i went outside and took a look at my axle. it looks that the front of the ubolt plate is higher than the back of the ubolt plate. i can measure using that ubolt plate ontop of the axle cant i?

 

ive had both the knuckles rebuilt at the same time all the suspension went on, again im assuming about 6 months ago. does that knuckle bearing come in the rebuild kits?

 

Try All Pro or Marlin for a full kit.

If it was done 6 mths back, but the bearings were not done, then you should be able to do just the bearings and grease, and if you're careful keep the seals intact (depends on if they were cemented or not).

Knuckle bearings tend to wear in one or two spots, just like steering head bearings in a motorcycle or mountain bike. If you don't replace 'em the machine will stay unstable no matter what else you do.

 

you know that does make sence. because as death wobble engages it almost feels as if the tires are loose from the steering wheel you know what i mean?
are knuckle bearings and the wheel bearings the same thing or seperate pieces?

 

there seperate. knuckle bearings are for turning the wheels left and right. wheel bearings are in the hub

 

Yep knuckle bearings are separate. One thing to check for is proper bearing pre-load, many folks with larger tires often aim for the top end of the bearing drag of around 13 lbs.:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri....shtml#Rebuild

 

I just did my bearing preload. I had a vibration about around 60 and now its very minimal(tires need to be balanced). The instructions on your site 4crawler worked excellent

 

alright. bought an angle finder at the hardware store and measured the angle of my ubolt plate. 7 degrees up(front of axle higher) on each side

 

I get about 6 degrees on mine:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shims.shtml#FAQ1

Not sure that 1 more degree would be all that bad or not.

 

do you think that those swampers could just be trashed? they were used when i put 'em on and have unusal tread wear. tried rotating them but it still wobbles. i remember a while back on the first death wobble that i jacked up the front axle and played with the tires and they wernt loose or anything like the knuckles were bad

 

Okay, guys. You have made my life easier understanding this castor angle thing. What I am getting out of this is that by adding longer shackles as well as my 5 inch springs I am changing my castor angle? Correct? When I bring it in to get it alligned next week will their expensive piece of allignment machinery tell me what my castor angle is? And can I go off of what they tell me how much shim I will need per side?
If so, that will be great!
Thanks for the great educational experience.
Joe

By the way, my truck has horrible death wobble. Makes me nauseated as well as slightly scared.

1987 Turbo, 5" SAS, 4:1 tcase, 38" swampers.

 

Hard to say, they are never very good on the road. I had mine shaved round at a tire shop. I had up to 3/8" out of round on a couple of mine. You can check for radial runout by lifting the tire off the ground and spin it using a pointer up near the tread face to look for in and out motion.

 

Longer (or shorter) shackle change caster angle up front:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...es.shtml#FAQ12

Yes, you should get a prinout of caster, camber and toe-in angles. Then you can compare the caster angle that you have to the factory specs:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shims.shtml#FAQ1
And go from there to figure out what caster angle changer might be needed.

 

do you think even though I have a decent caster angler that changing it will cure my death wobble?

 

All depends on where that caster angle is the cause of the wobble or not. I suppose if you could find a different set of tires to try, you could find out if it is the tires causing the problem.

 

i really think its the tires. i went from 25psi down to 10 and the wobble has gone down depending on what road im on(smooth or bumpy). do you think a second steering stabalizer would help?

 

Suppose you could try a 2nd or new stabilizer. A new one did not help in my case (thought the old one was worn out so bought a new one). A stabilizer (or two) pretty much just masks the problem, but I guess if it helps, give it a shot. Sounds like out of round tires to me, my Swampers also ran smooth when aired down until I have them shaved round.

By dropping the tire pressure, you are increasing the contact patch of the tire with the road. ANd the added rubber scrubbing back and forth is what kills the wobble (plus your gas mileage and engine power.

 

do you think im at risk of popping a bead? these tires arnt worth paying to have them shaved down. there already at the wear bars and i basically got them for free. just something to get me by. i just need to be able to go faster than 30mph while i save up a few months to buy new tires haha. i think i might try another stabalizer. the one i have is good its new it came with the hysteer kit put on a while back. plus i work at an auto parts store and can probably get another shock for pretty cheap

 

Never lost a bead on my Swampers, they were on there very tight. I was able to run them at 30psi or so on the road and took them into the low single digits off-road.

 

but running at 10 or lower psi on the roads is different than on the trail