Horrable steering wobble GQ

[jezza1717]

i have 88 GQ it has a 6" lift and just recentley has developed a nasty wobble at 70 km and the wobble is so bad that you could hit the car next to you .at firts i thort the wheels were falling off and i cant find any loose steering parts the powere steering box is leeking slightley so i topped it up so now its full but still wabbles a 70 has any one had a similar expereance any help would be gret

[blackmav]

Search for 'death wobbles'

[OUTLAW565]

Yep mine does it.

[bugshifter]

Mine was the same. Panhard bushes were buggered

[RIZZO]

yep look at every bush, front diff , back diff, then jack front diff up, check wheel bearings, and also king pin bearings,

sometimes even your trailing arm bushes can play a big part on how ya truck drives on the road, really strain ya bushes to make sure theres no play, and if there stuffed replace them with geniune bushes only, pay the money you wont have any dramas for a long time, them cheaper rubber bushes off ebay have lasted not even 5 months on my truck and there was basically nothing left, this is a common problem on patrols but something is causing it as mine now drives great with 36 pedes and 7inch lift, let us know how you go

[bigoll]

i think we have all had this trouble i found mine in the rims, if u run cruiser alloy rims they don't seat onto the hub and can give the death wobble the same as the for mentioned. (the rim needs a tapper cutting on the inside of them) good luck

[RIPNMUD]

i had the same thing in the end it came down to the steering dampener not being big enough and that my tyres were out of balance and have since had two other people with the same problem and it came down to tyre balance

[turps]

6" lift will do that.
But things to look at-
Caster bushes, Panhard Bushes, tie rods, king pin bearings, wheel balance, bent rims.

[bushytas]

6" lift will do that.
But things to look at-
Caster bushes, Panhard Bushes, tie rods, king pin bearings, wheel balance, bent rims.

great advice

tie rods, king pins ive had this happen with at 70kmh

[turps]

6" lift will do that.
But things to look at-
Caster bushes, Panhard Bushes, tie rods, king pin bearings, wheel balance, bent rims.

great advice

tie rods, king pins ive had this happen with at 70kmh

My old shorty used to shake all over the place with a 2" lift and replacing the king pins seemed to fix it.

[moose]

steering dampner !!
panhard bushes !!

[thehanko]

any of the above will do it and all can be checked before replacement.

worn wheel bearings can also cause shakes.

jack it up, check for play in your hub for bearings / king pin bearings etc etc and go from there.

but most commonly people say panhards for the patrol wobble - if you replace these dont forget the washer which holds the panhard back on. no it wont be ok with out it... My vehicle had this left off when i bought it and it made for a very scary exit from the highway, you wanna talk about steering wobbles

[luxtc]

i had this happen in mine and it was the radius arm where it joins at the chassis end the thread was striped.just make sure everythings super tight

[HOTLEAD]

I have had this twice and it was the Panhard Rod bushes both times. Use only GENUINE bushes and they will last for yonks. My experience showed that non-genuine (non rubber) bushes didn't last long (2 years). The original bushes lasted for 18 years. So 60 bucks and 60 minutes work MAY be all you need. I would definately change the Panhard Rod bushes first in an effort to fix the problem.

Onya.

[92mav]

i had most of these fixed on mine and it still had verry bad wobbles in the end it as just a bad wheel alignment (11mm toe in) so check the simple things first .

if its driven as a 4x4 should be it probably needs one anyway

[jezza1717]

thanks for all the great info guys i have checked all bushes and all are up to scratch im suspecting it is a coblination between the weel bearing and the steering box when the fluid is topped up it is no where nerr as bad and i have suspected cv joint damage whick may of broken the wheen bearing thanks again for all the info really heapfull if any on eis selling a front diff of an 88 gq y60 4.2 pet i would be most interested 0468828317

[luvathemud]

easiest way i found was to grab the bull bar on the side and wobble car side to side and listen and feel for a knock, you can normally feel if you have a wheel bearing or king pin gone, mine just did king pins and you could see the whole hub moving ,

[tanz-e]

My old boys got this problem with only 2inches of lift. been chasing it for ages now with all new, steering damper, (replacing the rtc thats was on it) new adjustable panhard, 2 degree offset bushes in the castor arms, new bearings,,,the list goes on.
Its gotten to such a point that everytime it drives over a bump (like expansion joins in bridges) it sets it off wobblen around all over the place.

really running out of ideas. its got offest toyota rims (i cant remember the offset but there only running 33/12.5 mtz;s) Starting to think one might be egg shaped. it will only do it at speeds of or over 100kph. Maybe thats the speed where the egg starts jumping? I really just dont know....

[toy77]

I did the pan hard etc... suspension was all pretty new, but had gotten progressively worse...

Mine was tyre balance - the difference it made was phenomenal.

Cheers
Stew

[Wozza244]

My old boys got this problem with only 2inches of lift. been chasing it for ages now with all new, steering damper, (replacing the rtc thats was on it) new adjustable panhard, 2 degree offset bushes in the castor arms, new bearings,,,the list goes on.
Its gotten to such a point that everytime it drives over a bump (like expansion joins in bridges) it sets it off wobblen around all over the place.

really running out of ideas. its got offest toyota rims (i cant remember the offset but there only running 33/12.5 mtz;s) Starting to think one might be egg shaped. it will only do it at speeds of or over 100kph. Maybe thats the speed where the egg starts jumping? I really just dont know....

I have that same problem, all my bushes and everything else is tip top. Im going to try a balance and wheel alignment, hopefully that sorts it out

[MyGQ]

What is comes to the GQ Death wobble there are 2 (or 3 if you really want to get technical) causes

when you get the death wobbles try if you can (or have a passenger do it for you ) and look out the window at the front diff. If it looks like the whole diff is moving side to side then you will be looking at either Panhard Rod or Radius arm bushes.

If however it looks like the wheels are the only part moving (as in towing in and out) then its a tie rod and/or draglink ball joint.

[glen83]

Ok heres 1 for yas


gq 6in springs and shocks
new superflex arms
new rear upper and lower arms
new solid tierod
new solid drag link
new rtc dampner tough dog
new front pan ards
wheel balance


still fukin shakes when bumps are hit
drivable but annoying after all this money spent
any ideas guys cheers in advance

[VooDoo]

Replace the kingpin bearings and make sure you have the right preload on them. Dont just hope the shims in them are the right ones. Without the right preload and with the slightest incorrect wheel alignment or movement in any of the suspension (which is amplified by the 6" lift) and the wheels will move all over the place.

[glen83]

ALSO SHOULD ADD I AM RUNNIN 15X10 -44 OFFSET WITH 33IN MUDDIES
DO U THINK THESE ARE A CAUSE ASWELL CHEERS GLEN

[blackmav]

I just cured a case of the wobbles , panard and radius arm bushes and 1 trye was out of balance.
These bushes were only about 20,oookms old.
4 inch,35s and drop boxes.
Its the quickest ive gone through bushes in 4 different GQs

[glen83]

ALL BRAND NEW 1 WEEK OLD

[VooDoo]

Take your wheels off, remove the steering shaft and test how tight the hubs are. They should be stiff to move and not just move around freely. Ive seen MANY mechanics swap out bearings, throw in some grease and just do everything up without actually setting the prelaod. Your lift, rims, tyres etc are all contributing to the issue so you may require higher than normal preload. Test the tie rods. You shouldnt be able to move them easily and when they do move they should be smooth not notchy. The bigger the wheels and lift the more strain you will put on the car.

[turps]

A number of people have suggested steering dampners. The car should be fine without one. It there to absorb the big hits off-road. They shouldnt be used to mask a problem.

[LethalLeigh]

Had a 98 gq ute that did real bad after i put bias ply crawlers on it. put ballance bags in the front tyres helped heaps but still did it from time to time.

[dazgq1]

My old boys got this problem with only 2inches of lift. been chasing it for ages now with all new, steering damper, (replacing the rtc thats was on it) new adjustable panhard, 2 degree offset bushes in the castor arms, new bearings,,,the list goes on.
Its gotten to such a point that everytime it drives over a bump (like expansion joins in bridges) it sets it off wobblen around all over the place.

really running out of ideas. its got offest toyota rims (i cant remember the offset but there only running 33/12.5 mtz;s) Starting to think one might be egg shaped. it will only do it at speeds of or over 100kph. Maybe thats the speed where the egg starts jumping? I really just dont know....

Did you do rear control arm bushes ? As Rizzo mentioned above they make a big difference ... chassis shake !! which gets transmitted back through the steering .