Fj60 Shaking tons after 30 mph (1 Viewer)

[jsan84fj60]

Solved mine after a very long time and trying everything. I was at wits end. New TRE kit from Cruiser Outfitters worked wonders but still had shake DW at 35-40 mph. Things that checked out ok.... Ubolts tight, shocks tight and not blown, wheels balanced, no broken belt in tires, replaced shackle bushings, no broken leafsprings, steering box "tight" and shaft and ujoints all in good condition, shackle and bolts in good condition, checked bearings at 3 & 9 as well as 12 & 6 tire position, alignment good, etc.... etc.... etc..... What was the problem? Upon visual inspection of steering stabilizer all looked good. When I took it off, the bolts that go thru the rubber bushings were smaller than bushings and there was "slop". Not alot but I could not see it with the naked eye and could not tell by twisting it and trying to move it by hand when installed. Remedy: i installed tight metal bushings within rubber bushings of steering stabilizer.... used tight fitting bolts to go thru metal bushings and reinstalled. Wa La.... no more DW. Hope this helps.

Oh man great tips. Yes, It looks ok upon visual inspection. Need to remove and see how bad are the bolts. Do you have a picture of what the metal bushings look like, or where you got them? that will help.

It has been a crazy witch hunt for sure.

Thanks,

 

[Gretsch]

Did the trip to @cruisermatt's shop not pan out?

 

[jsan84fj60]

Did the trip to @cruisermatt's shop not pan out?

No, he is too busy to see me at the moment.
Thanks,

 

[kblomquist]

Oh man great tips. Yes, It looks ok upon visual inspection. Need to remove and see how bad are the bolts. Do you have a picture of what the metal bushings look like, or where you got them? that will help.

It has been a crazy witch hunt for sure.

Thanks,

The metal bushings come with some shocks. I just happened to have a couple in my bin. Previous owner did not use them. Not sure why. When you buy a stabilizer, it should come with tight fitting special bolts, nuts, etc.... Once stabilizer is removed for inspection, it is very easy to see if it was installed correctly or not. Good luck. Hope you find the gremlin.

 

[jsan84fj60]

Hello all,

Looking under the cruiser last night at all the bushings and such. I found that some of the shocks' bushings are in fact dry rotted.
The one shock that has the upper bushings missing prior (which I replaced with some universal ones from the auto store) was missing the lower ones last night. They were there the day I replaced the upper ones.

The screw that holds them in place was also missing, not sure why.
So, I got some more universal ones and put them on, but I don't have the screw yet. See picture below.

Took the other side off, and the bushings look fine and are not breaking like the ones on the driver side.
Not sure if those on the driver shock were bad or whatever, but all other 3 are ok.
see picture of the other side. (I took the screw off, to see if I can match it at the hardware store today).

I thinks I need to change both of those front shocks with new ones to be save. That might be the problem.
All the TRE look ok to me. I tried to move them and shake them and they all look solid.

So again, trying to troubleshoot everything.

Thanks,

 

[Seth S]

If everything is “right” in the truck you should be able to drive just fine with no shocks installed. I’m not advocating that you remove your shocks as a standard….just that a shocks only purpose is to dampen the spring movement. A stock leaf spring already self dampens due to the sleeves sliding over one another. I’d wager there are plenty of old leaf spring trucks out there with completely blown shocks and owners completely unaware…due to the corrosion in their old leaf springs creating so much damping that the blown shock is not noticeable.

I’d further guess that if replacing the shocks seems to solve the problem it’s still not a shock issue but some other component inputing an imbalance into the system that the shock just happens to help dampen.

Coil spring trucks…completely different scenario. Coil springs have negligible self damping. No shock leads to a not so fun “fun house” ride in short order.

 

[jsan84fj60]

If everything is “right” in the truck you should be able to drive just fine with no shocks installed. I’m not advocating that you remove your shocks as a standard….just that a shocks only purpose is to dampen the spring movement. A stock leaf spring already self dampens due to the sleeves sliding over one another. I’d wager there are plenty of old leaf spring trucks out there with completely blown shocks and owners completely unaware…due to the corrosion in their old leaf springs creating so much damping that the blown shock is not noticeable.

I’d further guess that if replacing the shocks seems to solve the problem it’s still not a shock issue but some other component imputing an imbalance into the system that the shock just happens to help dampen.

It could be, yes. I do not know. I just can go with what I see at the moment.
I need to start there, test and see.
I do think the shocks alone will not do that, on the other hand I do find it weird that it is that one shock that the bushings keep rotting out.

Like I stated, everything else seems to be in proper working order. The only things I think could be (that I cannot see) is the tires (maybe delaminated inside? need balance?) alignment and the shocks. Not sure what it is, I am just making an half educated guess.

I did find other items under the Tcase that need attention, but I don't think that is causing the shaking.
As soon as I know, I let you know.

Thanks,

 

[Seth S]

It could be, yes. I do not know. I just can go with what I see at the moment.
I need to start there, test and see.
I do think the shocks alone will not do that, on the other hand I do find it weird that it is that one shock that the bushings keep rotting out.

Like I stated, everything else seems to be in proper working order. The only things I think could be (that I cannot see) is the tires (maybe delaminated inside? need balance?) alignment and the shocks. Not sure what it is, I am just making an half educated guess.

I did find other items under the Tcase that need attention, but I don't think that is causing the shaking.
As soon as I know, I let you know.

Thanks,

Yes. You are doing things the right way and we are all hoping you find a smoking gun soon.

 

[jsan84fj60]

Yes. You are doing things the right way and we are all hoping you find a smoking gun soon.

Soon. Matt is going to look at it next week. We'll see.

 

[GM60]

If everything is “right” in the truck you should be able to drive just fine with no shocks installed. I’m not advocating that you remove your shocks as a standard….just that a shocks only purpose is to dampen the spring movement. A stock leaf spring already self dampens due to the sleeves sliding over one another. I’d wager there are plenty of old leaf spring trucks out there with completely blown shocks and owners completely unaware…due to the corrosion in their old leaf springs creating so much damping that the blown shock is not noticeable.

I totally agree.
I had a front shockie actually come apart on my '84 60 on very bad remote gravel/dirt/dust hole roads in far north Queensland many years ago.
Removed it and really didn't notice any difference.
There is more to this story which I might tell one day on a new thread.

 

[GM60]

Regarding bad shaking, I've had the death wobble once. That was back in maybe 2003/4.
It was as scary as hell!
It just happened one day pulling onto the highway and at about 80 k's it started, and was so bad I thought the whole front end was about to rip itself out!
I went through and checked tyres, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, drag link joints, steering box play, knuckle bearings, steering arm cone washers and nuts etc, and swapped wheels around.
Drove it out on the highway again and straight back into the death wobble. Nothing fixed, shaking still terrible!

Looking at the old skinny factory steering dampener I thought it was maybe time to replace it.
Bought a new slightly larger one, fitted it and headed for the highway.

Problem solved.

This fixed mine but won't be the answer for all cases of the death wobble.
It might be worth looking at if all else fails.

 

[cruisermatt]

Steering stabilizers are a bandaid for bigger issues

 

[kblomquist]

Steering stabilizers are a bandaid for bigger issues

I have heard this several times. If so, why do they come from the factory with them installed. What other purpose to they have? Installing mine correctly solved my DW.

 

[kirvesmies]

I have heard this several times. If so, why do they come from the factory with them installed. What other purpose to they have? Installing mine correctly solved my DW.

to act as a shock absorber when one tire takes a hit so the steering wheel spokes don't take your thumbs out near as quick

 

[GM60]

Steering stabilizers are a bandaid for bigger issues

There were no other issues, I specifically looked for any and all at the time.

As stated in my post I checked everything related to steering which of course included suspension components as well.
That was 18 years ago, and I had already owned it for 10-11 years previous to that . I still own and use that same 60, and there hasn't been any related problems since.
I should mention that it was running original 60 series rims and only a 2" lift. Nothing radical.
That 60 has been used a LOT on some of the worst roads in the country.
Toyota fitted stabilizers for good reason.

 

[GM60]

to act as a shock absorber when one tire takes a hit so the steering wheel spokes don't take your thumbs out near as quick

Well, no, not so much, not really, maybe a little bit.

Even though 40 series with no PS came with factory steering stabilizers, the stabilizer did next to nothing as far as saving your thumbs. If you held the steering wheel wrong and hit a big hole or rock or stump with one front wheel, they'd bust you up pretty quick.

60's have power steering which definitely cuts out a lot of steering wheel kick back.
The stabilizer is there mainly to prevent / resist steering oscillation. (like DW)

 

[pithicus]

The only thing that cured my wobbles was new tyres. The old tyres had "tyre runout" or ovaled tyres. Balancing/ rotating them made no difference.

 

[dbleon]

Tires are huge... don’t overlook. Other than that...
check

U bolts
Tre’s
Shackles
Stabilizer
Wheel bearings
Knuckle bearings
Alignment
Wheel balance

Lastly. Ujoints and shaft balance

If none of that fixes it... you got a bent wheel haha

 

[jsan84fj60]

The only thing that cured my wobbles was new tyres. The old tyres had "tyre runout" or ovaled tyres. Balancing/ rotating them made no difference.

I wonder if this is the case for me. I have a weird feeling that is what the problem is. Thanks,

 

[Seth S]

I wonder if this is the case for me. I have a weird feeling that is what the problem is. Thanks,

whenever you have vibration or steering/handling issues always start with the tires....you already own them and it doesn't cost any money to rotate them and see if there is a change in behavior, it costs very little to go somewhere and have them rebalanced. Also a good visual inspection can often reveal issues. Logically they are also large rotating objects with a large moments of inertia (basically they are big levers that can put a lot of bad energy into the system).