dEATH WOBBLE- 01 expedition

[bcmaxx]

So what is cause of death wobble in an expedition? happens if I hit a good bump or pothole, going over 60 km/h ( 40mph . just starts shaking until i slow until it goes away or sometimes I need to come to an almost stop. shakes the whole front end, steering wheel violently. I'm very familiar with death wobble being a jeep guy. checked the usuals: tie rod ends, steering play, ball joints, wheel hubs, shocks, and theres nothing thats popping out. I run 40psi in the tires. It had p rated tires on before, and I switched to lt geolanders, could it be the tires?

 

[FordandPolaris]

Hmm thats a new one... Plenty of F-250's with the straight front axle deal with that but I have not heard of anyone with an Expy experiencing that. I had my old shocks go out on me and it was like driving a carnival ride. But no wobble, just vertical sway going down the road.

I assume it did not do this before switching tires?

 

[bcmaxx]

Hmm thats a new one... Plenty of F-250's with the straight front axle deal with that but I have not heard of anyone with an Expy experiencing that. I had my old shocks go out on me and it was like driving a carnival ride. But no wobble, just vertical sway going down the road.

I assume it did not do this before switching tires?

no not at all, but i bought it with baby ass smooth blizzaks on it, so they were softer than soft, and went straight to lt's . maybe ill try dropping pressure to 35psi , and look at upgrading shocks. what are good? I run bilstein 5160's on my heep, I may add 2 inches later on so I want to keep it cheap for now. Just some monroe reflex?

 

[tonydiv]

The Expedition has great suspension geometry, unlike those Jeeps.

If you're getting true death wobble, then SOMETHING is worn out in that suspension. I'd also have them double check the balance on those new tires.

 

[FordandPolaris]

I would agree with the tire balancing. My tires are put up to about 45psi and are 10 ply (pretty thick). I have no issues with the front suspension getting out of hand.

 

[stamp11127]

Check:
air pressure
tire for out of roundness
slipped belt

Have someone watch the front end as you approach at speed or better yet have them record it and post online.

 

[Jay87LX]

I would look at the pitman arm first- I had a car (older 80's cadillac boat) did the same thing you describe- Keep in mind all steering inputs whether from the streering wheel going out to the wheels or from the wheels coming in- it all gets bottlenecked at the Pitman arm

 

[Mediamonkey11]

I just had geolanders put on as well with zero problems, in fact I've been impressed with how smooth and assured they are, mine are 8ply by the way. I have also switched to coil springs from the air shocks, man was the ride bouncy! Front shocks were shot beyond shot.

Did you try lifting the front end up, supporting it via a cross member or the frame, and then checking all suspensions components?

 

[bcmaxx]

I just had geolanders put on as well with zero problems, in fact I've been impressed with how smooth and assured they are, mine are 8ply by the way. I have also switched to coil springs from the air shocks, man was the ride bouncy! Front shocks were shot beyond shot.

Did you try lifting the front end up, supporting it via a cross member or the frame, and then checking all suspensions components?

no, I'll re-check everything, I suspect bad shocks, they look original, but arent leaking at all

 

[carlwesley]

Did you ever find the cause of this, I have experienced the same shake in my 1998 expedition. I have had it checked at shops and no one can seem to find any issues.

CWR

 

[bcmaxx]

Did you ever find the cause of this, I have experienced the same shake in my 1998 expedition. I have had it checked at shops and no one can seem to find any issues.

CWR

No, I just did the shocks saturday and havent had a chance to really drive it. rear shocks were bagged, but the fronts felt fine. All front end is tight, balljoints, tie rod ends, steering box, and pitman, hub units. I'll post back if shocks cured my wobble.

 

[revellgordon1]

I just replaced the Ball Joints and the Upper Control Arms on my 98' Expedition and it has Death Wobble now, is it because it is out of alignment now cause before I replaced all that stuff it never happened so if anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated Thx

 

[FordandPolaris]

I just replaced the Ball Joints and the Upper Control Arms on my 98' Expedition and it has Death Wobble now, is it because it is out of alignment now cause before I replaced all that stuff it never happened so if anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated Thx

More than likely yes. If you replaced the uppers, you need to do an alignment. I did my absolute best to keep those within spec in my driveway, and I still managed to get my tires to run with crazy camber. I drove maybe 2 miles to drop it off at the alignment shop and the tires were hot to the touch.

 

[bcmaxx]

Forsure needs an alignment after upper arms.. shocks cured my death wobble btw

 

[99EB4x4]

I had this same issue felt like being in a paint shaker when it would happen. Finally fixed. Pitman arm and idler arm. The drag link could stwist back and forth rather than only moving horizontally. Seems like they should have used 2 idler arms like most vehicles instead of a pitman arm that also acts as a idler arm on the drivers side. My steering felt very tight but I had a bit of bump steer now that is solved.