just finished installing a soa on my 84 fj60. used ruffstuff specialties kit and 4x4 labs steering conversion. looks insane but road tested and have trouble controlling vehicle. when you turn while driving iit wants to jerk back and forth. have all new ome leafsprings and shocks and 35" bfg's. dont understand! HELP!
anyone ever experience this?
- Thread starter mudbutcher
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Did you check your front alignment, u-bolts, lug nuts after the install?
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Yes, it is commonly referred to as "Death wobble".
Search for that and you'll see plenty of threads.
Search for that and you'll see plenty of threads.
- Thread starter
- #4
I did check everything for tightness after install. allignment was done with a tape measure for now. definately a death wobble!
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- Thread starter
- #5
also installed allpros 1.5" wheel spacers. took 2 leafs out of the back to level it out. did not reinstall steering stabilizer but cant imagine that would have anything to do with it. very frusterating!
put your steering stabilizer back on.
you do need them.
you do need them.
that will probally go a long ways as far as how it acts.
Are your tires balanced?
Use a tape measure and measure your front end alignment.
Use a tape measure and measure your front end alignment.
- Thread starter
- #10
strange front end play!
researched death wobble and nothing seems to match what is happening. everything new up front. Tires, springs, shocks, all front end parts. Its more like when you go to turn it wants to sway back and forth. easily could lose control of vehicle. all new soa with ruffstuff kit and 4x4 labs steering components and hy steer arms. 35" bfg's. what is happening here?
researched death wobble and nothing seems to match what is happening. everything new up front. Tires, springs, shocks, all front end parts. Its more like when you go to turn it wants to sway back and forth. easily could lose control of vehicle. all new soa with ruffstuff kit and 4x4 labs steering components and hy steer arms. 35" bfg's. what is happening here?
Take some pictures and post them up.
type of shocks, shock dampning strength, and shock angle can all play a large role in some cases.
but like d'animal said post up some pics of teh front end showing your front end giving us a good look at all the angles of steering arms and shocks alike.
My first question is...what is your caster angle??? this is a big one,and bad caster will absolutely ruin your ability to go in a straight line! i ask because you obviously did some involved work up front.
Did you ever put the steering stabilizer back on? That WILL cause this. If it's still happening after you reinstall the stabilizer, the first thing you might want to do is go buy a new steering stabilizer and get the heaviest duty available.
CutNTurn?
Double check your hardware is the correct dimension for your leaf spring bushings. 60 and 40 bushings are different. If you still have the big jack stands available, prop up the front of the frame w/ the axle hanging free and kick the s*** out of tires. See what moves, if any thing.
Also, did you rebuild the axle during the tear down? You may have bad preload on your trunion bearings when you added the high steer arms. I ended up going back in the replace a shim w/ a thinner one to tighten up the knuckles.
If everything is tight and the caster is correct, then it sounds like a CG issue. Almost like your shocks are not doing anything.
Retightening everything is a good start. And so is posting pics...
Also, did you rebuild the axle during the tear down? You may have bad preload on your trunion bearings when you added the high steer arms. I ended up going back in the replace a shim w/ a thinner one to tighten up the knuckles.
If everything is tight and the caster is correct, then it sounds like a CG issue. Almost like your shocks are not doing anything.
Retightening everything is a good start. And so is posting pics...
You did put the correct springs on the correct end of the vehicle Right?
I have never head of removing several springs to make it set level.
I have never head of removing several springs to make it set level.
Im putting my money on caster problems or alignment.
I had to learn to drive all over again after the SOA conversion. the rig just felt so different. I also had 1.5" wheel spacers on it and it felt like a very small amount of steering input made huge directional changes in the rig, much more so than before. So after remapping the How to Drive a Land Cruiser part of my brain, all is well.
So did mudbutcher roll off into a ditch or something? Haven't heard from him on here.
If you're still around, if it only starts to shimmy as you go into a turn and it shakes pretty bad until you slow WAYYY down, then it's a death wobble and the most likely cause is a weak or absent steering stabilizer. You need to get that thing back on ASAP.
If you're still around, if it only starts to shimmy as you go into a turn and it shakes pretty bad until you slow WAYYY down, then it's a death wobble and the most likely cause is a weak or absent steering stabilizer. You need to get that thing back on ASAP.
