Death wobble

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crushers said:
well of course Toyota "band aids" all there solid front axles from new... what was i thinking?
Click to expand...

no need to be deliberately obtuse.



that's EXACTLY what a steering stabilizer does. drive a truck with worn out parts and stick a new stabilizer on it, and guess what, feels like you just fixed a problem.

but chances are pretty good you didn't.

I had a nice little death wobble for a while in my 70. stuck a new stabilizer on as I knew the old one was shyte, the steering wheel wobbled all the time, and if I hit the brakes or a bump, it went nuts

. after that, it drove fine, but the wheel bearing was still fxxxed, and the TRE's were still worn out. :rolleyes:

as for extended shackles. sometimes they're necessary if your springs are longer to get the correct shackle angle.

but by longer I'm talking about an inch or so. I've seen some people put huge long shackles on a truck and call it a lift .

just makes you shake your head.
 
so...
why did Toyota install a steering stabilizer from factory?
engineers designed the front ends, no? so at new there shoudl be no need for the stabilizer...unless of course it is to cover up design flaws...

and if the factory stabilizer dies then what... oh yah, replace with a new one...

of course the front end SHOULD be checked but even a perfect front end is designed to have a stabilizer...

or am i missing something here...
 
is not a stabilizer just a shock absorber for your steering, it's not for holding anything together like TRE's are.

so therefore death wobble has to be more than just a bad stabilizer...

no?
 
actually it does not "hold" anything together...
but you are right it is a two way shock that helps to prevent the oscillating shimmy that occurs when a solid front axle is jarred by uneven road surfaces.

once again i will repeat: the front end should be inspected.

but the factory steering stabilizer DOES wear out and will need replacing sooner or later depending on the road conditions the vehicle travels over...

and after market shocks are notorious for being poor replacement for factory... (designed failer to make money??)
 
Gold Boy said:
is not a stabilizer just a shock absorber for your steering, it's not for holding anything together like TRE's are.

so therefore death wobble has to be more than just a bad stabilizer...

no?
Click to expand...

I agree the stabiliser is probably not the root cause of the death wobble and but it can probably hide the wobble to some extent ,where as a worn stabiliser cant.
 
crushers said:
and after market shocks are notorious for being poor replacement for factory... (designed failer to make money??)
Click to expand...

Aftermarket parts of all types can be a let down but the newer OEM shocks on the 78/79/105 series are absolute rubbish.
My local suspension shop pulls them off new vehicles(and the springs) and throws them in the dumpster for scrap metal in preparation for the mines.
You would think they would would let the OEM parts wear out 1st but they reckon that would be only 6 weeks,so they do them in Perth rather than send them 1500klms away to be done
I couldnt believe my eyes when I 1st saw the bin, 4ft deep of new springs and shocks.
 
what was interesting, since you mention the mine trucks...Brian at ENS toyota industrial mentioned during lunch one day that they tried the north american trucks in the mines...they lasted 6 month but the land cruisers were good for 5 years...

and

since the mine trucks are locked out of 3rd and up, i highly doubt they drive 60 k/h (which is where most death wobble occures) so steerng stabilizers are probably not even required...no?
 
crushers said:
what was interesting, since you mention the mine trucks...Brian at ENS toyota industrial mentioned during lunch one day that they tried the north american trucks in the mines...they lasted 6 month but the land cruisers were good for 5 years...

and

since the mine trucks are locked out of 3rd and up, i highly doubt they drive 60 k/h (which is where most death wobble occures) so steerng stabilizers are probably not even required...no?
Click to expand...

It depends on which mine vehicles we are talking about. Some go to open pit,some underground and some are driven around the mine and/or only on sealed roads into town and back.
So there are good mine vehicles and bad ones at the auctons:D
They get 2 years out of them underground and maybe 4-5 up top.
Im not sure about the stabilisers but I couldnt see much use at low speed.
Some are locked in low range with 3rd gear top.
My brothers an underground supervisor and his cruiser has a keyed locking device and he is allowed to unlock it for emergencies
A lot of the big iron ore mine have a no more than 5 years old or a limit on klms.
I met one mechanic who was swapping speedos for contractors with high klm :D
All have a diesel ONLY rule for fire safety

My 75 come from Goldfields Toyota ,Kalgoorlie but normally you can see where the 2 way radio and emergency lights and shut down switches were fitted on a mine vehicle and I dont have that.

This is one of the nice ones I saw at Mt Newman in the town. The workers are allowed to take them home at night and the town must have 150 at least in a pop of 6-7000
These will be sold at auction for $15k and the car yards will tart them up and ask in the low 20s.
One of the problems with the 105 is some mines remove the bench and replace it with some ugly single seat so you can only have 2 in the front for safety.
new cruiser 028 (Medium).webp
 
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crushers said:
well of course Toyota "band aids" all there solid front axles from new... what was i thinking?
Click to expand...

Oh, I know, it's terrible. They really did serve a purpose when the steering was all manual, but modern drivers can't handle any steering feedback...

:hhmm:

:idea:


Just think, they're going to start putting vibration dampers all over the place next. We'll see them start appearing on drive shafts, exhaust systems, transmissions, engines and all kinds of other things.... oh, the horror of it, a driver and the passengers actually feeling the engine running or hearing some resonance through the drivetrain. :wrench: :steer: :wrench:

Oh, wait, they've already done that. :whoops:

:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

:flipoff2:

~John
 
really, this is a fact, is it?

so then whay are the steering stabilizers still on the power steering equipped Toyota vehicles with solid front axles?
:flipoff2:

i guess for looks. :rolleyes:
UpsideDown said:
Oh, I know, it's terrible. They really did serve a purpose when the steering was all manual, :flipoff2:

~John
Click to expand...
 
seapotato said:
actually, it needs key components removed and replaced.


adding a stabilizer would be like clicking " ignore" on certain posters.
Click to expand...

Well put and right on the money.

John
 
This may well be covered in the 40 series link but I don't care enough to look.

I had the problem quite badly in my lifted BJ70 and now have a theory.
Sprung under trucks with lift springs tend to have this problem more. It is actually aggravated by a good stabilizer when it is connected to the frame. Jeep solved the problem on the YJs by adding a ridiculous panhard bar to a leaf sprung vehicle. Toyota owners can solve the problem by moving the stabilizer (or better yet hydraulic ram ) to the axle.

As a point of reference with respect to geometry and stabilizers, my badly engineered, sprung over BJ74 on flatish springs, has no wobble at all in spite of having no stabilizer and about 5 degrees of positive caster.
 
UpsideDown said:
[...]

The best location for a steering stabilizer is in-line with the tie rod, and not the drag link as it appears on most vehicles.

[...]

In any situation where a lift spring is used and a longer shackle has been installed, you will need to correct your caster angle. Adding a few degrees over the stock factory angle is a good idea. Have it measured at an alignment place and then correct it to around 2.5 to 4 degrees.

[...]

hth, John
Click to expand...

Hmmm....
 
Stabilizer in it's stock location deadens impact that would otherwise be hammering the sector shaft/steering box...isolates much of the impact to your tie rod/drag link ends...cheaper and easier to replace.

To the original poster, your pics show the drag link angle is fairly steep...will cause bump steer as previously mentioned. IME pitman arm from a PS equipped 60 series has 1 - 2" more drop and should help.
 
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