Death warble

[charbles]

She's been shakin' recently, only every once and a while, between 30-50mph, generally while coasting (not braking or accelerating hard). It's been happening for a while, but feels like the truck is gonna wobble out of control, but doesn't. Mostly a back and forth motion. I searched "death wobble", and figured it might be the kingpins, but there were some other possible causes. What's the economical process for solving this problem-- I can't afford to start throwing parts at her.
thanks,
mike

[oldcool90]

My 90 did this i rebuilt most of the front end tie rods ect. Just to find out it was the shocks,put a new set on and no more wobble

[charbles]

well, I replaced the shocks about as year ago along with front rotors and add a leaf. so i hope thats not the problem.

[Philip]

You have a W model. Check the mounting plate for the steering box. See if it is cracked or the bolts came loose.

How old are the tires? Have you rotated them lately?

Case500D rotated his tires a while back and had the same problem. A new set cured the problem.

[ford69557ci]

my 91 w250 did the same thing with stock size tires. i thought it was the shocks and it helped a little but it still did the same thing mainly after comin off of a hard bump or hole in the road. I put new goelander m/t's on and it solve the problem completely drives like a brand new truck.

[dpuckett]

I had a similar problem in my D350. I jacked up the front wheels, and spun them, with a piece of flat steel atop a cinder block (for stability) right next to the tire. Turned out I had about 3/16" runout on the one tire; 1/16" on the other. Left the one tire alone, and turned the high point of the one tire to the low point of the rim (valve stem), and cured 90% of the vibration. Not quite the ride of a Lincoln, but much better than it was. Next tires are going to be Michelin, BFG, et al.

Daniel

[CumminsPride]

well, I replaced the shocks about as year ago along with front rotors and add a leaf. so i hope thats not the problem.

Air filled shocks are poor in quality and do not last in heavily used conditions. I use my truck on and off road and the NAPA shocks that are on there were almost new when I bought my truck. Now they are non supportive and wheel hop is noticed when the springs are compressed quickly by bumps or romping on the brakes.

Wade

[charbles]

Tires are less than a year old. I'll check for wear... would bad tires produce a wobble only once in a while?

[Philip]

Yes bad tires could cause the problem.