Outer Limits 4x4 Board

84 Hilux getting Death wobbles but where to look

Steering Box Recod
Wheel alighnment done
steering damper changed

Have heard of preload but was told not needed on Lux?

King pin bearings.
Wheel bearings.
Loose leaf spring U bolts.
Loose shackle pins or worn bushes.

Drive shaft

Thanks guys

Bearings and bushes all new, not shackel pins either, with drive shaft do you mean front or rear? Front is not turning in 2wd and still happening, will try change rear on one end by 90 degrees and see if that helps.

I was meaning the bolts in the rear one mine came loose an it started shaking so bad

Bent rear tailshaft.
Just prop it up so the wheels are just off the ground..........................






and stick in first, wind your throttle out and look at it. Should be able to see if it's straight.


If it is bent, get it fixed professionally, and get them to strengthen it with a thicker wall.

Rear shaft will give you vibes but not death wobbles. Check the tie rod ends for play. Inadequate swivel hub bearing preload would be my second bet.

91Mav wrote:Rear shaft will give you vibes but not death wobbles. Check the tie rod ends for play. Inadequate swivel hub bearing preload would be my second bet.

Fair call.

Yep, I'd be looking at what Ray185 has said. Did you replace em yourself? When? Did you miss something? Kingpin bearings? Did you shim it right? If you haven't shimmed it right bearings will fuck out quick smart. I went through a few wheel bearings before I learnt how to do a full front axle rebuild correctly.

Get your wheels balanced mate could be a bent rim or just a real bad balance
Also what offset rims are you running ?

A smarter man than I would have asked for more info before offering advice.
A smarter man again would have offered this info without waiting to be asked.

I assume you've had the wheels balanced and swapped front to rear to eliminate tyres/wheels from the list of possible causes?
When do the wobbles start. Certain speed? When you hit a bump in the road?
How do they go away? By speeding up? By backing off? By applying brakes?
Are the wobbles only felt through the steering wheel or the whole car?
As above, who did your bearings and are you absolutely sure they have been adjusted correctly.
Did you check your U bolts?
Have you checked the rest of the steering linkages for freeplay, particularly the relay rod.
Boxers, briefs or commando?

RAY185 wrote:A smarter man than I would have asked for more info before offering advice.
A smarter man again would have offered this info without waiting to be asked.

I assume you've had the wheels balanced and swapped front to rear to eliminate tyres/wheels from the list of possible causes?
When do the wobbles start. Certain speed? When you hit a bump in the road?
How do they go away? By speeding up? By backing off? By applying brakes?
Are the wobbles only felt through the steering wheel or the whole car?
As above, who did your bearings and are you absolutely sure they have been adjusted correctly.
Did you check your U bolts?
Have you checked the rest of the steering linkages for freeplay, particularly the relay rod.
Boxers, briefs or commando?

Wheels balanced and wheeel alignment done
Starts at any speed
Stops when slow down a lot, never brake makes it worse
Whole car, starts with juts sterring wheel
Bearings done by shop, someone who does Hiluxes
No U Bolts, coils
Will check linkages, not sure what relay rod is but will ask a mate

Canyonero 4x4 wrote:

91Mav wrote:Rear shaft will give you vibes but not death wobbles. Check the tie rod ends for play. Inadequate swivel hub bearing preload would be my second bet.

Fair call.

Yep, I'd be looking at what Ray185 has said. Did you replace em yourself? When? Did you miss something? Kingpin bearings? Did you shim it right? If you haven't shimmed it right bearings will fuck out quick smart. I went through a few wheel bearings before I learnt how to do a full front axle rebuild correctly.

No done by shop, specialise in Lux's. They do lots of these so should be correct.

If its coils. Could be pangaea rod bushes that opens up a whole lot more

Why the bloody hell has no one asked about caster?

84 lux on coils? That info could have been handy in the first post.

Panhard rod bushes would be my first guess on a coiled rig but seeing as yours is a custom setup it could be some balls up in the steering/suspension geometry when it was put together. Best of luck.

My ln106 with 2 inch springs, 2 inch extended shackles gets death wobbles at around the 60kmh - 80kmh mark whether accelerating or braking. All bearings are good and tight, shackles, U bolts tie rod ends are tight. Wheels freshly balanced and aligned. 3 degree castor wedges and it still wobbles. Only started happening when i put the 2 inch extended shackles in, every one told me castor wedges would fix it but has made no difference. Considering a rag in the fuel tank a lighter!

I had 2" ext shackles 2" springs and 33s/ 35s never got death wobbles.

I now run 3" flex kit from locktup with 2" shackles and 35s on 16x10"-44 rims only get wobbles when braking and that's with new rotors calipers and shoes and drums. So don't no why I just deal with it not that bad. Even when no weights on wheels no wobbles.

Luxy144 wrote:My ln106 with 2 inch springs, 2 inch extended shackles gets death wobbles at around the 60kmh - 80kmh mark whether accelerating or braking. All bearings are good and tight, shackles, U bolts tie rod ends are tight. Wheels freshly balanced and aligned. 3 degree castor wedges and it still wobbles. Only started happening when i put the 2 inch extended shackles in, every one told me castor wedges would fix it but has made no difference. Considering a rag in the fuel tank a lighter!

Do yourself a favour and spend the $70 odd and get your caster checked. The sad part is if you already have death wobbles. There's a good chance your bushes and tierods are already flogged out.