Death Wobble and future plans

[Cucvnut]

put the truck on jack stands. the king pins are on top of the knuckle on the front axle(dana 60) you can use 3/8 washers on top of the plastic bushing between that and the spring.

here is a better explanation.

Pirate4x4.Com - Extreme Four Wheel Drive

 

[EF-5]

Good deal! Also I have another question that has been brewing in my mind. I have read every thread about swapping a 5.9 Cummins into the M1008. Especially Kroatan Kid's build on his other site. So here is my first question.

If I bought a Cummins with a transmission already connected, do I need to worry about programming the transmission, or does that depend on the year model? I'm just a little confused on that matter. I have been looking at a setup with a low mileage/hour Cummins with a monster Allison behind it for what looks like a reasonable price (I'm selling my sport bike to help with the funds lol) . What would need to be done with the two as far syncing them up, or are they good to go?

Also I understand that most Allison's need a divorced transfer case. Is there anyway I could possibly use my transfer case and make it divorced? Or something like that.

I have two close friends that are diesel mechanics with two machine shops, and I'm going to talk to them tomorrow about the project. I know cross members must be made to hold the drive train in place. I am also going to go with the 4" lift because I understand the oil pan of the Cummins won't clear if you have anything less.

I don't know when this project will actually start, or if it will at all, but it's something that I'm interested in, and I think I can learn a lot of useful information from it.

 

[EF-5]

Alright, so tomorrow I am going to attempt to cure my death wobble. I have the kingpin springs and bushings (along with washers), the moog steering damper (I replaced some of the hardware it came with with grade , and the local tire shop is expecting me.

Hopefully, this wont take too long, and will be the end of the death wobble! It's been a good month since I could drive the truck on the road. I'm pretty excited to get this fixed!

 

[Shrapnel]

I wouldn't worry much about lifting your truck unless you plan to do some real off-roading. For storm chasing and street driving I'd keep it as low as possible. I have 37's on mine with no lift and no rubbing issues (major fender trim, though). I know somebody on here ran some skinny 38's with no lift. There's a lot of room available for those willing to go under the knife...

 

[EF-5]

Nice truck! I like that flat black. I don't mind going under the knife. I actually already trimmed, but I want to smooth the edges out. The reason I'm going with the 4" lift is to fit the 5.9 Cummins. I think it can be done with out the lift, but the cross member is really close to the front axle.

I do agree that being lower is better (also a lot has to do with the shape of the vehicle), but I'm not too worried about it. Tornadoes are very peculiar. You can actually get pretty close without being tossed (Depending on intensity of the tornado). Directly in the center of circulation is very violent, but the outer circulation is not too bad. I also don't plan being close, just observing.

Tim Samaras chases tornadoes in a GMC Sierra. Last season he had a utility bed on his truck, and was almost the same height as your truck. He got very very close. Occasionally not on purpose lol. I'm not too worried about though.

But seriously your truck looks awesome!!

 

[EF-5]

I am trying to rebuild the driver side kingpin, but the cap wont come off at all. The bolts have been removed? I read it's supposed to pop up already??

Any pointers??

 

[Cucvnut]

BFH and a pry bar.

 

[EF-5]

I got it about an two hours ago lol. The death wobble is cured though!!! Made some awesome progress today. Got the tires balanced. They were so far off. It took 3 lbs between the four tires to make them run true. Rebuilt the king pin and preloaded it with one hardened grade 8 washer on each spring. And finally added the huge MOOG steering stabilizer. It made a huge difference.

So now it's time to start saving up for the 4" lift, and then on to the Cummins and 47rh.

 

[Hightechken]

put the truck on jack stands. the king pins are on top of the knuckle on the front axle(dana 60) you can use 3/8 washers on top of the plastic bushing between that and the spring.

here is a better explanation.

Pirate4x4.Com - Extreme Four Wheel Drive

Thanks for that link! Very well done with great photos helps a lot.

 

[EF-5]

I took the truck out today and got it up to about 65mph. No death wobble, but it did start to vibrate pretty good at that speed. It was almost as if it was trying to death wobble, but a little bit different. I still feels like it might be coming from my wheels. I have an opportunity to buy aluminum rims that will fit the HMMWV tires. I do have run flats. If i take the run flat insert out and get my tires mounted to the aluminum rims, will it improve that vibration at higher speeds?

 

[Cucvnut]

It could . How are your shocks?

 

[EF-5]

Probably as bas as my steering damper was lol. There was zero resistance on that thing. It was shot.