damn 2" spacer!

[CATCRACKER]

i need help. i think some of you had the same issue. i have the 2" spacer and 315's when cruising about 75 and i hit a good bump in the road my front left wheel begins to jump up and down violently almost to the point of loosing control of the truck. it is down right scary i think you had the same thing happen. what is wrong with my truck? It shows no signs of anything being wrong until going at least 70 and you hit a sharp bump on a smooth road. i am trying to sell the truck and want it to be perfect for the buyer. help!

 

[DPelletier]

What about removing the spacer. I'm sure I've seen members with 315's and no spacer. Did you have the front end re-aligned after the spacer was installed?



Dave

 

[BigCarl64]

Same thing happened on my 2001 truck after adding the 2" front spacers. Scared the **** outta me!! I sold the truck with the spacers still on it. I will not add them to any new truck I own.

 

[curatchko]

You have effectively altered the geometry of the front suspension with the spacer. You are working the springs and shocks harder now.



Just my . 02!

 

[CATCRACKER]

yea its real bad i did not have problem for 20K miles now right when i decided to sell it bam. i need to fix pronto i know a few people have the exact same thing happen to them i just need to get thier fix. it is the drivers side wheel and its getting worse.

 

[MLee]

spacers

Did you put in the longer control arms along with the spacers, to keep you geometry in alignment??



Marv.

 

[RankRam]

Change out the OEM crap shocks?

 

[CIverson]

I remember reading an explanation also.



Was it the cam bolts? I have heard of those loosening up before.



I would go over all of the suspension parts, and make sure everything is tight and that none of the bushings are worn.



Also, check your ball joints and hub bearings.

 

[y-knot]

The spacer has nothing to do with the wheel jumping up and down. The motion (oscillation) is suppose to be controlled by the shocks. I have run a spacer for years now and they do not give you any problems. You most likely have two problems. First you raised the trucks height by 2", if you live in a very bumpy, rough area and the suspension is asked to travel to it's limits. Your shocks are most likely bottoming out, they were not designed to extend as far as your truck is asking them two, so when you hit bumps and the suspension moves, it is suddenly stopped from extending by the shock. The second thing you have, is most likely worn, bad, week shocks. Both problems can and will be solved by the replacement of your shocks with new, quality, longer then stock shocks. Tell the salesman that you have raised the trucks front height, they will then be able to get you the right ones. Also, I would replace the rears at the same time.

 

[CATCRACKER]

i went home at lunch and checked all the bolts result tight. no i did not change control arms or the shocks. but i think its the shocks. there is not other explanation. maybe i should have said " damn oem shocks" we will find out. i am going to order some new shocks today. it seems to get worse when the truck has been run a while. do bad shocks get even worse once they have been heated up real good? i will let you guys no. I am kind of glad i found this out before i sold it. I dont want to pass on my problems. my name is to good on this board and at home to have it ruined by $150. i hope it is the shocks.

 

[JRG]

JMHO,



Have the alignment checked as well. Sounds like a classic case of bump steer to me. Had this problem on my 'cruiser and it's not fun. Just an idea.



Good luck, JRG

 

[CATCRACKER]

JRG,



can you explain that bump steer a little bit. remember this truck only has 23K on it. everything steering wise is tight.

 

[Tejasdge]

A bad tire could also be contributing to this. I also have the 315's and had problems with wobble when hitting bumps on curved roads. The offending tire had loads of weights on it. Looking at the tire, it had about 8 inches of lead on the top of the inside and 6 inches on the bottom of the outside. It was so so when going straight, but bad in the curves. New tire helped a bunch. BTW, I have Rancho 9000's.

 

[XcumminsX]

I have the setup you have and ive had no problems at all



Nick

 

[ROCKJEEP]

Its not bump steer. Its not enough shock to keep the tire on the ground. If it were bump steer the steering would shake really bad and both tires would shake side to side not up and down. Sounds like a dead shock.

Kory

 

[JRG]

If I remember correctly, a violent shaking of the front end due to the geometry of the front ent being off and magnified by worn/loose parts. ie; shocks bushings ect. Enhanced even more by larger tires.



With your/mine's very close to stock setup, I would feel that any reasonable line up shop should be able to check it out fairly easily.



As you asked earlier about the shock heating up, I would agree/concour with you, seems likely.



JRG

 

[SOLER]

Catcracker,



Your tires are heavy. When you are strolling down the road and nothing is demanded of the shocks, the normal small bumps and movements of the springs are fine. But get that heavy tire rolling (70 MPH, in your case) and hit a bump, and suddenly you have a huge, rapid movement of the spring. The spring is pushing down, and it's going to push the wheel back down. The shock is supposed to resist, dampen, and "absorb" all this. Since yours isn't, your tire is going to violently move up and down.



My brother had an old '67 Chevy 3/4 ton 2wd with no power steering. He was complaining of how when he would hit even the smallest bumps, the steering wheel would jerk, and he couldn't hold onto it. Pretty violent. Well, the ball joints were fine, and all I did was repack his wheel bearings and put new shocks on it. Problem solved! He couldn't believe how much better it rode. He kept asking me if all I did was what I said I did.



Your shocks are shot!! As stated above, get the alignment checked out, check bearings and ball joints, and put the new shocks on. I'd bet dollars to donuts you'll have solved your problem.



SOLER

 

[DIESELMAN]

Catcracker -



The Bouncing and the Death Wobble are too different issues.



The Death Wobble on mine was most likely a mexican torque-wrench problem, the bounce, which I got on mine real soon after going to the 315's was I toasted my shocks.



On the first couple of speed bumps I felt the shocks slam to full extension then they were worthless.



I put RS9000's on mine and it is pretty tame, though I really think it could use double shocks and maybe limiting straps too. I still feel more bounce on the freeway than I expect, and the tires are always needing to be balanced. (every 3 - 5000 miles )



DM

 

[MPassaro]

I GOT RS9000 ON MINE AND STILL DOES IT THE DEALER DID A FRONT ALM. AND STILL THE DEATH WOBBLE IS HERE SO I WILL NOW PUT TWO STEERING STABILZERS

 

[lawdog]

Death Wobble is caused bu the tires shaking back and forth and is cured by an alignment and steering stabilizers. The bigger the tire the more it is pronounced.

The bump is most likely wiped out shocks. With it getting worse the more you drive at one time, even more confirms it is the shocks. The shock oil gets hot as the shock works in its normal motion. As the fluid heats up, it thins out, as it thins out, the easier it goes by the valving in the shock, lessening dampening. That is why you see all the race trucks, HP Snowmobiles ect having remote resivoir shocks, More fluid in a seperate area helps keep flud cool nd maintain performance.