Front Wheel Wobble at Low Speed

[CountrySquire55]

Friend of mine has a 29 Fordor which has developed an occasional front wheel wobble when hitting bumps at low speed. Wobble is stopped by bringing the car to almost a complete stop. Does not happen with all bumps but more than 50%. I had the same problem last year with my 31 Slant Town Sedan and found my problem to be loose, worn pitman arm. Replaced pitman arm and my problem solved. Pitman arm is tight on friends 29 Fordor, as are lug nuts, wheel bearing, and (seemingly) all front end linkages, with very little play in king pins/bearing. Any suggestions on what might be causing this wobble problem? Thanks!

[Kevin Johns]

I had this same problem with my 30 coupe. Front end seemed tight like yours, but the steering was loose. Took the coloum out and adjusted the 2 tooth worm and it totally eliminated the problem. His should have the 7 tooth worm gear and isn't adjustable, but some new guts should fix it. Or just don't drive slow!!

[Chris in CT]

Is the steering box tight to the frame? Put the car's front axle up on jackstands and wobble the front wheels back and forth while a buddy checks out the steering linkage.
The problem will reveal itself. Happy Motoring!

[msmaron]

Saw this happen at the garage...Check the Nuts on the backing plates..make sure they are secure, this will cause a wobble and breaking problem.

[Dick Carne]

All of these are good recommendations - in short check all of the front end and steering-related connections. I experienced a similar occurrence several years back on our touring car and when I went to check the front spring perches, found that the spring perch on one side had broken in the axle and the bottom end was completely missing, Fortunately the weight of the car kept the spring perch from coming out of the axle, but nonetheless... I would advocate checking everything front-end related to make certain that everything is properly tightened. Good luck - its not as daunting as it might seem.

[Terry,NJ]

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He has the feared "Death Wobble". There is no single cause. I had it in my coupe and replaced the left kingpin. I fixed it good for about a year. Then it came back. This time it was the spring bushings. I fixed them and it was ok for a while. Now it's back again. This time I'm going to rebuild the steering box. It's one of those things you have to chase.
Terry

[Glen in Hillman MI]

lots of good info above but don't forget to check the radius ball for wear and looseness

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Remember that shimmy is almost ALWAYS caused by SLACK in the steering linkages and/or steering gear. The nuts that hold the steering arms to the spindles are OFTEN overlooked & it just takes a tiny bit of looseness to cause it to shimmy.
With weight on the wheels, have someone turn the steering wheel FIRMLY, back & forth & FEEL & LOOK at each part, including the radius rod ball.
Vermin had a shimmy, drag link & tie rod had all NEW parts & caps screwed in about flush, BUT, one of the drag link end springs was TOO SHORT!
Claude, our REAL GURU, is GOOD at spotting problems! He uses the Ford tractor safety inspection method, starting at the steering wheel nut & working down through the whole system, while having the shop GOPHER turn the steering back & forth FIRMLY
Bill W.

[ford3]

turn steering wheel stopped, the tires should move almost the same time as the wheel, no more than 1" of free play, also check wheel balance, a severly out of balance tire will cause wobble when hitting bumps or holes

[Fred K-OR]

Are your wheel bearings tight and lug nuts???

[jmeckel]

If you had a rubber radius ball, (that is the ball that is under the transmission) check to make sure it has not fell apart, mine did, and the death wobble was no fun. Replaced the rubber ball with a new one, took longer to crawl under and out than to do the work. Problem solved. Someday I will put it back to original, but for now I like to just drive it.

[Brother Hesekiel]

Had exactly the same problem. Checked the entire front end and couldn't find anything worn. Installed a "cheap" SoCal Speed Shop steering dampener and the wobble is gone.

[Mike V. Florida]

There are several threads on the subject here. May i suggest an advanced search in the Model A section?

[john charlton]

Had the same problem turned out to be the front wheels were way out of balance . Cured by having them balanced at a tyre shop who glued on the weights on the inside of the rim The glued on weights are what are used on modern alloy wheels . 19" rims will accept the clip on style they cant be seen if installed on the inside . It surprising how far out the wheel balance can be .

John in cool cloudy Suffolk County England

[Terry,NJ]

John, I have an old bubble balancer that I do my wheels on and I"ve used the old style weights with good results. These are the old steel rim, weights.
Terry

Originally Posted by john charlton

Had the same problem turned out to be the front wheels were way out of balance . Cured by having them balanced at a tyre shop who glued on the weights on the inside of the rim The glued on weights are what are used on modern alloy wheels . 19" rims will accept the clip on style they cant be seen if installed on the inside . It surprising how far out the wheel balance can be .

John in cool cloudy Suffolk County England

[CountrySquire55]

Thanks to everyone who responded! Lots of great suggestions here and in previous threads. Will pass on all this information to my friend and we will see what we find! Thanks again!

[Tom Foster]

Originally Posted by CountrySquire55

Thanks to everyone who responded! Lots of great suggestions here and in previous threads. Will pass on all this information to my friend and we will see what we find! Thanks again!

Ditto on the radius rod ball; I've had that problem on two A's. The steering dampener just masks the problem, though it will give some temporary relief.
Fearless

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Brother Hesekiel

Had exactly the same problem. Checked the entire front end and couldn't find anything worn. Installed a "cheap" SoCal Speed Shop steering dampener and the wobble is gone.

Yo, my Bro,
Some folks consider the dampner as a "BAND-AID", NOT necessarily! If it works for you, USE IT.
Remember, some NEW vehicles come with them from the FACTORY!
Bill W.

[glenn in camino]

Originally Posted by msmaron

Saw this happen at the garage...Check the Nuts on the backing plates..make sure they are secure, this will cause a wobble and breaking problem.

If the backing plates were heavily painted when the car was restored, the paint behind the nuts has probably worn off leaving the nuts loose.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by glenn in camino

If the backing plates were heavily painted when the car was restored, the paint behind the nuts has probably worn off leaving the nuts loose.

GEEZ, Glenn,
Then Vermin's gonna' "fall" apart if I don't TOTALLY re-do ALL his bolts & nuts? I probably won't SLEEP tonite, wish I wuz a Dog, they jist go---ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
I'LL NEVER GET THROUGH I just want to drive him before I get OLD!
Mitch, please tell me Glenn's WRONG!
Po' Ol' Dad