Scary Shaking!!!??!!??

[SUPER60omni]

Well the title states it. The steering started feeling "tight" on it then when it was driving @ like 45 the wheel started violently shaking and the truck was almost not driveable. It just had a new p/s pump put in 1 year ago. Any ideas of what the heck would do this???? This is a friends truck, its like a 97 i think, 4WD, Its not the truck in my signature. Thanks in advance.

[Logan]

Maybe need a new steering stabalizer?

[pipelayerjdh]

It's called "death shake". The steering wheel hakes violently from side to side until you stop or accelerate out of it. I have had four trucks that did it, three straight axle Fords and one ifs. This can be caused by several things.

One truck I had was a '90 F-SD, that needed sway bar bushings and end link bushngs.

Second was a '88 250 rolling on 44's with a dana 60 f-350 front end. It needed a track rod.

Third is my current F-350, it only needed proper alignment.

Forth was a '97 F-250, 460 blew before it was fixed, probably tires

I hope this helps. Make sure everything is working properly in the suspension and front end and no excesive play. Make sure tires are balanced and the front is alligned. A stabalizer may work, but it didn't in any of mine, and I'm still not running one in my 350. Also if the truck was lifted, and the track bar not dropped to align with the steering linkage, it may cause bump-steer that will lead to the death shake.

[mschn99]

probably a tracking bar....its decently common...99% sure of it buddy!!!

[dinikin]

I have heard of a "Death Wobble" from Jeep Cherokee owner, seems that it had to do with worn out bushings.

[SCUFFY828]

tracking bar is most common cause from my experience with ths concern ,t will scare you when it happens ,ive actualy seen it snap off the shaft at the gear box

[mike234305]

I have a 95 F350 c/c long bed single axle. My truck would do the same thing usually when I hit a bump in the road with just one tire. Later just about any time. I tried lots of fixes and even took it to a tire and alighnment shop. They said they other people just changed tires and it cleared up. Sure enough, I put new tires on the front (10 ply rated) and haven't had the problem since. When I rotated the tires I bought the same type to go on the front again, (At the time I couldn't afford all four at one time).

[therealdgh]

This may be the same problem I had yesterday with mine. Except, mine wasn't hard to drive, just acted like I was riding over rumble strips.

I was driving along yesterday at about 50 mph and eased into the pedal a little to speed up to the 65 limit. The truck was running just fine and all of a sudden, the whole front started shaking. I let off the pedal a bit and it went away. Eased into it again, and it started shaking again. After that, I just decided to push it to see if it kept up and it went away around 60.

On my way back from the store, getting up to speed again, it didn't happen. It seemed like it occurred in 4th or 5th gear (automatic transmission) from my counting of the shifts.

[dereku]

yeh I had the problem before, it a funny story really, I just installed a DRW dana 60 on my SRW f250 for the front end was about 6 inches wider than it should be. No track bar or stabilizer because i was to nieve with the solid axles. and I didnt bleed the brakes right so it pulled left hard during braking and the saved my life. It started wobbling at 60 on a 2 lane road and snapped the tie rod right off the pitman arm and I slammed on the brakes and it pulled me right across oncoming traffic safely into a ditch, my stupidity kinda saved me but luckly I can laugh about it now

[tweener]

"death shakes" I have seen it commonly on:

73-87 chevy 4x4's (usually a bad stabilizer)
Jeeps of all shapes and sizes (stabilizer or track bar)
Ford Rangers (air in P/S fluid, brake job just performed)
Dodge 4X4's (stabilizer or track bar)

Oh.....and I actually got the death shakes on my 93 Chev 1500 4x4 when the idler arm and pitman arm were SEVERLY LOOSE (due to me being lazy and waiting really long to replavce them)

They are probabbly commnly seen on any 4 x 4...I have never seen them on a 2wd...hmmmm...

They can be caused by pretty much any loose suspension component, and can be amplified by worn out or NO steering stabilizer.....On ANY FORD vehicle, if you turn the steering wheel or move the wheels (like when a mechanic does a front brake job) without the engine on, it introduces air into the P/S fluid, and can cause the death shakes (chev and dodge P/S pumps have a valve in them to eliminate this, but ford saved 35 cents and left the valve off their pumps.....ever push a dead ford, and turn the steering wheel in the process.....usually leaves a trail of P/S fluid on the ground) Feathered edges of tires can initiate the shakes....so can pot holes or bumps

Lots of causes, but only one real solution...make sure your front end is TIGHT, no worn out components, make sure your P/S fluid is bleed of air, this takes time, and you just have to drive around in circles, both directions, and allow time and such to bleed the air out. and make sure you have a good high quality steering stabilizer and good tires up front....

If it happens again, try vilontly jerking the wheel either left or right....truck will usually come right out of the shakes if you do this.