... The guy at the alignment shop thought it was the tires (no balance weights, etc...).
Radial front runners and M/T bias ply Sportsmans on the back. Did some reading that suggested the radial/bias ply combo was bad.
Spoke with a local "race tire set-up specialist" on the phone and he said the radial/bias ply set-up would only come in to play at freeway speeds, and that would be more of a drifting issue than a shimmy like I was getting. He went on to say that the big back tires would push the front runners around a bit, but not enough to cause that kind of wobble. He asked how old the front tires were and suggested that they were most likely the culprit. He installed a new set of 165R15's and hit the nail on the head with his diagnosis.
For less than the price of rebuilding a steering box (lol), this thing drives like a whole new car!
Thanks to all for your input. Hopefully something in this thread will save another newbie (like me) from pulling their hair out chasing down a wobble!
Rebuilding the steering box slowed it down from "turn on the flashers and pull over", to a simple (but frequent) shake that would go away by simply hitting the brakes. Chased that little shimmy down to the alignment shop, hoping that maybe it was a toe in issue or something else simple and everything was spot on... The guy at the alignment shop thought it was the tires (no balance weights, etc...).
Radial front runners and M/T bias ply Sportsmans on the back. Did some reading that suggested the radial/bias ply combo was bad.
Spoke with a local "race tire set-up specialist" on the phone and he said the radial/bias ply set-up would only come in to play at freeway speeds, and that would be more of a drifting issue than a shimmy like I was getting. He went on to say that the big back tires would push the front runners around a bit, but not enough to cause that kind of wobble. He asked how old the front tires were and suggested that they were most likely the culprit. He installed a new set of 165R15's and hit the nail on the head with his diagnosis.
For less than the price of rebuilding a steering box (lol), this thing drives like a whole new car!
Thanks to all for your input. Hopefully something in this thread will save another newbie (like me) from pulling their hair out chasing down a wobble!
Winner right there ^^^
Somehow I missed the part about adding air... I read on another thread here about airing down to change some effects, and the thing was all but un-drivable when I went from 30psi to 20psi in the front. Didn't connect the dots!!
JetMech727
Active Member
Glad you got it figured out Mark.
Similar threads
