Death wobble with all new front end.

[Dd1994]

I had a tiny bit of death wobble on my 2000 Yukon denali (obs), and then I had a u joint failure, driveshaft fell out on high way, so i redid the u joints and now the death wobble is much worse, only at highway speeds.

It has all new front suspension and tie rods pitman and idler are good. Also when I replaced the rear yoke I screwed up my pinion preload so that may be it. So I'm thinking maybe it's the rag joint. What do you guys think.

 

[b454rat]

Unit bearings?

 

[TheAutumnWind]

Could be a lot of things. Get it off the ground and see what has play.

 

[Hipster]

Did you have the driveshaft checked? They can get dinged up or otherwise tweaked and out of balance when they come loose.

The list could be long. Wheel bearings, a bent wheel, a broken belt or flat spot in a tire, a bent rear axle etc. The rag joint can be totally wiped out and there will be no wobble or vibration. It will just be loose.

Be more specific on what you're calling a death wobble in your description. You could have more then one issue going on.

 

[L29Sub]

Mud inside the back of the rim? Fluid in tires (sealant or balancing)?

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[Dd1994]

Did you have the driveshaft checked? They can get dinged up or otherwise tweaked and out of balance when they come loose.

The list could be long. Wheel bearings, a bent wheel, a broken belt or flat spot in a tire, a bent rear axle etc. The rag joint can be totally wiped out and there will be no wobble or vibration. It will just be loose.

Be more specific on what you're calling a death wobble in your description. You could have more then one issue going on.

Just got the crappy corroded wheels replaced with steelies and balanced and it's much better now. The issue was that the truck would wobble side to side especially at highway speed , but thats gone now, now it just has a little bit of vibration felt in the floorboard (albeit less than before). Also it has new front wheel bearings. Did not have the driveshaft checked but it didnt look crooked or anything.

 

[Hipster]

Just got the crappy corroded wheels replaced with steelies and balanced and it's much better now. The issue was that the truck would wobble side to side especially at highway speed , but thats gone now, now it just has a little bit of vibration felt in the floorboard. Also it has new front wheel bearings. Did not have the driveshaft checked but it didnt look crooked or anything.

A few thousandths of an inch can cause a vibration. You're not going to spot that or an out of balance condition by eye.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

Did you have the driveshaft checked? They can get dinged up or otherwise tweaked and out of balance when they come loose...

THIS. When I was a kid I remember my dad's (now mine) '89 Firebird would vibrate like mad on the highway. You could feel it in the floor and you could see the dash oscillating back & forth like a hummingbird's wings.. Turned out the driveshaft needed to be balanced and a u-joint was toast.

Years later, my wife had a 1989 Town Car. It started to have a pulse type vibration between 70 & 80 mph akin to a throbbing pain somewhere on your body. Front u-joint was worn out in that case.

 

[Dd1994]

A few thousandths of an inch can cause a vibration. You're not going to spot that or an out of balance condition by eye.

so what's my best bet just pull one from a junkyard truck, redo the u joints on it and swap it in. Because I'm sure labor on checking it would be more than that around here.

 

[Hipster]

so what's my best bet just pull one from a junkyard truck, redo the u joints on it and swap it in. Because I'm sure labor on checking it would be more than that around here.

You don't need one out from under a truck that's been moved around the yard on a forklift or dragged over stuff. Find a driveline shop and have it checked . You can't tell if it's good or not or tossed the weight off of it by looking at it. You might get lucky or not but if you put a J/y one and still have a vibration you still won't be able to rule out the driveshaft as the problem.