Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
2/15/2004
Regarding Dana 60 4wd front end “death wobble. ”
I’m surprised Chrysler engineers haven’t figured this out.
Assuming the wheels are balanced and aligned properly, I would look for an out of tolerance badly worn axel housing and steering knuckle. The way to check this is to jack the front wheel off the ground by the housing, not the knuckle. Have someone jump on the hub. If the wheel drops, the housing and steering knuckle have too much clearance.
That large spring above the teflon taper bushing is what holds the lower Timken kingpin bearing in engagement when the front end is unloaded by a bump. When the housing is worn and the wheel is unloaded by a bump or warped rotor bounce, the spring compresses and allows the lower taper roller bearing to come out of engagement with the kingpin causing a severe side play condition. You can check this by removing the four spring cover bolts to release the spring tension. If the wheel flops around you have too much axel housing clearance and an expensive housing replacement repair.
When the wear becomes excessive the spring can’t keep the kingpin engaged in a bump and the oscillations increase the wear rapidly until the “death wobble” becomes extremely dangerous. I found that after a quarter million miles the knuckle on the left side had an eighth inch of vertical play. The right side was O. K. So what did I do to eliminate the play? I eliminated the springs.
Having a machine shop, I turned a couple of 5/8" thick steel cups to go over the teflon bushings. I drilled and tapped the spring housings through the grease fitting holes for 1/2"-20 bolts. The stamped housing will need a nut spot welded on the inside. The cast housing has enough thickness for the threads. I then relocated the zerks off to the side and drilled an eighth inch hole in the steel cup to allow the upper kingpin to get grease. That solved the “death wobble” problem for good.
Mopar may not approve of my redesign but it does work and it is a`simple thing to put a wrench on the bolt every grease job to make sure the cups have no clearance. I haven’t noticed any wear to take up over the last 10,000 miles because there is virtually no load on the cup. The only load on the bolt and cup is when the front wheels are off the ground and my truck won’t “pop a wheelie. ” Not yet anyway.
If anyone wants a drawing of the steel cup modification send me a SASE or fax number.
Ken’s Machine Shop
general delivery
Silver Peak, Nevada 89047
775-937-2244
Regarding Dana 60 4wd front end “death wobble. ”
I’m surprised Chrysler engineers haven’t figured this out.
Assuming the wheels are balanced and aligned properly, I would look for an out of tolerance badly worn axel housing and steering knuckle. The way to check this is to jack the front wheel off the ground by the housing, not the knuckle. Have someone jump on the hub. If the wheel drops, the housing and steering knuckle have too much clearance.
That large spring above the teflon taper bushing is what holds the lower Timken kingpin bearing in engagement when the front end is unloaded by a bump. When the housing is worn and the wheel is unloaded by a bump or warped rotor bounce, the spring compresses and allows the lower taper roller bearing to come out of engagement with the kingpin causing a severe side play condition. You can check this by removing the four spring cover bolts to release the spring tension. If the wheel flops around you have too much axel housing clearance and an expensive housing replacement repair.
When the wear becomes excessive the spring can’t keep the kingpin engaged in a bump and the oscillations increase the wear rapidly until the “death wobble” becomes extremely dangerous. I found that after a quarter million miles the knuckle on the left side had an eighth inch of vertical play. The right side was O. K. So what did I do to eliminate the play? I eliminated the springs.
Having a machine shop, I turned a couple of 5/8" thick steel cups to go over the teflon bushings. I drilled and tapped the spring housings through the grease fitting holes for 1/2"-20 bolts. The stamped housing will need a nut spot welded on the inside. The cast housing has enough thickness for the threads. I then relocated the zerks off to the side and drilled an eighth inch hole in the steel cup to allow the upper kingpin to get grease. That solved the “death wobble” problem for good.
Mopar may not approve of my redesign but it does work and it is a`simple thing to put a wrench on the bolt every grease job to make sure the cups have no clearance. I haven’t noticed any wear to take up over the last 10,000 miles because there is virtually no load on the cup. The only load on the bolt and cup is when the front wheels are off the ground and my truck won’t “pop a wheelie. ” Not yet anyway.
If anyone wants a drawing of the steel cup modification send me a SASE or fax number.
Ken’s Machine Shop
general delivery
Silver Peak, Nevada 89047
775-937-2244
