The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Steering Damper on Advance Design

I have one of these steering dampers on my '58 Apache. Thinking of putting one on my 1950 AD 1/2 ton.

Why? Shimmy in front end at or around 55-60 mph. I have new king pins, solid sterring link, balanced front tires, good tie rod, and the axle is shimmed corectly. Still it vibrates in the steering wheel, a fast and steady and slight vibration.

Will the damper help? Where do I get one?
Your input is welcome. Let me know what you think about the shimmy and adding a steering damper on my AD. (1953)

Randy O.

Put an ad in the Swap Meet if you want to buy an original anti-sway bar. Some of the restoration parts vendors sell an after-market anti-sway bar.

They were standard on Panel Body Advance-Design trucks. There were two styles and the change-over point was sometime in 1951.

Have you adjusted the steering gear as described in the Shop Manual?

Yes, the steering gear has been adjusted. Might need a rebuild as it is not great.

Are you talking about a sway bar or a steering damper. The damper is the shock absorber that goes from the solid axle and attaches to the tie rod?

Just a thought here: Have you tried a dynamic balance with the wheels mounted on the truck? Could be a bearing or drum problem, or possibly a tire that has a separated ply; these often reveal at temperature and would not show up in the short tire shop machine balance time.

? Don;t know if my local boys do that sort of thing. I can ask them. Sounds like a possibility the drum may be wacked out.

Good idea. Thanks!

I was referring to the original anti-sway bar, sorry.

Say there Laurence, welcome aboard. I haven't seen anyone spin balance a tire on the car since I worked in the Sinclair gas station back when I was in high school. That be in the late 50's.
I did have my bias ply tires Dynamically balanced at a local tire shop where their machine has a wheel that is applied to the tire while it is rotating. Simulates the load on the tire.
That still didn't help with the lumpy ride though!
I think I would look for something loose in the chain. Any slop what so ever in the front end has the possibility of causing the shimmy, wheel bearings not adjusted properly? You say the steering gear might need rebuilding, which clues me into thinking that there it is still loose even after you have adjusted it. A bent rim possibly? Put an indicator on the rim and see if you have any run out. Are you sure that you have the toe in set properly and that the rest of the front-end geometry is set to spec?
My '50 3600 has a couple of thousand miles on it since the front end has been completely rebuilt, also it's all stock, and I get absolutely no shimmy at any speed, even driving it through all the pot holes produced this winter.
Unless your going to be driving off-road or thru a construction site regularly I can't see where there is a need for a "damper."
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I'm running one on my truck and it's definitely not an off-roader. You can get them from NAPA or any FLAPS;
Moog #SSD12

Therein is the advantage(s) of spinning the tire while it is mounted on the vehicle - not on the tire-balance machine. Loose bearings, bent rims (often caused from wrong-sequence tightening), sloppy tie-rod ends, are easily observed under (almost) road conditions. Another possibility places vibration within the driveline. An out-of-balance driveshaft, or clutch assembly will also set up a 'thrumming' at harmonic speed which is transmitted through the frame to steering wheel. Heck, I once experienced a bent generator pulley that set up a terrific 'flutter' sound - but only at 40mph or so. Drove me nuts. Until the fan belt polished the tight spot. Just before it shredded. That's another cap Big Bolters wear - a hunting cap. Tracking down the elusive 'Gremlins'.

Don't forget the spring shackles and eye ends when you are doing the front end, they can be loose and sloppy and be just as bad as having bad kingpins. Also check for loose wheel bearings.
A stock AD should not need a steering damper.
It sounds like you have a balance issue in the front. You should be able to have the hub and brake drum mounted in the balance machine. You could also try rotating the front wheels to the back and see if the vibration moves.

I've had tire store balance jobs turn out really badly, and had to go back several times. If the tire comes out lumpy out of the mold it may not be able to be balanced with weights and should not be accepted, or they may just have to reseat it on the rim if the bead didn't seat well. Your truck should be able to run smooth as glass on radials. Also have them check for a bent rim or one with too much runout. That can't be balanced out.

Well as your can see Randy, just like politics half the folks here think red and half think blue. That's the good thing about this venue; your going to get a whole rash of opinions one of them should solve your problem. When you finally come up with a solution, make sure ya post it so we can add it to our knowledge base.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I tand to agree that it might be a tire issue, too. A damper won't fix a vibration. It's been stated that the steering is tight, new kingpins, etc. That leaves something in the rotating assembly. Could be an out of round tire, those can be balanced, but still give a vibration. Same for a bent rim. Here's one more thing to add to the mix-Are the lug nuts light? Lig nuts should be torqued, just like head bolts. The spec for the old 6 lug 1/2 tons with the 7/16" studs is 45-60 ft/lbs. Too much can warp the hub, not enough can make the wheel wobble on the studs, and even come off the truck. If they've been run on with an impact, especially if they were just hammered down like most shops do, the studs may be stretched and never hold proper torque.

Nobody has mentioned switching the front and back tires. there are still shops around that can't do a proper balance job on a consistent basis.

Thanks for all the reply's.

I think ratotating the front tires to the back and vice versa is my next (cost saving) approach.

I put a steering damper on one once & it was downrite dangerous. You couln't recover from a turn. They work well with power steering but not without. It sounds to me like a tire/wheel problem.

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PROBLEM SOLVED:

It was the drive shaft.

When I went and rebuilt my truck I ended up taking the solid axle out and replacing it with a 1969 rearend. So I had to replace the driveshaft with a custom one.

Well I went to Inland Truck Parts in Kansas City, and had them make me a new one specifically for my truck. It works great! Wow, now I can go fast!

Thanks for all the posts.

And sorry, but I think I did not mention the driveshaft, rearend swich.

Thanks for letting us know, Randy. So many times the problem gets fixed (or not) and us "lurkers" never know what happened!
Ed

Cool ya fixed your problem ..KEEP ON TRUCKIN !

PROBLEM SOLVED:

It was the drive shaft. I had Inland Truck Repair in KC, Missouri make me a new driveshaft. The rearend was converted to a 1969 3:73 so it was an open drive shaft.

This solved the shimmy problem. Never thought the steering wheel would vibrate so bad because of the drive shaft.