The Ford Barn

Safewiz · 08-19-2016, 07:48 AM

I have read many times about the death wobble. I drive my car every day and have put over 4000 miles on it and never a problem. Last night my family wanted me to take all of them to dinner in my car. 5 people, 3 heavy in the back seat, and my 6ft2in father inlaw in the front. On the way to the restaurant I hit a small pothole going about 10 miles an hour on the left, and was I surprised, the whole front started shaking, and I thought I had broken something. Stopped the car, started again and it was as smooth as ever, got it up to speed and all was fine. As I was turning into the restaurant another bump at low speed and it did it again. Remembering the death wobble I had read about, I waited till I was alone in the car and tried to make it do it again, I couldn't. So my question is does having that much weight in the car throw something off?

C26Pinelake · 08-19-2016, 08:11 AM

Weight is not the problem! You have a front end problem that needs fixing now !
A concern for you should be, what if you hit a pot hole at 50 mph in your daily driver and the wobble occurs in heavy traffic! It is my opinion that this 85 year old car is a hobby car and not a daily driver. Sooner or later you may well agree. Saving money is not worth risking your life! Wayne

SeaSlugs · 08-19-2016, 08:17 AM

it could, people weighing down the backend inevitably takes some weight off the front and changes the castor. Your front end could be right on the verge of tight enough VS too much slop.

think of it similar (but opposite effect) to the idea of an empty shopping cart wobbily wheel VS one thats loaded down it doesnt wobble.

So yea jack up the front axle and see where you have play.

Robert/Texas · 08-19-2016, 08:25 AM

That happened to me when I had two adults in the rumble seat of my '34 roadster. All I did was to tighten up the tie rod ends a little and the death wobble went away.

Bob Bidonde · 08-19-2016, 10:08 AM

Regardless of the weight in your car, there is something wrong with the front suspension in your car.

I suspect the king pins and or steering tie rod may be the cause. However, I am assuming that the wheel lug nuts are tight, the wheel bearings are correctly adjusted, and there are no cracks in your wheels.

With weight on the front wheels, place a finger across the axle to spindle joint while pushing the wheel in & out at 12 o'clock. If there is motion at the joint, the king pins have too much play. If there is no motion at the joint and the wheel has play, the wheel bearing may be too loose.

Grab the wheel at 3 & 9 o'clock and try to rotate it. If the wheel has play, the steering linkage has excessive play and or the steering gearbox is loose on the frame. Check to make sure that each ball joint has 1/16" clamp-up of the coil spring. If the balls are out of round, the springs cannot be adjusted properly.

1930artdeco · 08-19-2016, 10:19 AM

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check your steering balls for roundness as well. if they are worn that will cause the same thing to happen.

mike

Safewiz · 08-19-2016, 01:02 PM

Thanks for all the info guys. Will be jacking it up in the morning to give it a good once over, and looking at all you suggested. At least now I know what I should be looking for.

Synchro909 · 08-19-2016, 06:32 PM

There are yet more places to look for trouble here. Try checking the nuts on the steering arms for tightness, play in the steering box, the ball at the rear end of the A frame, tightness where the A frame is attached to the axle, tightness of the cotter pins that hold the king pins in the axle are some that spring to mind.
While there will be howls of disapproval from some here on FB, if all else fails, I say fit a stabiliser like some manufacturers did on the assembly line.

C26Pinelake · 08-19-2016, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synchro909

There are yet more places to look for trouble here. Try checking the nuts on the steering arms for tightness, play in the steering box, the ball at the rear end of the A frame, tightness where the A frame is attached to the axle, tightness of the cotter pins that hold the king pins in the axle are some that spring to mind.
While there will be howls of disapproval from some here on FB, if all else fails, I say fit a stabiliser like some manufacturers did on the assembly line.

I have also used stabilizers but this car is the $85,000 complete restorization by a very reputable company. Everything steering should be new or rebuilt. It should not be used as a driver until the problem is identified and fixed. Wayne

Terry, NJ · 08-19-2016, 07:37 PM

It could, but the important thing is that it won't cure itself, You will have to do the detective work to find out what's causing it and cure it yourself. Possible causes are bad kingpins. Jack up the front of the car and start shaking the wheels. Loose wheel bearings are a possible cause. Then take the drag link off the pitman arm and check the ball. It should be 1.000 and round .040 to .060 out of round is the most that tolerances allow. Use a file and make it a little more "Rounder" and replace the pitman arm ASAP Ditto for the steering arm at the front left wheel. How's the play in the steering wheel? A worn steering box can cause death wobble too. Another cause can be worn out front spring bushings. If the "Knuckle" of the front spring is touching the top of the axle, the bushings are shot. DO NOT TRY TO TAKE THE SPRING OFF THE PERCHES WITHOUT A SPRING SPREADER. I must emphasize that as it is extremely dangerous. A lot of people will give you their personal cause of the death Wobble and I'm sure I haven't covered every cause, but it's a start.

Wick · 08-19-2016, 07:59 PM

There's nothing like driving a model a with a rebuilt front end and working shocks and a new front spring.

stillwater · 08-21-2016, 05:41 AM

Doesn't hurt to check everything over up there...when I was a kid my Challenger developed a wobble up near 100mph. After checking, the bolts holding the steering box to the frame were all loose.

C26Pinelake · 08-21-2016, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stillwater

Doesn't hurt to check everything over up there...when I was a kid my Challenger developed a wobble up near 100mph. After checking, the bolts holding the steering box to the frame were all loose.

You're lucky you are here to report about it! Kids sometimes are not very smart!

08-19-2016, 07:48 AM	#1
Safewiz Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: South Florida Posts: 147	Help me out guys I have read many times about the death wobble. I drive my car every day and have put over 4000 miles on it and never a problem. Last night my family wanted me to take all of them to dinner in my car. 5 people, 3 heavy in the back seat, and my 6ft2in father inlaw in the front. On the way to the restaurant I hit a small pothole going about 10 miles an hour on the left, and was I surprised, the whole front started shaking, and I thought I had broken something. Stopped the car, started again and it was as smooth as ever, got it up to speed and all was fine. As I was turning into the restaurant another bump at low speed and it did it again. Remembering the death wobble I had read about, I waited till I was alone in the car and tried to make it do it again, I couldn't. So my question is does having that much weight in the car throw something off? __________________ Coral Springs Florida

08-19-2016, 08:11 AM	#2
C26Pinelake BANNED Join Date: May 2010 Location: Michigan / Ontario border, Sarnia, Ontario. 50 miles from Detroit and 150 from Toronto. Posts: 5,800	Re: Help me out guys Weight is not the problem! You have a front end problem that needs fixing now ! A concern for you should be, what if you hit a pot hole at 50 mph in your daily driver and the wobble occurs in heavy traffic! It is my opinion that this 85 year old car is a hobby car and not a daily driver. Sooner or later you may well agree. Saving money is not worth risking your life! Wayne Last edited by C26Pinelake; 08-21-2016 at 06:27 AM.

08-19-2016, 08:17 AM	#3
SeaSlugs Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Central, IL Posts: 3,968	Re: Help me out guys it could, people weighing down the backend inevitably takes some weight off the front and changes the castor. Your front end could be right on the verge of tight enough VS too much slop. think of it similar (but opposite effect) to the idea of an empty shopping cart wobbily wheel VS one thats loaded down it doesnt wobble. So yea jack up the front axle and see where you have play. __________________ 1929 Model AA - Need long splash aprons!

08-19-2016, 08:25 AM	#4
Robert/Texas Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Burton, Texas Posts: 681	Re: Help me out guys That happened to me when I had two adults in the rumble seat of my '34 roadster. All I did was to tighten up the tie rod ends a little and the death wobble went away.

08-19-2016, 10:08 AM	#5
Bob Bidonde Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 3,470	Re: Help me out guys Regardless of the weight in your car, there is something wrong with the front suspension in your car. I suspect the king pins and or steering tie rod may be the cause. However, I am assuming that the wheel lug nuts are tight, the wheel bearings are correctly adjusted, and there are no cracks in your wheels. With weight on the front wheels, place a finger across the axle to spindle joint while pushing the wheel in & out at 12 o'clock. If there is motion at the joint, the king pins have too much play. If there is no motion at the joint and the wheel has play, the wheel bearing may be too loose. Grab the wheel at 3 & 9 o'clock and try to rotate it. If the wheel has play, the steering linkage has excessive play and or the steering gearbox is loose on the frame. Check to make sure that each ball joint has 1/16" clamp-up of the coil spring. If the balls are out of round, the springs cannot be adjusted properly. __________________ Bob Bidonde

08-19-2016, 10:19 AM	#6
1930artdeco Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lynden, Wa Posts: 3,552	Re: Help me out guys Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) check your steering balls for roundness as well. if they are worn that will cause the same thing to happen. mike __________________ 1930 TownSedan (Briggs) 1957 Country Sedan

08-19-2016, 01:02 PM	#7
Safewiz Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: South Florida Posts: 147	Re: Help me out guys Thanks for all the info guys. Will be jacking it up in the morning to give it a good once over, and looking at all you suggested. At least now I know what I should be looking for. __________________ Coral Springs Florida

08-19-2016, 06:32 PM	#8
Synchro909 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 7,496	Re: Help me out guys There are yet more places to look for trouble here. Try checking the nuts on the steering arms for tightness, play in the steering box, the ball at the rear end of the A frame, tightness where the A frame is attached to the axle, tightness of the cotter pins that hold the king pins in the axle are some that spring to mind. While there will be howls of disapproval from some here on FB, if all else fails, I say fit a stabiliser like some manufacturers did on the assembly line. __________________ I'm part of the only ever generation with an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood.

08-19-2016, 07:37 PM	#10
Terry, NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bucks Co, Pa Posts: 3,740	Re: Help me out guys It could, but the important thing is that it won't cure itself, You will have to do the detective work to find out what's causing it and cure it yourself. Possible causes are bad kingpins. Jack up the front of the car and start shaking the wheels. Loose wheel bearings are a possible cause. Then take the drag link off the pitman arm and check the ball. It should be 1.000 and round .040 to .060 out of round is the most that tolerances allow. Use a file and make it a little more "Rounder" and replace the pitman arm ASAP Ditto for the steering arm at the front left wheel. How's the play in the steering wheel? A worn steering box can cause death wobble too. Another cause can be worn out front spring bushings. If the "Knuckle" of the front spring is touching the top of the axle, the bushings are shot. DO NOT TRY TO TAKE THE SPRING OFF THE PERCHES WITHOUT A SPRING SPREADER. I must emphasize that as it is extremely dangerous. A lot of people will give you their personal cause of the death Wobble and I'm sure I haven't covered every cause, but it's a start.

08-19-2016, 07:59 PM	#11
Wick Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Gwynn's Island Va Posts: 1,386	Re: Help me out guys There's nothing like driving a model a with a rebuilt front end and working shocks and a new front spring.

08-21-2016, 05:41 AM	#12
stillwater Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Indiana Posts: 114	Re: Help me out guys Doesn't hurt to check everything over up there...when I was a kid my Challenger developed a wobble up near 100mph. After checking, the bolts holding the steering box to the frame were all loose.