Can exhaust cause death wobble? (1 Viewer)

[Uri]

I cannot reiterate enough - get rid of your "mechanic".

It is helpful to tell people what vehicle you have. You mentioned it is right hand drive. We see it has leaf springs and another member said that he thought it was an HJ61.

Get an alignment.
Get the tires road force balanced.
Report back.

Yeah the exhaust seemed pretty wonky to me too. But this guy used to be a Toyota tech & also spent time in Japanese Toyota factories, at least he wasn’t trying to charge me, he just admitted that couldn’t ID the problem

 

[Uri]

Is there a lift installed? Not installing shims or improperly installed shims on front springs can cause the death wobble.

Yeah I’m thinking of that too. There is a lift installed, +3” I think. Shims are there but I have no way of knowing if they were installed properly without getting more mechanic eyes on. After balancing & alignment I put on an OME damper & that is at least masking the problem. The shocks need to be replaced so I’m thinking of just replacing the current lift with an OME 2” kit from cruiser corps, that will at least give me a little peace of mind

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Yeah I’m thinking of that too. There is a lift installed, +3” I think. Shims are there but I have no way of knowing if they were installed properly without getting more mechanic eyes on. After balancing & alignment I put on an OME damper & that is at least masking the problem. The shocks need to be replaced so I’m thinking of just replacing the current lift with an OME 2” kit from cruiser corps, that will at least give me a little peace of mind

Clear pics showing the axle, the shims, and vehicle front orientation would help. It will tell us whether the springs are in stock sprung under position and which way the shims are facing. Basically, for stock sprung under, remember "Fat to the Front" regarding shims installation. Good luck.

Ed. Speaking of shims, make sure that you buy steel ones, not aluminum. 4Crawler and Cruiser Bros. handle steel shims.

 

[kevin in okinawa]

glad to hear you're making some progress! Your prescribed course of action looks solid, keep us posted and let the questions flow as you come across other tomfoolery.

 

[Uri]

Clear pics showing the axle, the shims, and vehicle front orientation would help. It will tell us whether the springs are in stock sprung under position and which way the shims are facing. Basically, for stock sprung under, remember "Fat to the Front" regarding shims installation. Good luck.

Ed. Speaking of shims, make sure that you buy steel ones, not aluminum. 4Crawler and Cruiser Bros. handle steel shims.

My truck is spring under axle & my shims are oriented as you said “fat to front”. I think they’re steel but not sure now. There aren’t shims with the rear springs. My drive shaft is at 10 degrees and the u-joints are good to go, from what I can tell, not loose/no play. I tried to figure out my lift size using measurements from the 1983 FJ60 (all stock I assume) pictured and comparing to measurements from my truck. Measurements were taken from center of the hubs to bottom of fenders and top of axle to bottom of frame. The front difference was 4” hub to axle and 3” axle to frame. On the rear the difference was 3” hub to fender and 4” axle to frame. So pretty consistent I’m thinking. Which puts my lift somewhere between 3-4”? I’m not smart on this. Any thoughts are welcome. My limited understanding is that over 3” lift may cause steering problems. But I really like the size of my current lift and don’t want to potentially cut it in half. Also pictured is my front bracket, I wish I would’ve thought to compare the other trucks. Mines got greasable pins that I’ll have to start servicing with regular maintenance.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Right, shims only get installed in the front axle, fat to front. The pic of the shim doesn’t show the axle, can’t tell it’s orientation. A shot from further away will do that. Try and get the diff into the pic, still showing the shim. Can’t tell the degree of the shim 2, 4, etc. It looks to be at least a 4 degree and that should work fine. If it’s greater than that, it could cause a problem, but those with more knowledge than I can answer that.
Also can’t tell the front shackle angle, length, but the rear angle needs to have the bottom end further out, not in as it shows.
Can’t remember if wheel bearings and install torque were previously mentioned, but that’s also a consideration.

 

[Uri]

Right, shims only get installed in the front axle, fat to front. The pic of the shim doesn’t show the axle, can’t tell it’s orientation. A shot from further away will do that. Try and get the diff into the pic, still showing the shim. Can’t tell the degree of the shim 2, 4, etc. It looks to be at least a 4 degree and that should work fine. If it’s greater than that, it could cause a problem, but those with more knowledge than I can answer that.
Also can’t tell the front shackle angle, length, but the rear angle needs to have the bottom end further out, not in as it shows.
Can’t remember if wheel bearings and install torque were previously mentioned, but that’s also a consideration.

I had the bearings replaced about 1 year ago. Side note, the aftermarket damper that I just replaced was a “return to center” & had weird mounting ( you can see the mount in the pic). What do you mean by “bottom end further out”?

 

[Blue77FJ40]

I had the bearings replaced about 1 year ago. Side note, the aftermarket damper that I just replaced was a “return to center” & had weird mounting ( you can see the mount in the pic). What do you mean by “bottom end further out”?

View attachment 3159822

View attachment 3159823

These are more of a proper shackle angle. This provides more flex, a softer ride.

 

[Uri]

These are more of a proper shackle angle. This provides more flex, a softer ride.

View attachment 3159893

View attachment 3159894

Copy, thanks

 

[Uri]

These are more of a proper shackle angle. This provides more flex, a softer ride.

View attachment 3159893

View attachment 3159894

These are more of a proper shackle angle. This provides more flex, a softer ride.

View attachment 3159893

View attachment 3159894

Is the bracket angle correctable without replacing the spring? Seems like I’d need new springs to push that angle out.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Is the bracket angle correctable without replacing the spring? Seems like I’d need new springs to push that angle out.

I don’t think so. OME springs are known to be shorter than other lifts. That was my experience. You can try shorter shackles. The shackles in my pics are from my OME lift, longer than stock, but not by much. I kept them because they are well designed and are greasable via zerks.