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Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 2:44 pm
by Suresperance
i just finished swapping my ze in for a second time. and the car sat for almost two yrs before this so i take it out for a test drive and the front end feels like its going to fall off the car. i found out it was a flat tire(i pumped it up before i went out it just went down that fast) so i get a new tire on it and it still does it ... turns out one of the shocks was not all the way tightened. i take it out again and it is still happening. what could be causing this?

the drivers rear strut is completely gone but i had my buddy stick his head out the window and said the pass front wheel is wobbling so much it looks like its going to come off. when i jack it up there is no play whatsoever im lost as to what this could be any help would be great

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 3:24 pm
by Mooneggs
the only thing that comes to mind is either:

lugnuts not tightened down
very bent rim
bad wheel bearing

maybe some type of suspsension component not hooked up like swaybar + endlinks? balljoint or tie rod end?

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 3:37 pm
by Suresperance
lung nuts were put on with impact so they are good and tight i have tried two different sets of rims if the wheel bearing were bad enough to have that much wobble while driving it should have play in it right?

ball joints need to be replaced but dont seem to have any play in them
same for the tie rod ends, swaybar and links all look to be solid

could the drivers rear strut being broken in half affect the front of the car? he said he saw it wobble which makes me think it has to be upfront

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 6:33 pm
by mitmaks
you're not supposed to put lug nuts on with impact. :shrug: Maybe that's part of a problem

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 8:08 pm
by Suresperance
it has an adjustable clutch ... its okay ... they guru at my local parts store and i are pretty sure that the rear shock being snapped in half is just causing the whole car to shimmy so ill swap a new shock in there this week and go from there

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 9:57 pm
by mazda___mx3
if its been sitting for 2 years the tires could have gotten flat spots on them

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 1st, 2009, 10:40 pm
by fowljesse
Yeah. It could be that, and it may need to be rebalanced.

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 12:13 am
by Suresperance
its not the tires i have had two sets of wheels and tires and its the same with both im almost positive its the rear strut ... how do i put this is broken in half so badly that when the car sits flat the top of the tire leans in about an inch maybe an inch and a half

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 12:20 am
by Mooneggs
Suresperance wrote:im almost positive its the rear strut ... how do i put this is broken in half so badly that when the car sits flat the top of the tire leans in about an inch maybe an inch and a half
:shock: :o yeah that might do it :lol:

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 1:23 am
by wytbishop
Broken driver's rear strut should not make the pass front wheel wobble like it going to fall off.

Outer tie rod ends look good, but maybe the inner is snapped? Sounds unlikely I know but that wheels moving around because something ain't connected someplace. I would think if it's like you described it would be obvious.

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 3:31 am
by muttpower
Don't think it's the rear strut...I mean still definately replace it, but what you're describing sounds more like the tie rod ends, or wheel bearing...when you checked for play, did you have the xmission in nuetral and rotate the tire while checking for play???? Wheel bearings can be funny like that sometimes.

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 2:37 pm
by Suresperance
yup neutral and spun it all different directions i can not get that wheel to wiggle the slightest bit while the car is stopped and remember he THINKS he saw the front wiggling like it was gonna fall off but then again he drives a honda :roll: but the whole car really shakes so ill start with the big stuff ... chad(cstott) is hooking me up with a working stock rear strut just to see if that's the problem i will update after i swap it out tomorrow tie rod ends and ball joints have been ordered from rock auto any ways because they were worn but i swear there is not a tenth of a mm of play in either ... either way ill start eliminating possibilities and we can go from there

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 6:14 pm
by Ryan
Who was it who actually broke the CONTROL ARM in half?(or maybe just cracked it really bad, this was probably a year or two back) Check to make sure the big hardware is good too. That may not move too much with one guy hauling on it, but a whole car may make it wobble like death.

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 2nd, 2009, 11:38 pm
by Mooneggs
Ryan wrote:Who was it who actually broke the CONTROL ARM in half?(or maybe just cracked it really bad, this was probably a year or two back) Check to make sure the big hardware is good too. That may not move too much with one guy hauling on it, but a whole car may make it wobble like death.
I'm not sure if I'm the one you are thinking of but I broke my driver's side control arm all the way through after hitting a curb at almost 50mph (if I remember correctly) yeah it definately made the front wheel/suspension feel sketchy!

Re: Death wobble help please

Posted: June 3rd, 2009, 3:06 am
by Suresperance
chad (cstott) is coming over tomorrow we will get the strut on and figure all this nonsense out .... mooneggs .... how the hell did you hit a curb at fifty?!?!?