Death Wobble

[chupa]

That's about the "speed" I was doing, 35mph. Another thought that came to mind was that the truck's frame broke!

 

[NCBloodhound]

My second trip more than 3 miles from home resulted in a horrific death wobble. I was going 50 and had a load of fence posts in the back and my daughter was trying to hand me some combos. I saw a pothole ahead that I couldn't avoid. I told my daughter to hold on and then I hit it. The front end shook so bad my side view mirrors folded in towards the door. I slowed to 30 and it stopped.

Thanks to sites like this I knew this was a possibility and was prepared!!!

 

[Remington9105]

I have an 86 cucv and when i hit jus the right bump is sends the thing into death wobble if anyone got any advice ill take it


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[Mullaney]

I have an 86 cucv and when i hit jus the right bump is sends the thing into death wobble if anyone got any advice ill take it


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Thinking that your problem is related to the tie-rod ends. Jack up the left front off the ground. Grab the tire on the left and right and wiggle it left to right... There should be little or no motion. While you have it jacked up, grab the tire at the top and bottom and see if you have any wiggle there too. Upper and/or control arms might be the problem there. Several guys on here have recently made those repairs and documented their work.

Wiggle in both positions could be wheel bearings.

SAFETY WARNING: Use a jack stand to avoid mashed fingers (or worse) if the jack happens to slip.

 

[adf5565]

I have an 86 cucv and when i hit jus the right bump is sends the thing into death wobble if anyone got any advice ill take it


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Redo the front end I replaced all of my front end steering components and never had this happen even when going 70 on some pretty uneven roads.

 

[nyoffroad]

Redo the front end I replaced all of my front end steering components and never had this happen even when going 70 on some pretty uneven roads.

Yup, it's not that expensive for tie rod ends and ball joint's, while your in there do the front u-joints too, you where going to repack the wheel bearings , right?
What ever you do, full up replace everthing or piecemeal, do NOT just toss a shimmy shock on there and call it good to go! That will hide the problem for awhile and the worn parts will have a tendency to break at the worst time and place. You think it's expensive now, just wait till you see the tow bill!

 

[Mainsail]

Count your blessings. It is pretty common on CUCV's from what I've seen on here. Do a quick search for death wobble and quite a few threads come up. The stabilizer and kingpin bushing and spring I mentioned seem to be the common culprits outside of tire/wheel integrity.

My '86 M1109 is all original suspension parts, with about 120K miles so far, never any wobble.

Now, I'm running LT31x10.5R15 tires and no lift. Perhaps that has something to do with it?

 

[vanaisa]

No kingpin bushings on 1009.

 

[nyoffroad]

No kingpin bushings on 1009.

Doesn't matter, ball joints wear too. Best way to avoid the 'death wobble' is lubrication. Greasing the joints won't help restore worn out parts but will help slow the wear. Every time you change the oil grab the grease gun and give a little love to all the zerks.

 

[vanaisa]

true

 

[87cr250r]

Anyways, the geometry and construction of the dana 60 axle is especially prone to death wobble. Keep your bushings in good condition. Toe in is necessary.