Death wobble...?!

[LtFuzz]

My girlfriend was driving my Rover down I95, with me following in my old Mercedes. Suddenly I start to see the back end of the Rover shudder strangely... and then I get into the left lane to see the front left wheel wobbling so hard it looked as if it could fly off at any moment.

She clearly barely had control of the vehicle. It was pretty scary. She was only going about 60 mph.

I can easily get it to wobble over 50 mph. Under 50 mph and it acts like everything is hunky dorey.

It is BAD. It wrenches your arms and the steering wheel from side to side.

This car is NOT going back on the road until I sort this out.

The wheel bearings are not obviously blown out or leaking. The panhard rod bushings look ok?

What am I looking for here?

1995 5-spd D1

 

[mongosd2]

I'd check the wheel bearings on the left front...sounds stupid but the lugnuts are tight, right? Then all the bushings, radius arms, pan hard, tie rod ends

 

[ipgregory]

What Frank said plus Steering Damper and Swivel Pre-Load. If the swivels are loose, check the swivel pin bearings, don't just remove shims.

When checking the bushings, get a large screwdriver and pry them about looking for excessive play. You often can't tell just by looking or by trying to move stuff about by hand. Another way is to have a helper rock the truck while you are looking for excessive movement. Rock it side to side as well as front to back.

Edit: Pic of the upper and lower swivel pin bearings from a 96 D1. Had no symptoms and drove fine.

 

[Toy-Roverlander]

Don't forget to check the preload on the knuckles. Even if there's no detectable play in them, when the pre-load is practically zero it can cause death wobble.
I know the feeling.... it's scary! Good luck with getting it sorted.

 

[Mike_rupp]

A bad steering dampener doesn't cause a death wobble. A good steering dampener can hide a death wobble.

 

[LtFuzz]

I banged on all the linkages with my feet and a rubber mallet. Nothing is moving in the slightest.

Lug nuts on BOTH front wheels feel loose... Do Rover lugs have caps that have some free-play? If not that might be my issue. I sure hope I didn't damage the bolts or the flanges..

I'll be kicking myself if that's the case -- lug nuts are not something I check on a regular basis beyond tire/wheel changes. That philosophy sure changed as of right now. :Wow1:

Won't be able to get it up on jackstands until this evening.

 

[ipgregory]

A good steering dampener can hide a death wobble.

Which is why I suggested he check it along with everything else... :sombrero:

 

[Toy-Roverlander]

The lugnuts for alloys indeed have a sort of cap on them than can feel a bit loose. If the nuts were really loose you would have noticed!

 

[Mike_rupp]

Which is why I suggested he check it along with everything else... :sombrero:

My point is that if you really want to pinpoint the death wobble, you might as well take the dampener off. All it will do is help to cover up the wobble.

When people recommend checking the dampener, what usually happens is that it is viewed as an easy solution. The cost is cheap and it takes five minutes to change. Now the guy has a new dampener and the death wobble may go away and the guy might think he's done, but all he's done is put off addressing the real problem.

 

[LtFuzz]

The lugnuts for alloys indeed have a sort of cap on them than can feel a bit loose. If the nuts were really loose you would have noticed!

Hmm, only reason I ask is because about half of them felt loose and half felt tight.

I guess it's a moot point until I get this thing up on stands look at them.

 

[mongosd2]

as in the caps loose, or the lugnut itself not tight...jack it up, grab the wheel and see if there is any play...could also be wheel balance, but I doubt it, sounds too extreme for that

 

[reece146]

This is Jeep specific data but I've been following your machine anonymously so I'll jump in.

Caster.

What has changed lately, new tires, springs, loading characteristics?

If your tires are oversized try dialing in LESS caster.

 

[sven]

Without even seeing the truck in person, I would 100% say its your swivel preload.

 

[Mike_rupp]

Mr. Jeeper, please don't confuse the original poster with completely unrelated advice. It really has no bearing on a Land Rover front suspension. It's not like you can just go out and adjust the caster on a Land Rover.

Sven, 100% on the swivel preload is too much. I'd say 50% swivel preload, 45% panhard bushings, and 5% other.

 

[reece146]

Understood but there must be some eccentric that you can add to the bushes in the arms, no?