Front end wobble or shimmy

[darenfroe]

I have replaced everything in the front end of my 1949 Dodge B1B PU.  Wheels are balanced and aligned.  Runs smooth up to 60 then it starts to vibrate/wobble/shimmy.  I am thinking of installing steering dampers.  Does anybody ever drive these things above 60?  Mine is running smooth and great up to that point.  I know that a solid axle can have that problem.  That was why Maurice Olley of GM came up with the independent front suspension in the 30's.  He just couldn't really get rid of that wobble.  Anybody else have that problem?  If you used a steering damper, what brand and type did you get?

[Merle Coggins]

If you have a wobble/shimmy above 60 MPH you have a problem. I frequently drive my truck at speeds up to 75 MPH with no issues. What shape are your king pins, tie rod ends, wheel bearings? Have you checked wheel balance, wheel alignment? Maybe your wheels are not true. That is common. Mine are a little out of true but I found a shop that could balance them well enough to reduce the vibrations.

 

Merle

Edited April 14, 2015 by Merle Coggins

[Dave72dt]

Tires that are out of round or bent rims, even if balanced, will still set up a vibration. Bubble balanced or spin? Driveshaft can also cause vibrations. U joint condition? Radial or bias tires? Possibly the beginnings of a ply separation in the tires. What parts specifically have you replaced?

[Plymouthy Adams]

just because a tire is new...balanced..it does not ensure that it is not out of round...many suppliers of vintage wheels sell junk..while nice. hold air..look good etc they are not quality castings and thus will give you many problem in drivability...big big tip off is the amount of weight used to balance the tire and its relationship to other wheel weights on the tire..also you can use a dial indicator and do a run out for out of round..test rim in said manner...unfortunately the time to test the rim would have been just prior to mounting the tires..do a lateral run out test also...method of balance can assure a bit better drivability also...

[Bobacuda]

Check for play in the king pins and the drag link.  My B4B had those problems. Gave the truck "death-wobble" at about 55, would smooth out lower than that.

[darenfroe]

Thank you all for your help.  Front end completely overhauled, wheels aligned, tires are balanced ad did not require too much weight, but I have not checked for true.  Will do that.

[Labrauer]

I don't have a dodge truck but I had a 52 ford truck that did that to me a long with wondering the road. I just couldn't seem to find the problem and did the same as you posted all new front end parts and still a problem. I ended up finding an old man mechanic and he discovered that the shims under the front springs (between the spring and axle) where put in backwards. The wedge was to the front instead of being to the back.

Now I don't know if these dodge trucks have the same type wedges or not as I said I never owned an old dodge truck but if it does I would definitely check into this. 

 

Just one of my experiences with a front end wobble on a different model truck. Good luck and if you can find a old mechanic like I did he may be able to find the problem. Good Luck

[Jeff Balazs]

This used to be a common problem on cars and trucks back in the 70's. You need to have the tires balanced again.....and by the sounds of it by somebody else with a properly calibrated machine. This always shows up at around 55 to 60 mph and usually goes away at speeds above 70 mph. I can't tell you how many times I have seen this happen only to go away when the tires are properly balanced.

 

Jeff

[darenfroe]

I will check the shim and the balance.  Right now I am working on coils and condensers in the ignition.