sierra front end problem

[Turbo Tonka]

hi all,i bought my sierra a couple of months ago and when i got it the bloke said that with the sway bar off,it wobbled real bad but i took it off and it occasionally did it a little.The tie rod end is bent pretty bad at the thread and just tonight when i was driving it it shook really bad and nearlly through me off the road,i couldnt steer or break properly etc.then i took off again and its ok again.Any ideas???its scary.

[christover1]

Common problem, with many different causes.
Read thru some topics in this search result.
Mine was a dead steering damper, easily fixed with a HD new one.

EDITTED THAT DIDN'T WERK.

Just search for "death wobbles" in search for all terms suzuki section

christover

[cookie monster]

I found that it was my tyres that caused the wobbles. They were old worn goodyears of mixed patterns.

Replaced them with Hankook Z36LT's and it drives great now.

I reduced the sizing from 225/75/15 to 215/75/15.

cookie monster

[Turbo Tonka]

thanks,ill see what i can do i have 31x10s on it which are shagged cookie monster but it will be getting new tyres this weekend i think........cristover it still has the stock little steering dampner which looks pretty worn out to me so ill chase up a new one its the only piece i havent replaced underneath yet lol...thanks for your help

[lay80n]

thanks,ill see what i can do i have 31x10s on it which are shagged cookie monster but it will be getting new tyres this weekend i think........cristover it still has the stock little steering dampner which looks pretty worn out to me so ill chase up a new one its the only piece i havent replaced underneath yet lol...thanks for your help

Steering dampener will not fix your problem, it will just mask it till whatever component is faulty wears enough to overcome the steering damperers dampening effect. Start by checking over teh whole car, make sure your u-bolts are tight, check your wheel bearings, and kingpin bearings. Check your spring bushes and shackle bushes, both front and rear. Check your knuckle wiper seals too. Get your wheel balanced, and replace any worn or damaged steering components like tie-rod ends etc. Check your steering box for play, adj/replace is nessasary, check your steering colum rag joint and uni's. Get a wheel alignment.
You should not need a steering dampener on road if everything is fine. Just fitting a band-aid part will only work for so long before the real problem re-appears.

Layto....

[Turbo Tonka]

thanks layto,well i wont bother getting wheels balanced til my muddies go on in a week or so.as i said above tie rod is bent,at the thread real bad,umm im about to check my steering box for play i have just fitted new springs shocks shackles and bushes were great.the knuckle seals (felt) mainly look like just mud n grease from previous owner so that could be a bet and ill check wheel bearings and adjust too.thanks again,i think ill replace my steering dampener anyway with a OME one for bush if anything then.i also tore a rag joint to bits the other week,i need a thicker one from the body lift,ive slid it up the spline a bit more to help but could still do with a thicker one?????it has since been replaced.....

looking through search it really could be anything

[Turbo Tonka]

so i just checked steering box over and adjusted it up a little and pulled hubs off and done wheel bearing,they were a little off so i packed some grease and re done em.put it all back together and took it for a drive and it done it again,as bad as last night,so thats twice now?????????rag joint still seemed ok






shows that it is pretty bent,could this be my whole problem???pulling drivers wheel in towards passenger or something??? and as you can see knuckles a bit ordinary,it seems to be missing some of the seal in spots

[christover1]

Suzuki built them with steering stabilzer/dampers, so I believe it should be included in your checks, along with all the other issues mentioned.

That bend in the tie bar is definately part of the issue.

Was it caused by the death wobble? or did it get bent other ways?

Any fault in steering parts, whether wear and tear or design faults, is amplified by larger diameter, and wider tyres, and rim offsets.


IMHO fix everything you can, and then put a new damper on.
christover

[Turbo Tonka]

na that bend was in it when i got it but im starting to think thats gonna be it.i will be replacing the dampener just for you na i want one anyways.ill check kinpin bearings and so on and i guess look into replacing the felts,do a rebuilt kit too

anyone got a new STRAIGHT replacement for me?

[want33s]

I bent my tie rod just like you have.
Mine was shaking so bad I couldn't hold the wheel.
I got a wheel alignment and found it was toeing in 16mm.
One wheel would want to go straight while the other wanted to turn towards it and then they'd swap... very quickly.. Scary stuff.
Get a new tie rod and an alignment together with tyre balance.

[dad]

i had death wobble issues once, turned out my
front right brake caliper had siezed.

[zook4fun]

its the bent arm, its giving you more toe in and the more toe in you have the twicher the whole car will be. your damper has just probley died so now you are getting ther death wobble

[mr green]

hey matt, i've got similar issues with my maruti, although my problem seems to be fading. i originally thought it was a castor issue but i know it didn't do it before it was parked for two years. so now i am wondering if the tyres had moulded to the stationary position. time will tell. btw mine has no steering stabiliser either. has this only come about since the extended shackles went in? you could swap them back over and give it a test drive. or wait till you put your muddies on and get it aligned.( you could check it with a tape measure to see if your in the ball park). btw again, do you still have your wt sway bar, i'll buy it off you if you do. mmmmm sway bars
jason

[built4thrashing]

mine was fixed by setting the toe in corectly. Even after a full wheel alignment it still did it. aparently my toe in was within allowable limits but it was on the edge. did that and it went away.

[Dozoor]

so i just checked steering box over and adjusted it up a little and pulled hubs off and done wheel bearing,they were a little off so i packed some grease and re done em.put it all back together and took it for a drive and it done it again,as bad as last night,so thats twice now?????????rag joint still seemed ok






shows that it is pretty bent,could this be my whole problem???pulling drivers wheel in towards passenger or something??? and as you can see knuckles a bit ordinary,it seems to be missing some of the seal in spots

That top pic is disgusting im ashamed to be in this thread wheres the door !

That drag link is fugging your alignment , fix it , you need a new one or one that hasn,t been bent at the thread area.
Check the king pin bearings , fit some decent tires and re Align

Lots of people run 35s on zook diffs and don,t get the wobbles
As Lay80 stated The dampers are there for shock loading ,
They only mask the problem fix the prob and you won,t need one .

[Turbo Tonka]

well im real sorry that my picture doesnt meet your standard mate,lucky i didnt show the worse side then.haha. yeah i agree tho it is pretty bad,i havent had it long and ive been doing other things to it instead and it hasnt done this so i havent fixed it.I will chase up some new parts and when i find them and can pay for them maybe my problem will go away

[suzimad]

Mow your grass ya grub !

ok firstly and cheaply to eliminate probs , like mentioned , fix the bent steering link .Geta wheel alignment , and get a corgi wheel balance (not any wheel balance specify "corgi" !

get a detailed report of camber and castor readings , check king pins and wheel bearings as well as all the suspension and steering components are tight , including tie rod ends etc.

i am in the crew that "steering dampeners" only mask problems and they are not a fix for the original problem

[mr green]

That top pic is disgusting im ashamed to be in this thread wheres the door !.

you found your way in, i think you can see yourself out.

[Aerenandmel]

That top pic is disgusting im ashamed to be in this thread wheres the door !.

you found your way in, i think you can see yourself out.

[Dozoor]

That top pic is disgusting im ashamed to be in this thread wheres the door !.

you found your way in, i think you can see yourself out.

And lucky i did or he'd be left with

hey matt, i've got similar issues with my maruti, although my problem seems to be fading. i originally thought it was a castor issue but i know it didn't do it before it was parked for two years. so now i am wondering if the tyres had moulded to the stationary position. time will tell. btw mine has no steering stabiliser either. has this only come about since the extended shackles went in? you could swap them back over and give it a test drive. or wait till you put your muddies on and get it aligned.( you could check it with a tape measure to see if your in the ball park). btw again, do you still have your wt sway bar, i'll buy it off you if you do. mmmmm sway bars
jason

[spamwell]

i had wobblies it was a conbination of (i have a coily) panhard, control arm bushes, king pins, wheel bearings and a warn bearing hub lol