ok..so tonight..i officially experienced my first case of DEATH WOBBLE..and it's been wobbling a little bit (not much at ALL) for about a week...and i figured it was just the swampers..so i didnt think anything of it..well tonight on the way home from work...i heard something metal hit the passenger side floorboard..and within a few seconds..it was wobbling BAD!.so i had to pull over..and i checked the lugnuts just in case they were loose..and they werent..so i jumped in and drove it home (idleing in first gear the whole way..maybe going 5mph)..and it would still wobble if it got any faster than just an idle..so what could this be..its my dd so i need to find out fast..'80 4x4 pickup...all stock..thanks guys

 

When your truck is just sitting on flat ground with the steering wheel straight are the caster/toe angles correct?

 

Try lifting the front end up in the air, jack stands under the frame and see if anything is loose on the front end. Maybe a shackle nut came loose or a spring bushing fell apart or similar. Also, with the front tires on the ground, have someone crank the steering wheel back and forth and see if there is any movement up front aside from the tires steering left and right.

 

I'd start shopping for a new dd, Corollas and civics are cheap and a lot safer to drive. There's no state safety inspections here and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I see running around here. I don't like inspections but it keeps lots of unsafe cars off the road. Some people have no problem driving unsafe vehicles like this
".its got over 300,000...tail lights don't work...turn signals don't work..gauges or gauge lights don't work...brights don't work...need a front drive shaft...an alternator....."
Just because you only drive 5 miles a day doesnt mean you don't need good brakes, lights and other safety equipment. Ever see a 35" tire go thru a windshield because the wheel bearings let go? not pretty. It crossed the median and went straight into oncoming traffic, The driver of the truck just did his own brakes.
Make sure your truck is safe and don't keep driving it if it "wobbles a little".

 

well i would buy another car...but my family kinda doesnt have the money to just blow on another car..im not selling my truck..i've put too much time into it...tailights dont work because mud gets on the wires...turn signals work front and rear...brake lights work...brakes work..all the brakes..(except E-brake) i know my truck is not the safest truck on the road..and i dont care...if i had the money for a newer vehicle..then i would have gotten it...it has always wobble'd and vibrated because of the swampers....but last night it just got REALLY bad all the sudden...so i pulled over..check the lugnuts..then idled it home...if i could prevent problems from happening..then i would rebuild the truck top to bottom front to back...but nobody has that kind of cash...so im fixing things as they pop up..im 17 and a senior in highschool..and i just now finally got a job (67 applications later) and im still making min.wage until july 24th...so please...dont ever tell somebody to buy a new vehicle...not everybody has the money to do that...you just have to roll with what ya got...just because you can afford to have a truck for the weekends and a car for work doenst mean everybody can @$$hole

 

Check your u joints, if you felt something hit it could be anything though. I would look under the truck for the impact ont he body.

 

no front driveshaft...it wasnt anything big..about the size of a lug nut..or a bolt..thats the kind of sound it put out...from the passenger side..im going to check it in just a few mins..then i will tell yall whats up..thanks for the input

 

I think you are going to have to jack it up, and spend some time underneath it checking everything! If i were you i would just look over everything first and if you cannot find something very noticeble at first (broken mounts/welds/etc..) then i guess i would start examining everything that spins, (driveshaft, etc.........) and then go into more depth of every single part until you find, something broken, or a bolt missing, etc.

Good luck finding and fixing the problem.

And i hear you on the money factor! Im in the same boat as you

 

I guess anything that isn't on blocks is a good vehicle if you live in a trailer, I'm sure you have insurance, or is that not required for okies.

 

ok dude..first off quit hounding me...i dont live in a trailer...we have over a 2000 sq ft house..with a 1000sq ft shop..and a 2 car garage..and a 1 car garage in the shop...but we also have bills to pay for..and gas is incredibly high..and YES i do have insurance..its required in EVERY STATE dumbass...its liability only..but why put anything other than that on it..and yes im gonna look over everything really carefully..and see if i can find anymore problems

 

dude back off. you might as well be pullin his hair, jesus. im in the same boat as him, lack of money and too many expenses. and i know if someone said somethin like that to my face, theyd get knocked out. now i know your not tryin to be a jackass, but come on man, times are tough.
to the OP: id check your driveshafts, it could be your driveshaft is either loose, or needs replacement or rebalancing. do you hear any kind of grinding, or just a bad wobble?

 

thank you..lol..its just a bad wobble..and took a better look just now..and the shackle on my front passenger side spring..the bolt that is going through it is bent..or like tilted upwards.it doesnt go straight through like it should...i also check my wheel bearings...and my rear bearings are bad...i can move both of them out about an 1/16 of an inch im guessing..and the front ones seem to be ok..how bad is it to replace the rear wheel bearings...and if i replace them..then im doing all 4 corners...o yea..and the arm that comes from the steering box and bolts to something that bolts to the knuckle..that arm is loose..how do i tighten it..i wish i knew what everything was called..it would make everything alot easier..

 

umm... i think you have to take apart the drum assembly to do it. ive never done a wheel bearing, i have only seen it done. but since ur doing those bearings, might as well do the front ones too, if theyre a little loose.

 

yea..my dad doesnt like to replace something unless he has to..like the rear main seal that we did NOT replace while we had the tranny dropped...even though it leaks..and it still leaks..he didnt want to replace it...and i told him we should replace all the wheel bearings while doing the tranny..but we never did...

 

question, with the tranny dropped, if the rear main seal is leaking, why didnt he want to? its right there. i dont get it....

 

relax dude, don't get upset, I guess I just struck a nerve, ,I'm pretty good at finding them (and then digging deeper). You never know what will piss someone off. If you didn't keep posting what a pos your truck is I might think it's not just a parts truck.

 

Personally, i assume it is the same for your year, but with the 1990 4runner , it was a pain in my arse to replace the rear bearings.

Next time i think i will pay the $40 and get them pressed on and off.

Not sure about the fronts

Good luck!

There is a writeup on 4x4 wire that i used, ill search for it

 

Okay, that site is weird right now, when i get home i will see if my old link works and post it on here for you

 

yea..i didnt get it either..probably because oreiley's had to order the seal..and he didnt want to have to wait 1 or 2 days..and refried..EVERYBODY'S VEHICLE HAS PROBLEMS..you said you've went through like 3 or 4 motors..well this one is ORIGINAL and STOCK..and it has over 300,000miles..of course its going to have problems..and it doesnt help that the PO liked to dukes of hazard a 1980 toyota 4x4 truck..he jumped it all the time...(we didnt find out about this abuse until a couple of months later) and hes had it up to the doors in water..(and i have once..and will never do it again)...so please...if your not going to say anything helpful then buzz off...thanks 904 i appreciate it

 

Basically, With the rears, you pull the whole axle shaft assembly out, and either

A: Take it to a shop and/or use a press to get the bearings out! <- easy way

B: What i did was bang the dam axle shaft on a piece of wood (so the splines didn't get damaged) for about all day. Once the bearings got off, then i had to use a pipe just about the same diameter of the inside race of the bearing and hammer the new one on. This was a pain in my arse and i wouldn't want to do it again. I ordered the package from marlin for the tune of about $185 for both rears and it came with new seals, bearings and the retainers.

Make sure you put a coat of grease on the rubber parts of the seals.



Personally i would pay for a shop to press them in, that way you don't have to worry about destroying the bearings and your palms won't hurt from pounding on it all day.