Our 2005 Ford 3/4 ton long wheelbase shop truck has three damper on it. It had terrible death wobble from the get go. Ford couldn't fix it so we added a aftermarket kit that made it drivable.
The damper may fix your issues, but it will be stiffer to drive if you get a decent damper. Cheap dampers are a waist of time.
We just purchased five new school buses at work with a lighter front axle, two out of the five wobbled. I found by tightening wheel bearings and giving them a little more toe-in helped. We also balanced the front tires, then knocked the front bead loose and dumped in a bag of balance beads. The balance beads helped a bunch. The light axle has smaller bearings and less distance between the bearings with the same size tires as the bigger set ups.
How much caster angle do you have, is it easy to turn setting still? Does the chassis lift up as you turn? Does it return to center on its own after mking a turn?
Is the steering box set dead ahead ( not the steering wheel ). The steering box has a tight spot dead center to help hold the steering linkage and keep you from sawing on the wheel all day just to go straight. This needs to be corrected if it's not. My '37 has a later axle and needed an adjustable draglink to get the box centered. I tried alll kinds of adjustments but never could get it right till I made the adjustable link.
How are the leaf spring bushings, loose bushing will cause all kinds of issues, the whole axle assembly can move around. As a test, pump in the thickest grease you can find at each bushing and go for a drive. We used to pump white wheel bearing grease into steering joints right before Highway Patrol bus inspections, it would tightened up the steering to like new! We kept the grease guns inside where it was warm, when cold you couldn't pump it.
When it starts the wobble, does it take a jolt in the road or is it speed only related? Speed only is likely a tire / wheel issue. Hitting a bump or step in the road is true death wobble and is related to alignment or loose components. Our '05 would hit a joint in the concrete and go into a wobble, at 65 mph you better be hanging on and getting it slowed down, about the time you come to a stop, the wobble would stop. Ours was a combinaton of tall tires, long wheel base, and long steering components, it was brand new and poorly designed.
Last edited by Joe H; 05/16/2025 2:39 PM.
