death wobble ???

any ideas what what causes this on a disco 1 97 plate , i said could be swivels or swivel pins , its for a friend hwo has come to dead stop in locateing the problem

fanks muchly

Steering Dampner might be shot. If it's driving ok at slowish speeds but tries to throw you off the road any faster or when you corner/hit a bump I may well be this.

I've had a similar problem on two previous Discos and this fixed the problem both times. However I have been told that this shouldn't effect the steering at speed but it clearly did in my case. Twice.

Hope this helps.

T.R.E check out ok? wheel bearings? swivel bearings? damper? Panhard rod bushes? hockey stick bushes? wheels balanced?

so far i have done wheel bearings, panhard rod polybushed, new damper, new track rod, checked all other bushes on and off the ground,TREs ordered for next week and had the bloody big stupid wheels and tyres balanced and i am still getting a wobble at 65kmh

I am starting to think its a design feature to stop you doing too many miles.

good luck and let us know if he he gets it sorted, mine is getting better by degrees so im thinking its a culmination of a few bits wearing and ageing and as i go it is getting better but only a little at a time.

try removing a shim from the swivel pins.

Unless you have experienced this shake/wobble I'm afraid you are not qualified to comment, I feel I am so follow my story. So far I have replaced every shock absorber, all four road springs. steering damper. new swivel bearings, and reset pre-load twice. I have poly bushed the whole vehicle including the Panhard bar, changed the main track rod, renewed all steering ball joints, including the ball joint above the rear suspension. So far I have adjusted the steering box and tightened up the drop arm. I have also changed the wheels and tyre's, had the tracking set, and wheels re balanced. This vehicle has cost me a small fortune, I have owned the Disco for fourteen years and hate to give up on her but I feel one day she will cause an accident. I'm now tempted to change the steering box as its the only item I have not renewed. So will let you know if it cures the problem, it might save you a lot of work and money.

My Vehicle is a 1994 200 Series Discovery which has only covered 130,000 miles and has never been used off road, this steering wobble started about two years ago, and appears when I hit a pot hole on the motorway or on the rumble strips when entering or leaving a motorway slip road. Each time I've changed something on the vehicle I have hoped it will be the cure, but so far the shake still remains. What I can't understand is that during the time I have owned the vehicle there have been times when there has been some slack in the Panhard bar or the odd worn ball joint and this shake did not manifest its self then.

31st July 2012, Well I'm back, I have now renewed the steering box but sorry to say I still have the death Wobble, I'm now considering heavy duty front springs and shocks.

Its me again 22/12/2012 I have now cured the death wobble!! Britpart heavy duty springs all round, along with their Cellular Dynamic shocks and matching steering damper. Cost £262.80 and a days work. My discovery is now joy to drive, goes around corners like its on rails, a little bit firmer ride though, but a can't drive it enough now, even her in doors takes it out on occasions, before she wouldn't even travel in it as a passenger. I hope all this work and expense helps someone else with the same problem, its the old saying buy cheap buy twice, which is what I did, its clearly not worth it.

Hi folks 08/05/2013 sorry to say the death wobble is back, not so violent now but still have to brake hard slow right down to stop the shaking.

01/06/ 2013 Hi folks I'm back again, I have now fitted front and rear anti-roll bars with poly bushes, I have since driven at speed over all the local roads where the shaking always manifested it self and so far not a sign of a shake or even a slight shudder. I have a road trip of some 300 + miles to do in the Discovery in the next few weeks, which should be a good test, I will keep you informed.

I would say after all this work its now a much nicer vehicle to drive, less vague and I feel more in control. The work that I have carried out, which I'm assuming has now cured the problem, still doesn't answer the question as to why it started in the first place, have I only manage to control or mask the shake and therefor have not cure the original problem?.

Well its now 22/06/2013, Disco has been well used recently, and so far no sign of the dreaded shake, although I must admit I still tense up when I hit a large pot hole on the motorway.

Hi 06/12/2013 Disco still going well, during the summer we towed our caravan down to the west coast of Wales and toured around, Disco has been in constant use since with no sign of the shake.

I'm back again an its the 15th June 2016, I'm sorry to say the shaking did return an the anti roll bars only mask the problem for a short period, up until now I have learned lived with it by keeping off Motorways as much as possible and driving at less than 60 miles an hour. Just last week I fitted new brake discs and pads all round and have gone back to the original steel wheels that came with the vehicle, fitted with new Goodyear tyres which have been balanced. I have also welded in a new rear floor and repaired two body mounts for the MOT, but sorry to say it has made no difference at all, it still has the bloody shakes.
The vehicle has now covered 144,000 miles

I have just read Owl's suggestion with regards castor angle so I will give that a try, some one also suggested re-set the tracking with slight tow in as Land Rover set the tracking to tow out from new, which is unusual. I will let you know if I'm successful, if not I will retire to a darken room an scream.

All the Best Scrutto

Land Rover Discovery 200 tdi 1994
Land Rover Series 3 SWB Diesel 1980
Harley Davidson 1200 Custom 1999



Perhaps, crazymac (A SENOIR MEMBER)( Below) might have something more constructive to add, instead of hanging about in the sheep pen dressed in his wellies, bleating out stupid remarks, Hey Boyo? does A Senior Member reflect his position on the forum or his senile age?

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7706=099987=545674326754

Scrutto said:

Unless you have experienced this shake you are not qualified to comment, I am.

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What a load of bollox!!

I must admit that I thought that was a bit strong too - maybe he's having a bad day.

Bad day is one thing, but its his 1st post FFS!!!!!

Needs to read the chapter on "how to make friends and influence people"!!

Try putting the front tyres on the back and the backs on the front.

Has been known for a out-of -balance tyre to start the wobble off and soggy suspension not 'damping' the effect.

Good point , dont go looking for trouble cos it will find you soon enough . Twice this has happened on my D1s - once was tyres , the other time the drop arm had slid down the splines on the bottom of the PAS box .

On the Internet Landrover Club site there is a section by Alain Hoffman called "wheel wobble and how to cure it" that runs through all the options with photos and text , I put a link up a few times but I cant find it just now so if the obvious , easy stuff dont work , google the bugger .

Me to , my 90 has aquired a nasty intermittent death wobble recently, going to do all bushes and relplace shocks and springs and damper.see how it goes.

Look at the easy stuff first....you never know ! I was convinced I had shot swivel bearings and it turned out to be a loose steering box arm - 5 minutes max , tightened , torque'd , bent keeper washer . Cost - £0

Hi sorry if you have all taken umbridge but I'm fed up with the same basic comments such as, "its your Panard bar" "its your tyres" "its your swivels or the damper". I have owned and worked on Land Rovers and Range Rovers for some forty years, don't you think I would have tried all those before putting my grubby fingers to the keyboard?
Scrutto

the lads are only trying to help you know,, no point in getting stroppy, just try being polite and you may be supprised what a very helpfull bunch of lads they are on here, hope you get it sorted . it would be interesting to know what it is, ron.

Scrutto said:

Hi sorry if you have all taken umbridge but I'm fed up with the same basic comments such as, "its your Panhard bar", "its your tyres" "its your swivels or the damper". I have owned and worked on Land Rovers and Range Rovers for some forty years, don't you think I would have tried all those before putting my grubby fingers to the keyboard?
Scrutto

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Seriously if you insist that you know so much, why are you asking on here.

You seem to have a very peculiar way of asking for help.

Oooooh....somebodies tired ! Scrutto , since you are new to the forum I like most have little knowledge of your skills or experience . Personally , I was trying to be encouraging by suggesting that it might be something cheap . I did give details of a whole chapter where this subject is discussed in depth . But hey ! Whatever . I dont know where you get the idea that anyone has taken umbrage , maybe you get posts that I dont , or you had some PMs - I dont know . I do , however , know that there will be some people along soon who WILL take umbrage , lots of it , and then refuse to give it back . And possibly stamp on it . And throw the bits at you . But that isnt my department . I hope you find a relatively straightforward solution soon mate .
all the best

shocks

thebiglad said:

Seriously if you insist that you know so much, why are you asking on here.

You seem to have a very peculiar way of asking for help.

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Told you .....

thebiglad said:

Seriously if you insist that you know so much, why are you asking on here.

You seem to have a very peculiar way of asking for help.

Click to expand...

He int asking for help He just thinks that he's the only one who should be allowed to post their opinion..

Scrutto said:

Hi sorry if you have all taken umbridge but I'm fed up with the same basic comments such as, "its your Panard bar" "its your tyres" "its your swivels or the damper". I have owned and worked on Land Rovers and Range Rovers for some forty years, don't you think I would have tried all those before putting my grubby fingers to the keyboard?
Scrutto

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Well as I have had the samer problem on me old 90. Is I allowed to have an opinion?? I replaced front end components damper, bushes, shocks, rebuilt both swivels, with all new components, and nothing helped. Replaced rear trialing arm to chassis bushes and problem disappeared.

I had this problem on my 90. Renewed swivel bearings/pins etc and set pre-load and this cured mine.

Seems to me that many 'death wobbles' are simply a combination of different parts wearing out. The trick to not having the wobble, I guess, is to replace bits before they're fecked .. but there's no hard and fast rule that says if you have the wobble it's 'cos 'this particular part' is broke.

The Landrover steering train is huge with lots of links and bushes to it .. and any of them can cause it, and any of them can be heavily influenced by other worn parts. I have a mate who got the wobbles 'cos his A-frame at the rear was worn ...

I'm perhaps lucky, my Disco doesn't get the wobble even without the steering damper fitted ... but then, it shouldn't ...