Death wobble! Need help.

[studebakerman2001]

My 1983 K3500 has got the death wobble. The truck feels like it starts hopping or wobbeling HARD at about 40mph and wont go away unless I slow way down. It feels exactly like a bad pitman arm or idler arm on an IFS suspension. It just started out of nowhere one day. I check all the ball joints, pitman arm and tierod ends and found one slightly bad tierod end. Replaced it and the problem still exists. The only other thing I could find was that the steering box seems to have some play in the output shaft bushing. Has anyone had this problem before? Has anyone seen a steering box cause "hopping" or "wobbeling" or am I missing something.

Any help would be much appriciated.

Thanks

Cody

[Robyn]

Tire issues, Broken belts or loss of ballance weights.

Check the front tires first before you tear the truck apart.

A tire with a broken belt and a big bump on it can make the truck almost fly off the road.

If the tires check out fine (have them run on a ballancer) then be sure the front wheel bearings are ok. (Smooth and not loose)

Toe in/out can cause a shimmy to set up but hopping is very likely a tire issue.

Good luck

Robyn

[jggiedeman]

The famous death wobble. I had this happen on my '84 K30. all new components but the only thing different was a 3" lift and some larger tires. You can Google "death wobble" and find complete instructions on how to change out kingpin bushings and add a spacer to increase spring pressure. If your rig is stock then just possibly all you need is a kingpin overhaul kit. Check E-Bay under Dana 60 kingpin and kits should pop up all over. If your pressed for $$ and time then you could just pop the top off the kingpin, clean the bushing and housing, reassemble with a 1/8" thick washer. This will replace lost spring pressure and wear on the bushing.

Jerry G

[SHEIDEN9]

does your frount end have an steering damper on the centerlink ? if not get one it may help, mine went out and you couldnt drive over 50 mph without serious wobble .also be sure to check for any worn suspension componets anything loose enough to cause vibration could be in danger of breaking .good luck steve

[allformike]

i had an old dodge that did that also, the problem with mine was that the knuckle bearing on the front axle was gone. that is assuming your's has a solid front axle.

[rustyk]

While you're checking the tires, check the wheels for out-of-round or warpage. My 1-T van developed the same problem (as did my E30), and I replaced the wheels.

[Subzilla]

I was also going to suggest steering damper. Left mine off for a day for whatever reason, can't remember. Rode to work, hit a bump and I thought I was going to be shaken out of the seat onto the floor! Quickly slowed down and it went away. Went home that night and put on the new one.

A loose steering box seems to cause more wandering than anything else.