[Astar77]

Was coming home from work and while traveling around 45mph my RR started to shake violently, I thought my wheel was coming off. I stopped and inspected all the wheels and everything looked and felt okay. I drove the rest of the way home with no problem. A few days later it happened again and i looked out my window and saw my front left wheel wobbling like crazy. I hit the brakes and stopped and the wheel snapped back into place, no more wobble, but a few blocks down the road it started again, but after hitting the brakes and stopping it seems to reset the wheel. I had to replace the hub in the front right cause the bearings were bad. This doesnt sound like bearings, any ideas??

 

[SpiggyTopes]

There is a really good thread on this with "death wobble" in the title. Also, look for steering box adjustment.

Anyway, start by balancing and aligning the wheels and checking the rims at the same time.

Then, if that doesn't help, the problem seems to be the sum of wear in many of the steering components, unless, of course, you can see amajor culprit.

Sorry it is so vague.

If it is any help, I have a similar problem, but not as severe, after fitting new tyres.

Good luck.

 

[Astar77]

Thanks Spiggy,

Im gonna get under the truck tonight and take a look at everything. To others that read this the wobble does not happen all the time. The truck rides just fine then randomly it will start the wobble.

 

[viperover]

Same here.....no not anymore cos I replaced my VCU.

Check front tyres and see if theres like scratches/peeling on both, if so either bad alignment or VCU in transfer box

What I again have been getting requests for is wheel bearings, just ordered 10 ex UK but the fun starts with the engineering work

 

[kmagnuss]

List of things that can cause death wobble (usually it takes two or more of them):
-Shocks
-Steering Dampener
-Steering box adjustment
-Ball joints
-Tie rod ends
-Track bar ends
-Worn bushings

Good luck.

 

[Astar77]

Same here.....no not anymore cos I replaced my VCU

what is the VCU?

 

[AMcK]

what is the VCU?

The viscous coupling in the transfer box - it's what the front prop shaft bolts to.

 

[Astar77]

Problem discovered, Tie rod end is completely gone, The two photos show it best, the tie rod completely lifted off the knuckle with no problem, kinda scary that i was driving the truck like that. So my next question, is the part repairable or do i need to get a new tierod end?

 

[Chris X]

I'd vote to replace the tie rod end rather than try to repair it. Generally they are not that expensive to replace (although haven't had to find one for a P38 yet). They can be a bugger to remove sometimes, so soak the threads with some penetrating oil overnight.

 

[kmagnuss]

They're cheap. Just get a new one.

 

[desertboy]

I did mine last year and finished it off with the Drag link and the steering Damper over the weekend. My wobble I was getting between 60-65mph is completely gone now. One thing to point out is, check your Ball Joints carefully. The cause of the Track Rod damage may be caused by a worn ball joint on that end.
P.S. I got all my parts from Island 4X4.

Good Luck