"DEATH WOBBLE", related to installing 2" leveling kit?? HELP!

[**ICEMAN**]

i installed the tuff country 2" leveling kit on my '01. 5 about 3 months ago and it did change the way the front reacted to bumps,bridge seams,etc. at highway speeds(more of a jar and some vibration) till last night. it got the wobble at 75mph,,very,very scary! the reason i question the lift kit as being the problem is that i also installed it on my '94 about a month ago and the first ride at highway speeds it took off into a very violent wobble,felt like a wheel was coming off and the whole truck body shook. only way to stop it is hit the brakes and it stops at 30mph(very dangerous on the interstate). i travel the same road every day and the same bumps and bridge seams will set the '94 off at speeds above 65mph,,under 65 its just rough . the 94 has new rancho shocks,steering stabilizer,fairly new ball joints and trak bar. the 01 has all the original equipment. i didn't get them aligned after the installs because as far as aligned they both feel good and tires are wearing good also. tuff country states that the standard shocks can be used but i think what is happening is that when the shock rebounds from these bumps that it is fully extending them and actually causing the tire to lift off the road somewhat and creating the wobble. i'm just wandering if longer shocks that are designed for lift kits would be the fix? the reason i believe it's the shocks being to short is that when you jack the front of the truck up by the frame there is not a whole lot of travel in the shock and starts picking up the axle pretty quick. any help here would be greatly appreciated. the WOBBLE is very,very dangerous especially if your not expecting it. the guys who have had it please jump in here. has everyone that has had the wobble also have the leveling kit?

 

[Blkdawdg]

No wobble here

I've had the tuff country leveling kit on my truck for 10,000 miles and it's never given me any trouble.

 

[Strick-9]

ICEMAN,



I've experienced that wobble a few times lately. It seems to be getting more prone to doing it. No lift kit for me, but I do have new Rancho 9000's all the way around.



Talk about an exciting ride. The first time it wobbled, I thought the tire had blown out and it was beating away at my body on every revolution. Like you, the only way I've found to stop it is to slow down real slow. It happened once on the freeway, and I had to change lanes before I could slow down. I noticed it was VERY hard to steer while wobbling. You might be on to something with your idea of the tire leaving the ground. Something is moving around a LOT! A little slop in the ball joints or suspension couldn't cause the wobble I'm experiencing. I wish I could stand on the side of the road and watch my truck wobble. Then I could see what's happening. If I can find a place that consistantly causes this wobble I'll get a friend to drive and I'll check it out.



I agree this is VERY dangerous.



-Chris

 

[**ICEMAN**]

blkdawdg, how much air pressure you got in the front tires? how about you strick-9? mine has 45lbs. blkdawdg, did you get it aligned after the install? just seems odd that i have drove the 94 alot of miles on the same roads and put the kit on and bam! same with the 01 ,just took a little longer to act up. the wobble is very,very dangerous and makes me about half scared to drive em , not knowing when its gonna have one of its fits. i wouldn't want it to happen with my camper on the back,,it could get real ugly. i need to get to the bottom of this asap! wife refuses to drive them and i really dont want her and the kids in them. if i cant find the cause soon i will take the kit off the 94 and see if it goes away. i really do like the trucks settin level though. PLEASE, EVERYONE BE VERY CAREFULL, if yours goes into wobble mode,hold the wheel tight and go down on the brakes as fast as you can. any front end techs out there? HELP!

 

[Josparkz]

No wobbles

I've had the Tuff country 2" lift on for 20 or 30 thousand miles.

I 've not had any problems with it, but a new track bar put in about the same time wore out.

 

[**ICEMAN**]

josparkz,i see in your profile that you have tuff country control arms also. how are they different than the stock ones?

 

[Blkdawdg]

THAT SUCKS!

I keep my tire pressure around 40-45 psi. and I had it aligned the minute I got through installing the leveling kit. you might try talking to the guys @ www.jackit.com . They always seem to be really helpful at answering questions and/or concerns.

 

[Josparkz]

control arms

Originally posted by **ICEMAN**

josparkz,i see in your profile that you have tuff country control arms also. how are they different than the stock ones?

They are tubular (made out of pipe) and have harder (polyurethane?) bushings. They flex less than the stock ones (supposedly) , so they cure the "front end moves arond when braking" syndrome.

 

[Alaskaskiff]

Try balancing your front tires. I went approx 30K

miles on a set of Toyo 235/85R16 and starting getting the wobble. Started off mild and got worse fast. Last one limited me to no more than 30 mph and was made worse by losing the steering stabilizer (caused by violence of wobble) and worn trackbar. Replacing trackbar and stabilizer made it better until I went on the road that caused the real problem. I then had the tires balanced, added the second stabilizer that is available (there is a TSB... . 190596) and the problem has not been back for 2 yrs/40K miles. Part for second stabilizer is 4856304. It is a rancho kit and you may get it cheaper elsewhere.

 

[BillGotthelf]

I too have experienced the famous death wobble. After I cleaned out my shorts the first time I kinda knew what to expect. If I hit a large bump with only one wheel at speed it starts. I have found that freshly balanced tires do this much less so I get them rebalanced every 5,000 miles. It only occurs on my 96 dualie 4x4 never on any of my 2wd.

 

[lawdog]

Iceman,

How is your steering stabilizer? I have installed several lifts for people and my own trucks. I just put on the Daystar 2" kit on my 2000 QC S/B, and no trouble yet. the only thing I have noticed is that the tire rebound seems to bounce a little more now with the 305 Goodyears compared to the 285 kellys that I had. What I have noticed in the past is on 4X4's if the stabilizer goes bad, you will get front end shimmy or wobble. One truck we did got it so bod, you could literally see the truck shake violently while driving it. My partner was driving it, and I was watching the front tires swapping back and forth left to right. I would recommend an alignment, a new or double steering stabilizer, and check the tire balance. Anything over a 33" tire, I would recommend a second steering stabilizer to assist the stock location.

 

[CumminsPower98]

I have the Tuff Country 2" leveling kit on the front of my '98 2500 4x4 and have had no problems except that I think the stock shock length is too short.

ICEMAN, you really need to have the front-end aligned as others are saying. When you lift the front of the truck like this it messes up the alignment right away so that could be the biggest contributing factor to your "death wobble". When I put my spacers on I took it in the next day for an alignment.

 

[Ted Constantine]

Track bar

I experienced DEATHWOBBLE in 2 lifted jeeps over the weekend and in both cases it was a loose track bar. It could only be seen with a person jumping up and down on the front bumper to compression the suspension. In both cases the track bar was solded when tested by hand but moved when the suspension was compressed. Try torquing the hell out of the track bar. good luck. Ted

 

[**ICEMAN**]

thanks for the help,,i'm gonna set up an appointment to get both trucks aligned & tires balanced and see if it cures the problem. LAWDOG,,new stabilizer & shocks on the 94,,,,,that violent wobble you seen shaking the whole truck and wheels wobbling is what the 94 has. both trucks have 235/85/16's on 'em. should i use the alignment specs that someone had posted a while back or just go with what it calls for in the books? anyone know who posted them and where they are?

 

[JGabl]

death wobble

Iceman-

I believe that your problem has to do with your 'Horizontal Steering Axis'. This would be the 'line' that runs parallel with the ground through your center hub. If you add to your vertical height, that 'line' pivots from your radius arm foward, bringing your axis down towards the ground. The front tires will start steering into the ground, hence the 'wobble'. Solution? Dropped radius arm brackets. In your case, 2". Have had similar experiences with `78-`79 1/2 ton Fords. ~Jim.

 

[o_mccarroll]

I've got the Daystar 2" kit with RS9000 shocks. 4 Wheel Parts originally gave me the stock size shocks with the spacers. I mounted the shocks up and it only allowed maybe a half inch of upward travel. I drove it like that right back to 4 Wheel Parts. How anybody can say you can use stock length shocks with the 2" kit I don't understand. I returned them for the 2" longer version of the front shocks and I've had no problems... except a little bump steer (pay to play )

 

[SmokinCummins]

Hey man, we've installed a bunch of those lifts around here all on those pickups. I have a Skyjacker myself and experienced the same problem. I replaced the worn out trackbar immediatley and if fixed it, I also went ahead and aligned it afterwards. I bought a Lindstad Trackbar that is adjustable so it will never wear out. I havent' had any problem out of it since. We also installed one on a 96 dually and fixed his problem too! Thanks Be good...

 

[NVR FNSH]

Do a search on user name Brian Meadows and you'll find lot's of info on the infamous 'death wobble'.



You could have a bad steering stabilizer &/or bad trackbar. The root cause of the problem, however, is the caster setting. As you raise the front end (axle farther from frame) the caster angle changes & goes from neg to pos. The reason they sell the LONGER lower arms is to correct this. For a mild (2 inch) lift you do not need dropped radius arm brackets.



Brian

 

[GWS]

Iceman, I talked to the tech who installed my Tuff Country front spacers. He is very knowledgeable with plenty of experience. I have had no problems at all with mine. He said he had to grind the tops of the spacers in order to shape them to mate properly with the shock towers. If this procedure is not carried out the setup will be prone to vibration. Remember, this is a metal to metal fit, since the oem rubber bumber is now underneath the spacer.

 

[**ICEMAN**]

GWS,, you may have something there on the spacer fitting properly in the spring tower. does the rubber cushion on your guys trucks roll out over the top of the coil spring a good bit??