Got the death wobble!!!

[SilentBob2]

Out of the blue the scrambler gets the death wobble!!! Now remember it is SOA with a GM 10 bolt and high steer on 38.5's. After checking things out, found out the steering box was loose. No biggy, I expected this after having it taken down to the frame. I tightened up the box thinking it was fixed but it's not. Everything on the front end is new except for the steering box, new ball joints, and all the rod ends and they all seem to be tight. We have been driving it all summer and it just started out of the blue. The only thing I can think of is maybe getting it allinged or maybe it has something to do with the tires. Just can't figure out why it started now!!!!!!!!! Oh yah and Im not running a steering stabelizer on it yet... Any Idea's ?

[mach2_nh]

I know you have high steer but i dont know how you have it setup. But could you have tie-rod roll now that the rod ends have had some miles put on them?
When the Tie-rod ends on my YJ when it was stock started to go the tie-rod would roll and it was nice to drive at 55. Ya right. felt like the front end wanted to jump out...

Does it wobble all the time? If it's only at a certain speed it's a tire/wheel balance problem most likely. If you threw a weight that would explain why it's all of the sudden.

Another thought... Tires/wheels are balanced as a unit... if you aired down you could have spun the tire on the rim and caused it to be out of balance. It's a good idea to put a mark on the tire and rim that points to the other. That way if you spin a tire the marks won't line up.

[SilentBob2]

It starts between 30-35 mph. The tire pressure is equal on all wheels and I know I didn't throw a weight. I have balancing beeds (sand) in the tires so even if one of the tires had slipped, it shouln't matter. I haven't had a lot of time to get out there and check it out. Im going to try today and see what else I might find. It suppose to snow today but so far nothing yet!!! I'll take some pics to show you guys how it's set up.... I hate the cold !!!!!! I know it could be a lot worse, but Im a wimp this year..... I said we drove it all summer but that was mostly to town and back so it probably doesnt' even have over 300 miles on the front end......

[CJ7Taz]

Originally Posted by SilentBob2

Out of the blue the scrambler gets the death wobble!!!

Originally Posted by SilentBob2

I have balancing beeds (sand) in the tires so even if one of the tires had slipped, it shouln't matter. I haven't had a lot of time to get out there and check it out.

What’s the temperature? Bring it in, let the moisture thaw out of the sand and you’ll probably be fine.

[SilentBob2]

Well it's not actually sand, It's some kind of beed that doesn't or isn't suppose to take in the moisture. It even done it on a 65* day a week or so ago.... I went out earlier and it's just to dang cold. I have it in the shop but it will take me a day to get the shop heated so maybe I will get it figured out tomorrow...

[RRich]

When you get a chance, have a close look at the clips on the springs, the ones that hold the leaves from splaying sideways. One may have come loose of fell off.
U bolts tight?
Tapered shims broken?

Try spraying the entire area, frame, hangers, springs, shackles etc with a thin coating of flat black paint. Drive it a little, make it do it (DW) - then park it on wet grass overnight or where it'll be humid.
Next morning look underneath for a thin orange line of rust - where something's moving that shouldn't be. Called a poor man's magnaflux.
The movement breaks off tiny steel particles - dust - and pushes them out. The humidity makes that dust rust. The black paint helps you see it as an orange line against the black..

[SilentBob2]

Well I think I may have got it. I went over it all again and everything is tight so I checked tire pressure. I had my son check the tire pressure and he said they were good, as they were equal. Turns out they were at 15-17 psi and Im geussing the balance beeds are the problem. They work good but you have to carry extra stems because they tend to suck the sand in when airing up or down. I think what happened was, after airing them up after Disney they must of had some beeds stuck in them and when running my noisey air compresser you can't here the leak. I think the little plastic stem caps leaked the air out until they could hold the pressure in at 15-17 psi.
I think the other factor was that they had flat spotted as it sat for a week or two without moving it. I took them up to 25 psi to see if it made a difference and it did. At first it started to wobble for about a hundred yards and then it started to smoothe out. I drove it about 4 miles and by the time I got back it had smoothed out..

RRich, I did see a spot in the leafs on the passenger side like you described. I done like you said so I will have to wait and see if that was the problem. I still haven't put the doors on it so it might have to wait a few days....

[SilentBob2]

RRich, I don't think Im going to find any humid areas for atleast five more months

[RRich]

If you have a grass or dirt area where you can park, wet it down and park on it overnight. That's all it needs to rust a little.